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 | 28,117 | 95.38% | 38,459 | 95.59% |
| Spanish | 507 | 1.72% | 853 | 2.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 719 | 2.44% | 735 | 1.83% |
| Asian Language** | 116 | 0.39% | 153 | 0.38% |
| Other | 20 | 0.07% | 35 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,479 | 100.00% | 40,235 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 260 | 30.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 151 | 20.54% |
| Asian Language** | 87 | 56.86% |
| Other Language | 12 | 34.29% |
| Total | 510 | 1.27% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 139 | 27.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 298 | 41.45% |
| Asian Language** | 79 | 68.10% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 516 | 1.75% |
* "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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