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 | 19,439 | 97.42% | 24,227 | 97.31% |
| Spanish | 65 | 0.33% | 190 | 0.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 351 | 1.76% | 379 | 1.52% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 0.16% | 52 | 0.21% |
| Other | 67 | 0.34% | 48 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 19,954 | 100.00% | 24,896 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 66 | 34.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 70 | 18.47% |
| Asian Language** | 40 | 76.92% |
| Other Language | 22 | 45.83% |
| Total | 198 | 0.80% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 11 | 16.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 103 | 29.34% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 25.00% |
| Other Language | 10 | 14.93% |
| Total | 132 | 0.66% |
* "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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