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 | 16,417 | 95.20% | 19,909 | 94.90% |
| Spanish | 145 | 0.84% | 389 | 1.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 484 | 2.81% | 384 | 1.83% |
| Asian Language** | 24 | 0.14% | 29 | 0.14% |
| Other | 175 | 1.01% | 268 | 1.28% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,245 | 100.00% | 20,979 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 196 | 50.39% |
| Other Indo-European* | 71 | 18.49% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 20.69% |
| Other Language | 30 | 11.19% |
| Total | 303 | 1.44% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 75 | 51.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 184 | 38.02% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 87.50% |
| Other Language | 13 | 7.43% |
| Total | 293 | 1.70% |
* "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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