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 | 15,107 | 98.08% | 17,308 | 97.56% |
| Spanish | 175 | 1.14% | 260 | 1.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 110 | 0.71% | 132 | 0.74% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 0.06% | 40 | 0.23% |
| Other | 2 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 15,403 | 100.00% | 17,741 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 81 | 31.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 29 | 21.97% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 77.50% |
| Other Language | 1 | 100.00% |
| Total | 142 | 0.80% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 48 | 27.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 30 | 27.27% |
| Asian Language** | 1 | 11.11% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 79 | 0.51% |
* "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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