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 | 7,584 | 97.13% | 8,149 | 96.95% |
| Spanish | 30 | 0.38% | 73 | 0.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 175 | 2.24% | 129 | 1.53% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 0.03% | 8 | 0.10% |
| Other | 17 | 0.22% | 46 | 0.55% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 7,808 | 100.00% | 8,405 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 16 | 21.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 32 | 24.81% |
| Asian Language** | 3 | 37.50% |
| Other Language | 9 | 19.57% |
| Total | 60 | 0.71% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 12 | 40.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 64 | 36.57% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 12 | 70.59% |
| Total | 90 | 1.15% |
* "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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