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 | 20,875 | 98.31% | 23,603 | 98.08% |
| Spanish | 208 | 0.98% | 255 | 1.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 106 | 0.50% | 123 | 0.51% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 0.13% | 77 | 0.32% |
| Other | 17 | 0.08% | 6 | 0.02% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 21,234 | 100.00% | 24,064 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 126 | 49.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 17 | 13.82% |
| Asian Language** | 47 | 61.04% |
| Other Language | 6 | 100.00% |
| Total | 196 | 0.81% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 106 | 50.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 38 | 35.85% |
| Asian Language** | 3 | 10.71% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 147 | 0.69% |
* "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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