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 | 11,166 | 94.35% | 10,998 | 96.47% |
| Spanish | 72 | 0.61% | 87 | 0.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 535 | 4.52% | 264 | 2.32% |
| Asian Language** | 3 | 0.03% | 9 | 0.08% |
| Other | 59 | 0.50% | 43 | 0.38% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 11,835 | 100.00% | 11,401 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 38 | 43.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 58 | 21.97% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 44.44% |
| Other Language | 6 | 13.95% |
| Total | 106 | 0.93% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 14 | 19.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 80 | 14.95% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 5 | 8.47% |
| Total | 99 | 0.84% |
* "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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