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 | 34,294 | 97.33% | 39,132 | 95.40% |
| Spanish | 446 | 1.27% | 914 | 2.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 421 | 1.19% | 768 | 1.87% |
| Asian Language** | 55 | 0.16% | 122 | 0.30% |
| Other | 18 | 0.05% | 85 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 35,234 | 100.00% | 41,021 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 251 | 27.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 100 | 13.02% |
| Asian Language** | 66 | 54.10% |
| Other Language | 16 | 18.82% |
| Total | 433 | 1.06% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 141 | 31.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 144 | 34.20% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 36.36% |
| Other Language | 6 | 33.33% |
| Total | 311 | 0.88% |
* "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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