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 | 11,972 | 97.63% | 11,829 | 97.03% |
| Spanish | 86 | 0.70% | 166 | 1.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 107 | 0.87% | 183 | 1.50% |
| Asian Language** | 97 | 0.79% | 7 | 0.06% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 6 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 12,262 | 100.00% | 12,191 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 43 | 25.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 40 | 21.86% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 71.43% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 88 | 0.72% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 28 | 32.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 41 | 38.32% |
| Asian Language** | 56 | 57.73% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 125 | 1.02% |
* "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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