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 | 23,961 | 88.40% | 21,979 | 86.64% |
| Spanish | 1,239 | 4.57% | 1,549 | 6.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,047 | 3.86% | 1,093 | 4.31% |
| Asian Language** | 816 | 3.01% | 704 | 2.78% |
| Other | 43 | 0.16% | 42 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,106 | 100.00% | 25,367 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 554 | 35.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 221 | 20.22% |
| Asian Language** | 410 | 58.24% |
| Other Language | 7 | 16.67% |
| Total | 1,192 | 4.70% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 412 | 33.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 290 | 27.70% |
| Asian Language** | 407 | 49.88% |
| Other Language | 11 | 25.58% |
| Total | 1,120 | 4.13% |
* "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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