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 | 23,527 | 97.85% | 26,921 | 97.38% |
| Spanish | 212 | 0.88% | 342 | 1.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 201 | 0.84% | 262 | 0.95% |
| Asian Language** | 89 | 0.37% | 99 | 0.36% |
| Other | 15 | 0.06% | 22 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 24,044 | 100.00% | 27,646 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 144 | 42.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 58 | 22.14% |
| Asian Language** | 82 | 82.83% |
| Other Language | 2 | 9.09% |
| Total | 286 | 1.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 63 | 29.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 73 | 36.32% |
| Asian Language** | 47 | 52.81% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 183 | 0.76% |
* "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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