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 | 23,150 | 98.25% | 26,291 | 97.86% |
| Spanish | 244 | 1.04% | 260 | 0.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 160 | 0.68% | 216 | 0.80% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 0.02% | 47 | 0.17% |
| Other | 4 | 0.02% | 53 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 23,563 | 100.00% | 26,867 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 60 | 23.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 48 | 22.22% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 44.68% |
| Other Language | 14 | 26.42% |
| Total | 143 | 0.53% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 57 | 23.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 71 | 44.38% |
| Asian Language** | 3 | 60.00% |
| Other Language | 2 | 50.00% |
| Total | 133 | 0.56% |
* "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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