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 | 28,362 | 95.09% | 28,415 | 95.27% |
| Spanish | 443 | 1.49% | 516 | 1.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 952 | 3.19% | 821 | 2.75% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 0.07% | 55 | 0.18% |
| Other | 47 | 0.16% | 19 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,825 | 100.00% | 29,826 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 138 | 26.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 248 | 30.21% |
| Asian Language** | 1 | 1.82% |
| Other Language | 2 | 10.53% |
| Total | 389 | 1.30% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 162 | 36.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 241 | 25.32% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 9.52% |
| Other Language | 18 | 38.30% |
| Total | 423 | 1.42% |
* "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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