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 | 17,358 | 96.57% | 16,959 | 95.67% |
| Spanish | 202 | 1.12% | 568 | 3.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 363 | 2.02% | 173 | 0.98% |
| Asian Language** | 27 | 0.15% | 13 | 0.07% |
| Other | 25 | 0.14% | 13 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,975 | 100.00% | 17,726 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 239 | 42.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 32 | 18.50% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 76.92% |
| Other Language | 6 | 46.15% |
| Total | 287 | 1.62% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 75 | 37.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 64 | 17.63% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 51.85% |
| Other Language | 14 | 56.00% |
| Total | 167 | 0.93% |
* "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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