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 | 28,455 | 95.07% | 36,417 | 93.78% |
| Spanish | 811 | 2.71% | 1,568 | 4.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 541 | 1.81% | 702 | 1.81% |
| Asian Language** | 50 | 0.17% | 63 | 0.16% |
| Other | 75 | 0.25% | 81 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,932 | 100.00% | 38,831 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 430 | 27.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 134 | 19.09% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 47.62% |
| Other Language | 22 | 27.16% |
| Total | 616 | 1.59% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 208 | 25.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 143 | 26.43% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 10.00% |
| Other Language | 31 | 41.33% |
| Total | 387 | 1.29% |
* "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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