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 | 27,132 | 89.95% | 37,708 | 90.55% |
| Spanish | 2,132 | 7.07% | 2,425 | 5.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 359 | 1.19% | 615 | 1.48% |
| Asian Language** | 92 | 0.30% | 101 | 0.24% |
| Other | 449 | 1.49% | 794 | 1.91% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 30,164 | 100.00% | 41,643 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 851 | 35.09% |
| Other Indo-European* | 90 | 14.63% |
| Asian Language** | 48 | 47.52% |
| Other Language | 128 | 16.12% |
| Total | 1,117 | 2.68% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 666 | 31.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 122 | 33.98% |
| Asian Language** | 55 | 59.78% |
| Other Language | 60 | 13.36% |
| Total | 903 | 2.99% |
* "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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