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 | 26,655 | 96.42% | 32,921 | 94.48% |
| Spanish | 886 | 3.20% | 1,696 | 4.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 80 | 0.29% | 174 | 0.50% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 0.04% | 25 | 0.07% |
| Other | 12 | 0.04% | 30 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,645 | 100.00% | 34,846 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 887 | 52.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 31 | 17.82% |
| Asian Language** | 18 | 72.00% |
| Other Language | 2 | 6.67% |
| Total | 938 | 2.69% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 339 | 38.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 16 | 20.00% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 3 | 25.00% |
| Total | 358 | 1.29% |
* "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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