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 | 10,798 | 95.31% | 10,547 | 95.12% |
| Spanish | 104 | 0.92% | 295 | 2.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 361 | 3.19% | 229 | 2.07% |
| Asian Language** | 53 | 0.47% | 11 | 0.10% |
| Other | 13 | 0.11% | 6 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 11,329 | 100.00% | 11,088 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 115 | 38.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 107 | 46.72% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | 0.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 222 | 2.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 44 | 42.31% |
| Other Indo-European* | 132 | 36.57% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 54.72% |
| Other Language | 13 | 100.00% |
| Total | 218 | 1.92% |
* "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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