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 | 5,414 | 91.38% | 4,469 | 92.97% |
| Spanish | 227 | 3.83% | 197 | 4.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 95 | 1.60% | 42 | 0.87% |
| Asian Language** | 109 | 1.84% | 10 | 0.21% |
| Other | 80 | 1.35% | 89 | 1.85% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 5,925 | 100.00% | 4,807 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 55 | 27.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 0 | 0.00% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 17 | 19.10% |
| Total | 82 | 1.71% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 26 | 11.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 21 | 22.11% |
| Asian Language** | 44 | 40.37% |
| Other Language | 9 | 11.25% |
| Total | 100 | 1.69% |
* "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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