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 | 26,826 | 94.15% | 30,544 | 90.27% |
| Spanish | 1,264 | 4.44% | 2,875 | 8.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 295 | 1.04% | 284 | 0.84% |
| Asian Language** | 97 | 0.34% | 107 | 0.32% |
| Other | 12 | 0.04% | 25 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,494 | 100.00% | 33,835 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,771 | 61.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 66 | 23.24% |
| Asian Language** | 85 | 79.44% |
| Other Language | 6 | 24.00% |
| Total | 1,928 | 5.70% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 605 | 47.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 75 | 25.42% |
| Asian Language** | 44 | 45.36% |
| Other Language | 1 | 8.33% |
| Total | 725 | 2.54% |
* "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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