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 | 15,055 | 92.48% | 15,478 | 91.83% |
| Spanish | 176 | 1.08% | 587 | 3.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 468 | 2.87% | 296 | 1.76% |
| Asian Language** | 59 | 0.36% | 60 | 0.36% |
| Other | 522 | 3.21% | 434 | 2.57% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 16,280 | 100.00% | 16,855 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 210 | 35.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 81 | 27.36% |
| Asian Language** | 22 | 36.67% |
| Other Language | 100 | 23.04% |
| Total | 413 | 2.45% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 57 | 32.39% |
| Other Indo-European* | 122 | 26.07% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 35.59% |
| Other Language | 146 | 27.97% |
| Total | 346 | 2.13% |
* "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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