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 | 35,020 | 97.32% | 32,755 | 96.27% |
| Spanish | 495 | 1.38% | 835 | 2.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 397 | 1.10% | 216 | 0.63% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 0.08% | 149 | 0.44% |
| Other | 44 | 0.12% | 70 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 35,984 | 100.00% | 34,025 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 234 | 28.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 41 | 18.98% |
| Asian Language** | 72 | 48.32% |
| Other Language | 3 | 4.29% |
| Total | 350 | 1.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 91 | 18.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 167 | 42.07% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 34 | 77.27% |
| Total | 292 | 0.81% |
* "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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