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 | 8,222 | 97.37% | 8,189 | 95.18% |
| Spanish | 66 | 0.78% | 239 | 2.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 57 | 0.68% | 103 | 1.20% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 0.37% | 16 | 0.19% |
| Other | 68 | 0.81% | 57 | 0.66% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 8,444 | 100.00% | 8,604 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 85 | 35.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11 | 10.68% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 56.25% |
| Other Language | 31 | 54.39% |
| Total | 136 | 1.58% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2 | 3.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 17 | 29.82% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 25.81% |
| Other Language | 10 | 14.71% |
| Total | 37 | 0.44% |
* "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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