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 | 29,027 | 95.21% | 32,177 | 94.89% |
| Spanish | 220 | 0.72% | 409 | 1.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,118 | 3.67% | 1,174 | 3.46% |
| Asian Language** | 101 | 0.33% | 103 | 0.30% |
| Other | 20 | 0.07% | 46 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 30,486 | 100.00% | 33,909 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 70 | 17.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 320 | 27.26% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 13.59% |
| Other Language | 5 | 10.87% |
| Total | 409 | 1.21% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 34 | 15.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 198 | 17.71% |
| Asian Language** | 16 | 15.84% |
| Other Language | 2 | 10.00% |
| Total | 250 | 0.82% |
* "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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