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 | 27,208 | 97.47% | 31,580 | 97.12% |
| Spanish | 324 | 1.16% | 565 | 1.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 309 | 1.11% | 224 | 0.69% |
| Asian Language** | 42 | 0.15% | 28 | 0.09% |
| Other | 32 | 0.11% | 121 | 0.37% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,915 | 100.00% | 32,518 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 170 | 30.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 35 | 15.63% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 75.00% |
| Other Language | 33 | 27.27% |
| Total | 259 | 0.80% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 125 | 38.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 98 | 31.72% |
| Asian Language** | 37 | 88.10% |
| Other Language | 20 | 62.50% |
| Total | 280 | 1.00% |
* "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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