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 | 34,035 | 98.24% | 34,094 | 98.15% |
| Spanish | 217 | 0.63% | 271 | 0.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 278 | 0.80% | 226 | 0.65% |
| Asian Language** | 104 | 0.30% | 134 | 0.39% |
| Other | 9 | 0.03% | 11 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 34,643 | 100.00% | 34,736 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 101 | 37.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 14 | 6.19% |
| Asian Language** | 36 | 26.87% |
| Other Language | 5 | 45.45% |
| Total | 156 | 0.45% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 46 | 21.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 80 | 28.78% |
| Asian Language** | 51 | 49.04% |
| Other Language | 1 | 11.11% |
| Total | 178 | 0.51% |
* "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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