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 | 30,830 | 96.27% | 32,800 | 96.18% |
| Spanish | 590 | 1.84% | 587 | 1.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 436 | 1.36% | 500 | 1.47% |
| Asian Language** | 118 | 0.37% | 174 | 0.51% |
| Other | 50 | 0.16% | 40 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 32,024 | 100.00% | 34,101 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 190 | 32.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 65 | 13.00% |
| Asian Language** | 88 | 50.57% |
| Other Language | 10 | 25.00% |
| Total | 353 | 1.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 148 | 25.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 112 | 25.69% |
| Asian Language** | 44 | 37.29% |
| Other Language | 9 | 18.00% |
| Total | 313 | 0.98% |
* "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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