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 | 16,816 | 98.22% | 17,441 | 96.70% |
| Spanish | 79 | 0.46% | 213 | 1.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 218 | 1.27% | 367 | 2.03% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 0.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 15 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,120 | 100.00% | 18,036 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 106 | 49.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 117 | 31.88% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 2 | 13.33% |
| Total | 225 | 1.25% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 12 | 15.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 110 | 50.46% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 28.57% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 124 | 0.72% |
* "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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