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 | 31,978 | 97.57% | 34,379 | 96.82% |
| Spanish | 313 | 0.96% | 581 | 1.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 418 | 1.28% | 399 | 1.12% |
| Asian Language** | 39 | 0.12% | 101 | 0.28% |
| Other | 26 | 0.08% | 48 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 32,774 | 100.00% | 35,508 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 203 | 34.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 91 | 22.81% |
| Asian Language** | 60 | 59.41% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 354 | 1.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 90 | 28.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 127 | 30.38% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 23.08% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 226 | 0.69% |
* "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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