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 | 31,876 | 95.16% | 29,545 | 93.71% |
| Spanish | 409 | 1.22% | 831 | 2.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 496 | 1.48% | 581 | 1.84% |
| Asian Language** | 624 | 1.86% | 495 | 1.57% |
| Other | 94 | 0.28% | 75 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,499 | 100.00% | 31,527 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 212 | 25.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 173 | 29.78% |
| Asian Language** | 234 | 47.27% |
| Other Language | 24 | 32.00% |
| Total | 643 | 2.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 105 | 25.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 86 | 17.34% |
| Asian Language** | 296 | 47.44% |
| Other Language | 23 | 24.47% |
| Total | 510 | 1.52% |
* "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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