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 | 34,303 | 95.61% | 52,357 | 94.90% |
| Spanish | 484 | 1.35% | 834 | 1.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 645 | 1.80% | 1,276 | 2.31% |
| Asian Language** | 98 | 0.27% | 281 | 0.51% |
| Other | 348 | 0.97% | 422 | 0.76% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 35,878 | 100.00% | 55,170 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 192 | 23.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 402 | 31.50% |
| Asian Language** | 90 | 32.03% |
| Other Language | 139 | 32.94% |
| Total | 823 | 1.49% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 171 | 35.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 139 | 21.55% |
| Asian Language** | 24 | 24.49% |
| Other Language | 95 | 27.30% |
| Total | 429 | 1.20% |
* "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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