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 | 27,961 | 97.57% | 29,628 | 95.68% |
| Spanish | 328 | 1.14% | 1,007 | 3.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 165 | 0.58% | 109 | 0.35% |
| Asian Language** | 69 | 0.24% | 70 | 0.23% |
| Other | 135 | 0.47% | 151 | 0.49% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,658 | 100.00% | 30,965 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 484 | 48.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8 | 7.34% |
| Asian Language** | 57 | 81.43% |
| Other Language | 6 | 3.97% |
| Total | 555 | 1.79% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 108 | 32.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 71 | 43.03% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 2.90% |
| Other Language | 30 | 22.22% |
| Total | 211 | 0.74% |
* "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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