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 | 15,792 | 95.30% | 21,024 | 96.25% |
| Spanish | 96 | 0.58% | 197 | 0.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 629 | 3.80% | 540 | 2.47% |
| Asian Language** | 27 | 0.16% | 67 | 0.31% |
| Other | 26 | 0.16% | 16 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 16,570 | 100.00% | 21,844 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 71 | 36.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 132 | 24.44% |
| Asian Language** | 60 | 89.55% |
| Other Language | 11 | 68.75% |
| Total | 274 | 1.25% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 29 | 30.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 115 | 18.28% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 62.96% |
| Other Language | 15 | 57.69% |
| Total | 176 | 1.06% |
* "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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