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 | 25,057 | 95.68% | 27,017 | 96.38% |
| Spanish | 72 | 0.27% | 197 | 0.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,037 | 3.96% | 789 | 2.81% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 0.05% | 30 | 0.11% |
| Other | 7 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 26,187 | 100.00% | 28,033 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 47 | 23.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 215 | 27.25% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 46.67% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 276 | 0.98% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 15 | 20.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 302 | 29.12% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 78.57% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 328 | 1.25% |
* "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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