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 | 32,463 | 98.11% | 25,540 | 98.58% |
| Spanish | 134 | 0.40% | 105 | 0.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 422 | 1.28% | 231 | 0.89% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 0.08% | 7 | 0.03% |
| Other | 44 | 0.13% | 25 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,089 | 100.00% | 25,908 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 36 | 34.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 81 | 35.06% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 28.57% |
| Other Language | 13 | 52.00% |
| Total | 132 | 0.51% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 15 | 11.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 124 | 29.38% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 42.31% |
| Other Language | 1 | 2.27% |
| Total | 151 | 0.46% |
* "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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