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 | 32,810 | 96.85% | 36,258 | 96.55% |
| Spanish | 160 | 0.47% | 276 | 0.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 771 | 2.28% | 884 | 2.35% |
| Asian Language** | 24 | 0.07% | 97 | 0.26% |
| Other | 113 | 0.33% | 37 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,878 | 100.00% | 37,552 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 62 | 22.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 116 | 13.12% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 26.80% |
| Other Language | 4 | 10.81% |
| Total | 208 | 0.55% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 42 | 26.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 217 | 28.15% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 16.67% |
| Other Language | 30 | 26.55% |
| Total | 293 | 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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