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 | 30,870 | 93.18% | 31,457 | 94.73% |
| Spanish | 208 | 0.63% | 378 | 1.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,811 | 5.47% | 1,136 | 3.42% |
| Asian Language** | 65 | 0.20% | 74 | 0.22% |
| Other | 176 | 0.53% | 163 | 0.49% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,130 | 100.00% | 33,208 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 150 | 39.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 388 | 34.15% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 40.54% |
| Other Language | 27 | 16.56% |
| Total | 595 | 1.79% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 27 | 12.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 623 | 34.40% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 20.00% |
| Other Language | 31 | 17.61% |
| Total | 694 | 2.09% |
* "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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