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 | 28,024 | 92.97% | 27,057 | 91.86% |
| Spanish | 746 | 2.47% | 1,204 | 4.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,286 | 4.27% | 1,006 | 3.42% |
| Asian Language** | 40 | 0.13% | 111 | 0.38% |
| Other | 47 | 0.16% | 78 | 0.26% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 30,143 | 100.00% | 29,456 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 302 | 25.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 226 | 22.47% |
| Asian Language** | 73 | 65.77% |
| Other Language | 25 | 32.05% |
| Total | 626 | 2.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 264 | 35.39% |
| Other Indo-European* | 246 | 19.13% |
| Asian Language** | 27 | 67.50% |
| Other Language | 13 | 27.66% |
| Total | 550 | 1.82% |
* "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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