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 | 28,277 | 98.09% | 28,237 | 96.96% |
| Spanish | 144 | 0.50% | 326 | 1.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 266 | 0.92% | 428 | 1.47% |
| Asian Language** | 140 | 0.49% | 116 | 0.40% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 16 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,827 | 100.00% | 29,123 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 109 | 33.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 171 | 39.95% |
| Asian Language** | 38 | 32.76% |
| Other Language | 4 | 25.00% |
| Total | 322 | 1.11% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 43 | 29.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 94 | 35.34% |
| Asian Language** | 98 | 70.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 235 | 0.82% |
* "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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