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 | 27,774 | 96.83% | 36,606 | 97.32% |
| Spanish | 313 | 1.09% | 355 | 0.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 394 | 1.37% | 412 | 1.10% |
| Asian Language** | 89 | 0.31% | 120 | 0.32% |
| Other | 112 | 0.39% | 122 | 0.32% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,682 | 100.00% | 37,615 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 123 | 34.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 161 | 39.08% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 24.17% |
| Other Language | 5 | 4.10% |
| Total | 318 | 0.85% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 89 | 28.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 97 | 24.62% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 31.46% |
| Other Language | 31 | 27.68% |
| Total | 245 | 0.85% |
* "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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