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 | 11,904 | 97.10% | 11,817 | 96.06% |
| Spanish | 282 | 2.30% | 445 | 3.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 62 | 0.51% | 13 | 0.11% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 0.07% | 23 | 0.19% |
| Other | 3 | 0.02% | 4 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 12,260 | 100.00% | 12,302 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 197 | 44.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6 | 46.15% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 34.78% |
| Other Language | 4 | 100.00% |
| Total | 215 | 1.75% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 98 | 34.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 18 | 29.03% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 77.78% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 123 | 1.00% |
* "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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