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 | 14,493 | 97.79% | 16,832 | 97.61% |
| Spanish | 190 | 1.28% | 275 | 1.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 118 | 0.80% | 105 | 0.61% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 0.07% | 18 | 0.10% |
| Other | 8 | 0.05% | 15 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,820 | 100.00% | 17,245 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 68 | 24.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 26 | 24.76% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 83.33% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 109 | 0.63% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 61 | 32.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9 | 7.63% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 45.45% |
| Other Language | 8 | 100.00% |
| Total | 83 | 0.56% |
* "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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