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 | 24,022 | 95.17% | 29,220 | 92.26% |
| Spanish | 499 | 1.98% | 1,410 | 4.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 368 | 1.46% | 489 | 1.54% |
| Asian Language** | 261 | 1.03% | 464 | 1.46% |
| Other | 92 | 0.36% | 90 | 0.28% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 25,242 | 100.00% | 31,673 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 728 | 51.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 139 | 28.43% |
| Asian Language** | 251 | 54.09% |
| Other Language | 35 | 38.89% |
| Total | 1,153 | 3.64% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 227 | 45.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 83 | 22.55% |
| Asian Language** | 158 | 60.54% |
| Other Language | 32 | 34.78% |
| Total | 500 | 1.98% |
* "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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