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 | 33,696 | 96.28% | 42,488 | 95.23% |
| Spanish | 791 | 2.26% | 1,418 | 3.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 427 | 1.22% | 570 | 1.28% |
| Asian Language** | 50 | 0.14% | 118 | 0.26% |
| Other | 34 | 0.10% | 20 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 34,998 | 100.00% | 44,614 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 536 | 37.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 172 | 30.18% |
| Asian Language** | 70 | 59.32% |
| Other Language | 7 | 35.00% |
| Total | 785 | 1.76% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 237 | 29.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 146 | 34.19% |
| Asian Language** | 18 | 36.00% |
| Other Language | 13 | 38.24% |
| Total | 414 | 1.18% |
* "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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