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 | 31,350 | 96.49% | 31,885 | 96.37% |
| Spanish | 156 | 0.48% | 362 | 1.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 938 | 2.89% | 644 | 1.95% |
| Asian Language** | 36 | 0.11% | 181 | 0.55% |
| Other | 12 | 0.04% | 14 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 32,492 | 100.00% | 33,086 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 132 | 36.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 133 | 20.65% |
| Asian Language** | 78 | 43.09% |
| Other Language | 1 | 7.14% |
| Total | 344 | 1.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 59 | 37.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 261 | 27.83% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 69.44% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 345 | 1.06% |
* "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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