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 | 34,455 | 97.62% | 41,541 | 97.24% |
| Spanish | 407 | 1.15% | 466 | 1.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 388 | 1.10% | 555 | 1.30% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 0.09% | 147 | 0.34% |
| Other | 14 | 0.04% | 13 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 35,295 | 100.00% | 42,722 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 98 | 21.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 81 | 14.59% |
| Asian Language** | 57 | 38.78% |
| Other Language | 7 | 53.85% |
| Total | 243 | 0.57% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 182 | 44.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 98 | 25.26% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 6.45% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 282 | 0.80% |
* "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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