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 | 28,696 | 96.69% | 33,577 | 93.26% |
| Spanish | 487 | 1.64% | 2,054 | 5.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 437 | 1.47% | 270 | 0.75% |
| Asian Language** | 22 | 0.07% | 80 | 0.22% |
| Other | 37 | 0.12% | 24 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,679 | 100.00% | 36,005 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,277 | 62.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 94 | 34.81% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 36.25% |
| Other Language | 15 | 62.50% |
| Total | 1,415 | 3.93% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 236 | 48.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 169 | 38.67% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 9.09% |
| Other Language | 28 | 75.68% |
| Total | 435 | 1.47% |
* "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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