The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 23,019 | 97.58% | 24,809 | 95.27% |
| Spanish | 318 | 1.35% | 1,007 | 3.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 201 | 0.85% | 169 | 0.65% |
| Asian Language** | 44 | 0.19% | 28 | 0.11% |
| Other | 8 | 0.03% | 29 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 23,590 | 100.00% | 26,042 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 480 | 47.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 105 | 62.13% |
| Asian Language** | 22 | 78.57% |
| Other Language | 8 | 27.59% |
| Total | 615 | 2.36% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 238 | 74.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 106 | 52.74% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 45.45% |
| Other Language | 8 | 100.00% |
| Total | 372 | 1.58% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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