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 | 13,623 | 97.95% | 13,889 | 97.67% |
| Spanish | 153 | 1.10% | 164 | 1.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 96 | 0.69% | 127 | 0.89% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 0.22% | 35 | 0.25% |
| Other | 5 | 0.04% | 5 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 13,908 | 100.00% | 14,220 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 31 | 18.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12 | 9.45% |
| Asian Language** | 18 | 51.43% |
| Other Language | 5 | 100.00% |
| Total | 66 | 0.46% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 67 | 43.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 35 | 36.46% |
| Asian Language** | 19 | 61.29% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 121 | 0.87% |
* "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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