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 | 23,383 | 92.26% | 28,013 | 90.15% |
| Spanish | 789 | 3.11% | 1,582 | 5.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 831 | 3.28% | 899 | 2.89% |
| Asian Language** | 268 | 1.06% | 533 | 1.72% |
| Other | 74 | 0.29% | 47 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 25,345 | 100.00% | 31,074 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 449 | 28.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 180 | 20.02% |
| Asian Language** | 252 | 47.28% |
| Other Language | 13 | 27.66% |
| Total | 894 | 2.88% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 218 | 27.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 235 | 28.28% |
| Asian Language** | 144 | 53.73% |
| Other Language | 46 | 62.16% |
| Total | 643 | 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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