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 | 8,549 | 95.77% | 8,536 | 96.48% |
| Spanish | 38 | 0.43% | 105 | 1.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 266 | 2.98% | 143 | 1.62% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 0.17% | 19 | 0.21% |
| Other | 59 | 0.66% | 44 | 0.50% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 8,927 | 100.00% | 8,847 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 32 | 30.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 75 | 52.45% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 63.16% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 119 | 1.35% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 12 | 31.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 46 | 17.29% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 33.33% |
| Other Language | 14 | 23.73% |
| Total | 77 | 0.86% |
* "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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