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 | 32,598 | 97.49% | 36,807 | 97.08% |
| Spanish | 395 | 1.18% | 494 | 1.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 358 | 1.07% | 433 | 1.14% |
| Asian Language** | 86 | 0.26% | 143 | 0.38% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 38 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,437 | 100.00% | 37,915 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 215 | 43.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 129 | 29.79% |
| Asian Language** | 63 | 44.06% |
| Other Language | 2 | 5.26% |
| Total | 409 | 1.08% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 66 | 16.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 106 | 29.61% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 19.77% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 189 | 0.57% |
* "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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