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 | 23,392 | 97.51% | 25,436 | 97.52% |
| Spanish | 305 | 1.27% | 325 | 1.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 223 | 0.93% | 272 | 1.04% |
| Asian Language** | 69 | 0.29% | 37 | 0.14% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 23,989 | 100.00% | 26,083 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 123 | 37.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 61 | 22.43% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 45.95% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 201 | 0.77% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 86 | 28.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 41 | 18.39% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 28.99% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 147 | 0.61% |
* "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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