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 | 27,849 | 96.55% | 28,321 | 96.03% |
| Spanish | 503 | 1.74% | 576 | 1.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 382 | 1.32% | 457 | 1.55% |
| Asian Language** | 44 | 0.15% | 107 | 0.36% |
| Other | 65 | 0.23% | 32 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,843 | 100.00% | 29,493 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 134 | 23.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 105 | 22.98% |
| Asian Language** | 55 | 51.40% |
| Other Language | 31 | 96.88% |
| Total | 325 | 1.10% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 231 | 45.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 76 | 19.90% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 34.09% |
| Other Language | 14 | 21.54% |
| Total | 336 | 1.16% |
* "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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