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 | 13,933 | 93.99% | 16,891 | 95.21% |
| Spanish | 264 | 1.78% | 309 | 1.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 477 | 3.22% | 455 | 2.56% |
| Asian Language** | 48 | 0.32% | 44 | 0.25% |
| Other | 102 | 0.69% | 41 | 0.23% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,824 | 100.00% | 17,740 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 108 | 34.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 150 | 32.97% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 22.73% |
| Other Language | 7 | 17.07% |
| Total | 275 | 1.55% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 126 | 47.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 161 | 33.75% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 52.08% |
| Other Language | 44 | 43.14% |
| Total | 356 | 2.40% |
* "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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