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 | 27,167 | 97.46% | 28,755 | 96.62% |
| Spanish | 183 | 0.66% | 636 | 2.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 456 | 1.64% | 291 | 0.98% |
| Asian Language** | 58 | 0.21% | 74 | 0.25% |
| Other | 10 | 0.04% | 5 | 0.02% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,874 | 100.00% | 29,761 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 176 | 27.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 39 | 13.40% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 31.08% |
| Other Language | 5 | 100.00% |
| Total | 243 | 0.82% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 69 | 37.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 152 | 33.33% |
| Asian Language** | 37 | 63.79% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 258 | 0.93% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy