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 | 33,157 | 97.12% | 33,534 | 96.67% |
| Spanish | 444 | 1.30% | 543 | 1.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 343 | 1.00% | 439 | 1.27% |
| Asian Language** | 164 | 0.48% | 141 | 0.41% |
| Other | 31 | 0.09% | 32 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 34,139 | 100.00% | 34,689 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 183 | 33.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 102 | 23.23% |
| Asian Language** | 49 | 34.75% |
| Other Language | 10 | 31.25% |
| Total | 344 | 0.99% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 113 | 25.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 100 | 29.15% |
| Asian Language** | 52 | 31.71% |
| Other Language | 5 | 16.13% |
| Total | 270 | 0.79% |
* "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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