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 | 29,230 | 94.57% | 29,896 | 93.99% |
| Spanish | 432 | 1.40% | 923 | 2.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 86 | 0.28% | 146 | 0.46% |
| Asian Language** | 54 | 0.17% | 17 | 0.05% |
| Other | 1,105 | 3.58% | 826 | 2.60% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 30,907 | 100.00% | 31,808 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 356 | 38.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 17 | 11.64% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 76.47% |
| Other Language | 153 | 18.52% |
| Total | 539 | 1.69% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 237 | 54.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 29 | 33.72% |
| Asian Language** | 39 | 72.22% |
| Other Language | 425 | 38.46% |
| Total | 730 | 2.36% |
* "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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