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 | 27,491 | 97.28% | 35,011 | 96.83% |
| Spanish | 229 | 0.81% | 486 | 1.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 337 | 1.19% | 348 | 0.96% |
| Asian Language** | 139 | 0.49% | 276 | 0.76% |
| Other | 63 | 0.22% | 38 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,259 | 100.00% | 36,159 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 151 | 31.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 57 | 16.38% |
| Asian Language** | 153 | 55.43% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 361 | 1.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 95 | 41.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 130 | 38.58% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 43.88% |
| Other Language | 30 | 47.62% |
| Total | 316 | 1.12% |
* "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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