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 | 21,573 | 98.33% | 23,012 | 97.20% |
| Spanish | 213 | 0.97% | 445 | 1.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 77 | 0.35% | 145 | 0.61% |
| Asian Language** | 77 | 0.35% | 36 | 0.15% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 38 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 21,940 | 100.00% | 23,676 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 191 | 42.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 73 | 50.34% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 30.56% |
| Other Language | 25 | 65.79% |
| Total | 300 | 1.27% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 86 | 40.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 30 | 38.96% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 79.22% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 177 | 0.81% |
* "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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