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 | 13,801 | 95.97% | 14,936 | 95.98% |
| Spanish | 118 | 0.82% | 265 | 1.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 437 | 3.04% | 300 | 1.93% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 0.17% | 55 | 0.35% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 6 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,381 | 100.00% | 15,562 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 65 | 24.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 49 | 16.33% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 50.91% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 142 | 0.91% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 68 | 57.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 73 | 16.70% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 20.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 146 | 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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