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 | 30,297 | 95.96% | 33,788 | 96.06% |
| Spanish | 341 | 1.08% | 495 | 1.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 324 | 1.03% | 312 | 0.89% |
| Asian Language** | 132 | 0.42% | 316 | 0.90% |
| Other | 478 | 1.51% | 262 | 0.74% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 31,572 | 100.00% | 35,173 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 162 | 32.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 77 | 24.68% |
| Asian Language** | 133 | 42.09% |
| Other Language | 33 | 12.60% |
| Total | 405 | 1.15% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 92 | 26.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 80 | 24.69% |
| Asian Language** | 89 | 67.42% |
| Other Language | 160 | 33.47% |
| Total | 421 | 1.33% |
* "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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