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 | 27,799 | 90.12% | 31,473 | 84.95% |
| Spanish | 2,337 | 7.58% | 4,695 | 12.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 340 | 1.10% | 308 | 0.83% |
| Asian Language** | 83 | 0.27% | 182 | 0.49% |
| Other | 289 | 0.94% | 393 | 1.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 30,848 | 100.00% | 37,051 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,665 | 56.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 49 | 15.91% |
| Asian Language** | 46 | 25.27% |
| Other Language | 58 | 14.76% |
| Total | 2,818 | 7.61% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,443 | 61.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 113 | 33.24% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 38.55% |
| Other Language | 75 | 25.95% |
| Total | 1,663 | 5.39% |
* "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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