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 | 27,522 | 93.51% | 30,411 | 93.65% |
| Spanish | 351 | 1.19% | 1,131 | 3.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,444 | 4.91% | 795 | 2.45% |
| Asian Language** | 67 | 0.23% | 128 | 0.39% |
| Other | 48 | 0.16% | 7 | 0.02% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,432 | 100.00% | 32,472 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 536 | 47.39% |
| Other Indo-European* | 199 | 25.03% |
| Asian Language** | 72 | 56.25% |
| Other Language | 2 | 28.57% |
| Total | 809 | 2.49% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 188 | 53.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 415 | 28.74% |
| Asian Language** | 38 | 56.72% |
| Other Language | 12 | 25.00% |
| Total | 653 | 2.22% |
* "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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