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 | 33,301 | 93.26% | 32,298 | 92.45% |
| Spanish | 1,408 | 3.94% | 1,770 | 5.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 751 | 2.10% | 510 | 1.46% |
| Asian Language** | 117 | 0.33% | 255 | 0.73% |
| Other | 132 | 0.37% | 101 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 35,709 | 100.00% | 34,934 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 635 | 35.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 99 | 19.41% |
| Asian Language** | 134 | 52.55% |
| Other Language | 27 | 26.73% |
| Total | 895 | 2.56% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 487 | 34.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 223 | 29.69% |
| Asian Language** | 66 | 56.41% |
| Other Language | 54 | 40.91% |
| Total | 830 | 2.32% |
* "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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