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 | 34,743 | 97.05% | 32,906 | 89.40% |
| Spanish | 404 | 1.13% | 3,113 | 8.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 445 | 1.24% | 374 | 1.02% |
| Asian Language** | 154 | 0.43% | 315 | 0.86% |
| Other | 54 | 0.15% | 100 | 0.27% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 35,800 | 100.00% | 36,808 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,828 | 58.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 106 | 28.34% |
| Asian Language** | 168 | 53.33% |
| Other Language | 55 | 55.00% |
| Total | 2,157 | 5.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 104 | 25.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 114 | 25.62% |
| Asian Language** | 67 | 43.51% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 285 | 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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