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 | 31,546 | 95.43% | 30,501 | 94.63% |
| Spanish | 125 | 0.38% | 336 | 1.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 627 | 1.90% | 575 | 1.78% |
| Asian Language** | 69 | 0.21% | 129 | 0.40% |
| Other | 691 | 2.09% | 691 | 2.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,058 | 100.00% | 32,232 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 96 | 28.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 93 | 16.17% |
| Asian Language** | 59 | 45.74% |
| Other Language | 117 | 16.93% |
| Total | 365 | 1.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 40 | 32.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 140 | 22.33% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 40.58% |
| Other Language | 47 | 6.80% |
| Total | 255 | 0.77% |
* "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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