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 | 17,707 | 97.28% | 19,598 | 96.17% |
| Spanish | 56 | 0.31% | 439 | 2.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 393 | 2.16% | 271 | 1.33% |
| Asian Language** | 39 | 0.21% | 55 | 0.27% |
| Other | 8 | 0.04% | 15 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 18,203 | 100.00% | 20,378 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 175 | 39.86% |
| Other Indo-European* | 105 | 38.75% |
| Asian Language** | 51 | 92.73% |
| Other Language | 3 | 20.00% |
| Total | 334 | 1.64% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 18 | 32.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 111 | 28.24% |
| Asian Language** | 35 | 89.74% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 164 | 0.90% |
* "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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