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 | 27,163 | 96.88% | 36,637 | 96.48% |
| Spanish | 165 | 0.59% | 427 | 1.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 657 | 2.34% | 606 | 1.60% |
| Asian Language** | 34 | 0.12% | 188 | 0.50% |
| Other | 18 | 0.06% | 116 | 0.31% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,037 | 100.00% | 37,974 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 123 | 28.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 93 | 15.35% |
| Asian Language** | 114 | 60.64% |
| Other Language | 53 | 45.69% |
| Total | 383 | 1.01% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 51 | 30.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 147 | 22.37% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 14.71% |
| Other Language | 3 | 16.67% |
| Total | 206 | 0.73% |
* "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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