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 | 27,105 | 94.61% | 30,801 | 93.23% |
| Spanish | 472 | 1.65% | 884 | 2.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 525 | 1.83% | 697 | 2.11% |
| Asian Language** | 368 | 1.28% | 537 | 1.63% |
| Other | 179 | 0.62% | 119 | 0.36% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,649 | 100.00% | 33,038 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 236 | 26.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 126 | 18.08% |
| Asian Language** | 268 | 49.91% |
| Other Language | 56 | 47.06% |
| Total | 686 | 2.08% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 53 | 11.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 126 | 24.00% |
| Asian Language** | 245 | 66.58% |
| Other Language | 69 | 38.55% |
| Total | 493 | 1.72% |
* "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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