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 | 27,067 | 95.87% | 27,979 | 96.47% |
| Spanish | 430 | 1.52% | 474 | 1.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 637 | 2.26% | 332 | 1.14% |
| Asian Language** | 98 | 0.35% | 186 | 0.64% |
| Other | 2 | 0.01% | 33 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,234 | 100.00% | 29,004 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 195 | 41.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 97 | 29.22% |
| Asian Language** | 127 | 68.28% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 419 | 1.44% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 182 | 42.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 188 | 29.51% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 33.67% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 403 | 1.43% |
* "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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