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 | 33,191 | 95.48% | 39,159 | 96.13% |
| Spanish | 547 | 1.57% | 788 | 1.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 696 | 2.00% | 491 | 1.21% |
| Asian Language** | 138 | 0.40% | 148 | 0.36% |
| Other | 192 | 0.55% | 148 | 0.36% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 34,764 | 100.00% | 40,734 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 354 | 44.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 75 | 15.27% |
| Asian Language** | 65 | 43.92% |
| Other Language | 39 | 26.35% |
| Total | 533 | 1.31% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 164 | 29.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 164 | 23.56% |
| Asian Language** | 92 | 66.67% |
| Other Language | 31 | 16.15% |
| Total | 451 | 1.30% |
* "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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