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 | 35,220 | 95.99% | 36,030 | 96.44% |
| Spanish | 764 | 2.08% | 883 | 2.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 609 | 1.66% | 323 | 0.86% |
| Asian Language** | 58 | 0.16% | 75 | 0.20% |
| Other | 42 | 0.11% | 50 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 36,693 | 100.00% | 37,361 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 282 | 31.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 94 | 29.10% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 30.67% |
| Other Language | 17 | 34.00% |
| Total | 416 | 1.11% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 400 | 52.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 107 | 17.57% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 25.86% |
| Other Language | 6 | 14.29% |
| Total | 528 | 1.44% |
* "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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