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 | 33,188 | 97.67% | 41,095 | 93.57% |
| Spanish | 500 | 1.47% | 2,267 | 5.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 263 | 0.77% | 371 | 0.84% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 0.04% | 158 | 0.36% |
| Other | 12 | 0.04% | 28 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,978 | 100.00% | 43,919 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,290 | 56.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 74 | 19.95% |
| Asian Language** | 67 | 42.41% |
| Other Language | 7 | 25.00% |
| Total | 1,438 | 3.27% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 247 | 49.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 82 | 31.18% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 26.67% |
| Other Language | 7 | 58.33% |
| Total | 340 | 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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