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 | 16,854 | 97.82% | 19,111 | 96.95% |
| Spanish | 129 | 0.75% | 227 | 1.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 195 | 1.13% | 315 | 1.60% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 0.12% | 38 | 0.19% |
| Other | 31 | 0.18% | 21 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,230 | 100.00% | 19,712 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 105 | 46.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 78 | 24.76% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 23.68% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 192 | 0.97% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 50 | 38.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 56 | 28.72% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 18 | 58.06% |
| Total | 145 | 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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