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 | 14,675 | 97.17% | 15,170 | 97.39% |
| Spanish | 241 | 1.60% | 245 | 1.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 139 | 0.92% | 57 | 0.37% |
| Asian Language** | 48 | 0.32% | 91 | 0.58% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 15,103 | 100.00% | 15,576 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 59 | 24.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6 | 10.53% |
| Asian Language** | 36 | 39.56% |
| Other Language | 5 | 38.46% |
| Total | 106 | 0.68% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 45 | 18.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 47 | 33.81% |
| Asian Language** | 19 | 39.58% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 111 | 0.73% |
* "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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