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 | 26,618 | 96.23% | 25,200 | 96.77% |
| Spanish | 270 | 0.98% | 269 | 1.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 590 | 2.13% | 500 | 1.92% |
| Asian Language** | 128 | 0.46% | 33 | 0.13% |
| Other | 54 | 0.20% | 38 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,660 | 100.00% | 26,040 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 106 | 39.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 114 | 22.80% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 36.36% |
| Other Language | 6 | 15.79% |
| Total | 238 | 0.91% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 66 | 24.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 66 | 11.19% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 22.66% |
| Other Language | 17 | 31.48% |
| Total | 178 | 0.64% |
* "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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