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 | 26,062 | 94.58% | 34,217 | 84.54% |
| Spanish | 820 | 2.98% | 5,603 | 13.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 599 | 2.17% | 509 | 1.26% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 0.08% | 64 | 0.16% |
| Other | 54 | 0.20% | 81 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,556 | 100.00% | 40,474 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,038 | 54.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 98 | 19.25% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 32.81% |
| Other Language | 34 | 41.98% |
| Total | 3,191 | 7.88% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 304 | 37.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 94 | 15.69% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 61.90% |
| Other Language | 35 | 64.81% |
| Total | 446 | 1.62% |
* "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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