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 | 23,680 | 97.48% | 27,651 | 96.90% |
| Spanish | 194 | 0.80% | 308 | 1.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 282 | 1.16% | 436 | 1.53% |
| Asian Language** | 81 | 0.33% | 81 | 0.28% |
| Other | 56 | 0.23% | 60 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 24,293 | 100.00% | 28,536 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 76 | 24.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 160 | 36.70% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 20.99% |
| Other Language | 28 | 46.67% |
| Total | 281 | 0.98% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 62 | 31.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 132 | 46.81% |
| Asian Language** | 39 | 48.15% |
| Other Language | 5 | 8.93% |
| Total | 238 | 0.98% |
* "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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