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 | 31,430 | 97.51% | 37,688 | 96.96% |
| Spanish | 134 | 0.42% | 460 | 1.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 566 | 1.76% | 625 | 1.61% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 0.07% | 27 | 0.07% |
| Other | 80 | 0.25% | 68 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 32,231 | 100.00% | 38,868 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 148 | 32.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 138 | 22.08% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 37.04% |
| Other Language | 21 | 30.88% |
| Total | 317 | 0.82% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 41 | 30.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 111 | 19.61% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 42.86% |
| Other Language | 16 | 20.00% |
| Total | 177 | 0.55% |
* "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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