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 | 28,457 | 97.61% | 31,050 | 96.98% |
| Spanish | 246 | 0.84% | 434 | 1.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 221 | 0.76% | 300 | 0.94% |
| Asian Language** | 196 | 0.67% | 229 | 0.72% |
| Other | 33 | 0.11% | 3 | 0.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,153 | 100.00% | 32,016 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 116 | 26.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 45 | 15.00% |
| Asian Language** | 159 | 69.43% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 320 | 1.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 67 | 27.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 84 | 38.01% |
| Asian Language** | 74 | 37.76% |
| Other Language | 9 | 27.27% |
| Total | 234 | 0.80% |
* "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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