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 | 1,942 | 56.26% | 2,824 | 63.68% |
| Spanish | 30 | 0.87% | 31 | 0.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12 | 0.35% | 28 | 0.63% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 0.58% | 22 | 0.50% |
| Other | 1,448 | 41.95% | 1,530 | 34.50% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 3,452 | 100.00% | 4,435 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6 | 19.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3 | 10.71% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 18.18% |
| Other Language | 519 | 33.92% |
| Total | 532 | 12.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2 | 6.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1 | 8.33% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 20.00% |
| Other Language | 635 | 43.85% |
| Total | 642 | 18.60% |
* "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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