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 | 11,191 | 95.20% | 14,097 | 96.51% |
| Spanish | 67 | 0.57% | 109 | 0.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 329 | 2.80% | 225 | 1.54% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 0.09% | 16 | 0.11% |
| Other | 158 | 1.34% | 160 | 1.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 11,755 | 100.00% | 14,607 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 34 | 31.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 37 | 16.44% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 43.75% |
| Other Language | 46 | 28.75% |
| Total | 124 | 0.85% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 29 | 43.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 128 | 38.91% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 59 | 37.34% |
| Total | 216 | 1.84% |
* "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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