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 | 31,513 | 94.87% | 33,464 | 95.60% |
| Spanish | 254 | 0.76% | 433 | 1.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,291 | 3.89% | 965 | 2.76% |
| Asian Language** | 122 | 0.37% | 85 | 0.24% |
| Other | 37 | 0.11% | 58 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,217 | 100.00% | 35,005 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 117 | 27.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 199 | 20.62% |
| Asian Language** | 38 | 44.71% |
| Other Language | 7 | 12.07% |
| Total | 361 | 1.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 36 | 14.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 290 | 22.46% |
| Asian Language** | 79 | 64.75% |
| Other Language | 11 | 29.73% |
| Total | 416 | 1.25% |
* "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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