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 | 24,544 | 98.26% | 24,482 | 96.07% |
| Spanish | 210 | 0.84% | 775 | 3.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 148 | 0.59% | 133 | 0.52% |
| Asian Language** | 37 | 0.15% | 48 | 0.19% |
| Other | 40 | 0.16% | 46 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 24,979 | 100.00% | 25,484 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 324 | 41.81% |
| Other Indo-European* | 18 | 13.53% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 29.17% |
| Other Language | 11 | 23.91% |
| Total | 367 | 1.44% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 72 | 34.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 31 | 20.95% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 37.84% |
| Other Language | 22 | 55.00% |
| Total | 139 | 0.56% |
* "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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