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 | 33,883 | 94.77% | 36,505 | 95.56% |
| Spanish | 99 | 0.28% | 256 | 0.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,560 | 4.36% | 1,208 | 3.16% |
| Asian Language** | 139 | 0.39% | 146 | 0.38% |
| Other | 72 | 0.20% | 87 | 0.23% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 35,753 | 100.00% | 38,202 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 87 | 33.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 272 | 22.52% |
| Asian Language** | 79 | 54.11% |
| Other Language | 31 | 35.63% |
| Total | 469 | 1.23% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 54 | 54.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 510 | 32.69% |
| Asian Language** | 75 | 53.96% |
| Other Language | 12 | 16.67% |
| Total | 651 | 1.82% |
* "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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