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 | 13,432 | 96.42% | 15,743 | 96.22% |
| Spanish | 122 | 0.88% | 216 | 1.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 337 | 2.42% | 313 | 1.91% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 0.09% | 57 | 0.35% |
| Other | 28 | 0.20% | 32 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 13,931 | 100.00% | 16,361 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 62 | 28.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 58 | 18.53% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 36.84% |
| Other Language | 12 | 37.50% |
| Total | 153 | 0.94% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 29 | 23.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 86 | 25.52% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 41.67% |
| Other Language | 8 | 28.57% |
| Total | 128 | 0.92% |
* "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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