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 | 21,463 | 97.45% | 20,827 | 97.03% |
| Spanish | 313 | 1.42% | 439 | 2.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 195 | 0.89% | 75 | 0.35% |
| Asian Language** | 36 | 0.16% | 91 | 0.42% |
| Other | 18 | 0.08% | 32 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 22,025 | 100.00% | 21,464 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 74 | 16.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9 | 12.00% |
| Asian Language** | 40 | 43.96% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 123 | 0.57% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 117 | 37.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 55 | 28.21% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 33.33% |
| Other Language | 6 | 33.33% |
| Total | 190 | 0.86% |
* "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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