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 | 21,472 | 76.04% | 23,805 | 81.99% |
| Spanish | 66 | 0.23% | 254 | 0.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,666 | 23.61% | 4,846 | 16.69% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 0.07% | 82 | 0.28% |
| Other | 14 | 0.05% | 47 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,238 | 100.00% | 29,034 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 156 | 61.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 975 | 20.12% |
| Asian Language** | 57 | 69.51% |
| Other Language | 10 | 21.28% |
| Total | 1,198 | 4.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8 | 12.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,955 | 29.33% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 11 | 78.57% |
| Total | 1,994 | 7.06% |
* "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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