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 | 31,747 | 97.07% | 32,095 | 97.50% |
| Spanish | 332 | 1.02% | 391 | 1.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 475 | 1.45% | 351 | 1.07% |
| Asian Language** | 112 | 0.34% | 75 | 0.23% |
| Other | 38 | 0.12% | 7 | 0.02% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 32,704 | 100.00% | 32,919 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 119 | 30.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 97 | 27.64% |
| Asian Language** | 45 | 60.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 261 | 0.79% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 95 | 28.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 90 | 18.95% |
| Asian Language** | 74 | 66.07% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 259 | 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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