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 | 17,109 | 96.84% | 17,591 | 96.42% |
| Spanish | 199 | 1.13% | 300 | 1.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 335 | 1.90% | 281 | 1.54% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 0.14% | 55 | 0.30% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 17 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,668 | 100.00% | 18,244 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 120 | 40.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 54 | 19.22% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 12.73% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 181 | 0.99% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 45 | 22.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 76 | 22.69% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 56.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 135 | 0.76% |
* "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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