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 | 12,175 | 97.69% | 15,211 | 98.20% |
| Spanish | 80 | 0.64% | 118 | 0.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 182 | 1.46% | 125 | 0.81% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 0.08% | 31 | 0.20% |
| Other | 16 | 0.13% | 5 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 12,463 | 100.00% | 15,490 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 18 | 15.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9 | 7.20% |
| Asian Language** | 3 | 9.68% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 30 | 0.19% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 23 | 28.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 44 | 24.18% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 60.00% |
| Other Language | 5 | 31.25% |
| Total | 78 | 0.63% |
* "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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