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 | 22,552 | 92.63% | 25,983 | 90.50% |
| Spanish | 384 | 1.58% | 675 | 2.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 432 | 1.77% | 484 | 1.69% |
| Asian Language** | 629 | 2.58% | 1,126 | 3.92% |
| Other | 350 | 1.44% | 443 | 1.54% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 24,347 | 100.00% | 28,711 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 151 | 22.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 140 | 28.93% |
| Asian Language** | 494 | 43.87% |
| Other Language | 100 | 22.57% |
| Total | 885 | 3.08% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 159 | 41.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 51 | 11.81% |
| Asian Language** | 257 | 40.86% |
| Other Language | 89 | 25.43% |
| Total | 556 | 2.28% |
* "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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