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 | 26,733 | 98.81% | 28,219 | 98.24% |
| Spanish | 170 | 0.63% | 274 | 0.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 132 | 0.49% | 183 | 0.64% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 0.03% | 42 | 0.15% |
| Other | 13 | 0.05% | 6 | 0.02% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,055 | 100.00% | 28,724 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 57 | 20.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 27 | 14.75% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 23.81% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 94 | 0.33% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 88 | 51.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 41 | 31.06% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 85.71% |
| Other Language | 13 | 100.00% |
| Total | 148 | 0.55% |
* "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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