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 | 25,209 | 97.83% | 29,846 | 94.04% |
| Spanish | 222 | 0.86% | 1,499 | 4.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 233 | 0.90% | 277 | 0.87% |
| Asian Language** | 65 | 0.25% | 64 | 0.20% |
| Other | 39 | 0.15% | 50 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 25,768 | 100.00% | 31,736 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 829 | 55.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 84 | 30.32% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 20.31% |
| Other Language | 36 | 72.00% |
| Total | 962 | 3.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 35 | 15.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 100 | 42.92% |
| Asian Language** | 52 | 80.00% |
| Other Language | 10 | 25.64% |
| Total | 197 | 0.76% |
* "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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