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 | 18,338 | 96.97% | 18,377 | 96.93% |
| Spanish | 400 | 2.12% | 330 | 1.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 136 | 0.72% | 205 | 1.08% |
| Asian Language** | 18 | 0.10% | 29 | 0.15% |
| Other | 19 | 0.10% | 18 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 18,911 | 100.00% | 18,959 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 123 | 37.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 44 | 21.46% |
| Asian Language** | 22 | 75.86% |
| Other Language | 5 | 27.78% |
| Total | 194 | 1.02% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 143 | 35.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 82 | 60.29% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 22.22% |
| Other Language | 10 | 52.63% |
| Total | 239 | 1.26% |
* "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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