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 | 25,878 | 98.36% | 28,609 | 97.10% |
| Spanish | 157 | 0.60% | 442 | 1.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 231 | 0.88% | 368 | 1.25% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 0.10% | 37 | 0.13% |
| Other | 18 | 0.07% | 8 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 26,309 | 100.00% | 29,464 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 163 | 36.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 119 | 32.34% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 86.49% |
| Other Language | 8 | 100.00% |
| Total | 322 | 1.09% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 94 | 59.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 60 | 25.97% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 24.00% |
| Other Language | 12 | 66.67% |
| Total | 172 | 0.65% |
* "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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