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 | 32,410 | 97.02% | 37,945 | 95.94% |
| Spanish | 355 | 1.06% | 766 | 1.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 486 | 1.45% | 546 | 1.38% |
| Asian Language** | 112 | 0.34% | 243 | 0.61% |
| Other | 44 | 0.13% | 52 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,407 | 100.00% | 39,552 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 336 | 43.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 163 | 29.85% |
| Asian Language** | 104 | 42.80% |
| Other Language | 3 | 5.77% |
| Total | 606 | 1.53% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 132 | 37.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 154 | 31.69% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 29.46% |
| Other Language | 17 | 38.64% |
| Total | 336 | 1.01% |
* "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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