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 | 28,684 | 96.49% | 35,553 | 96.88% |
| Spanish | 222 | 0.75% | 431 | 1.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 751 | 2.53% | 628 | 1.71% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 0.10% | 70 | 0.19% |
| Other | 39 | 0.13% | 17 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,727 | 100.00% | 36,699 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 119 | 27.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 176 | 28.03% |
| Asian Language** | 42 | 60.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 337 | 0.92% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 49 | 22.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 268 | 35.69% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 35.48% |
| Other Language | 20 | 51.28% |
| Total | 348 | 1.17% |
* "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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