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 | 25,025 | 93.04% | 25,608 | 93.95% |
| Spanish | 909 | 3.38% | 1,010 | 3.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 865 | 3.22% | 570 | 2.09% |
| Asian Language** | 66 | 0.25% | 51 | 0.19% |
| Other | 33 | 0.12% | 18 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 26,898 | 100.00% | 27,257 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 329 | 32.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 110 | 19.30% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 45.10% |
| Other Language | 7 | 38.89% |
| Total | 469 | 1.72% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 242 | 26.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 246 | 28.44% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 31.82% |
| Other Language | 24 | 72.73% |
| Total | 533 | 1.98% |
* "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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