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 | 8,003 | 95.01% | 8,938 | 94.77% |
| Spanish | 6 | 0.07% | 159 | 1.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 106 | 1.26% | 110 | 1.17% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | 0.00% | 10 | 0.11% |
| Other | 308 | 3.66% | 214 | 2.27% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 8,423 | 100.00% | 9,431 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 62 | 38.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 23 | 20.91% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 20.00% |
| Other Language | 43 | 20.09% |
| Total | 130 | 1.38% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 0 | - |
| Other Indo-European* | 43 | 40.57% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 64 | 20.78% |
| Total | 107 | 1.27% |
* "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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