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 | 33,689 | 96.17% | 36,244 | 95.01% |
| Spanish | 492 | 1.40% | 627 | 1.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 646 | 1.84% | 946 | 2.48% |
| Asian Language** | 117 | 0.33% | 148 | 0.39% |
| Other | 85 | 0.24% | 181 | 0.47% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 35,029 | 100.00% | 38,146 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 145 | 23.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 376 | 39.75% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 11.49% |
| Other Language | 71 | 39.23% |
| Total | 609 | 1.60% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 164 | 33.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 168 | 26.01% |
| Asian Language** | 86 | 73.50% |
| Other Language | 20 | 23.53% |
| Total | 438 | 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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