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 | 12,643 | 93.10% | 14,010 | 95.22% |
| Spanish | 97 | 0.71% | 164 | 1.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 829 | 6.10% | 498 | 3.38% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 0.08% | 38 | 0.26% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 13,580 | 100.00% | 14,714 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 46 | 28.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 95 | 19.08% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 39.47% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 156 | 1.06% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 36 | 37.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 242 | 29.19% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 289 | 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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