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 | 28,607 | 96.38% | 33,911 | 96.67% |
| Spanish | 159 | 0.54% | 417 | 1.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 847 | 2.85% | 651 | 1.86% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 0.06% | 33 | 0.09% |
| Other | 51 | 0.17% | 67 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,681 | 100.00% | 35,079 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 152 | 36.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 172 | 26.42% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 45.45% |
| Other Language | 25 | 37.31% |
| Total | 364 | 1.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 93 | 58.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 318 | 37.54% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 64.71% |
| Other Language | 17 | 33.33% |
| Total | 439 | 1.48% |
* "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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