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 | 26,962 | 96.10% | 32,603 | 97.09% |
| Spanish | 201 | 0.72% | 366 | 1.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 846 | 3.02% | 503 | 1.50% |
| Asian Language** | 27 | 0.10% | 93 | 0.28% |
| Other | 21 | 0.07% | 14 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,057 | 100.00% | 33,579 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 168 | 45.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 127 | 25.25% |
| Asian Language** | 41 | 44.09% |
| Other Language | 12 | 85.71% |
| Total | 348 | 1.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 94 | 46.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 333 | 39.36% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 37.04% |
| Other Language | 5 | 23.81% |
| Total | 442 | 1.58% |
* "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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