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 | 13,968 | 96.60% | 15,355 | 95.02% |
| Spanish | 54 | 0.37% | 147 | 0.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 416 | 2.88% | 559 | 3.46% |
| Asian Language** | 22 | 0.15% | 23 | 0.14% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 75 | 0.46% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,460 | 100.00% | 16,159 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 55 | 37.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 169 | 30.23% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 50 | 66.67% |
| Total | 297 | 1.84% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 16 | 29.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 257 | 61.78% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 45.45% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 283 | 1.96% |
* "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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