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 | 36,097 | 96.65% | 35,975 | 95.51% |
| Spanish | 297 | 0.80% | 813 | 2.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 792 | 2.12% | 492 | 1.31% |
| Asian Language** | 131 | 0.35% | 332 | 0.88% |
| Other | 32 | 0.09% | 53 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 37,349 | 100.00% | 37,665 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 359 | 44.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 161 | 32.72% |
| Asian Language** | 209 | 62.95% |
| Other Language | 19 | 35.85% |
| Total | 748 | 1.99% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 72 | 24.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 206 | 26.01% |
| Asian Language** | 48 | 36.64% |
| Other Language | 19 | 59.38% |
| Total | 345 | 0.92% |
* "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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