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 | 16,208 | 97.52% | 16,808 | 97.55% |
| Spanish | 210 | 1.26% | 228 | 1.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 177 | 1.06% | 165 | 0.96% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 0.15% | 28 | 0.16% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 16,620 | 100.00% | 17,231 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 68 | 29.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 64 | 38.79% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 21.43% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 138 | 0.80% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 82 | 39.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 45 | 25.42% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 24.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 133 | 0.80% |
* "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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