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 | 26,653 | 92.64% | 34,183 | 87.96% |
| Spanish | 1,231 | 4.28% | 3,691 | 9.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 435 | 1.51% | 444 | 1.14% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 0.10% | 171 | 0.44% |
| Other | 425 | 1.48% | 372 | 0.96% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,772 | 100.00% | 38,861 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,492 | 40.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 51 | 11.49% |
| Asian Language** | 66 | 38.60% |
| Other Language | 124 | 33.33% |
| Total | 1,733 | 4.46% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 550 | 44.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 102 | 23.45% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 53.57% |
| Other Language | 170 | 40.00% |
| Total | 837 | 2.91% |
* "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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