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 | 14,949 | 87.83% | 17,166 | 88.31% |
| Spanish | 154 | 0.90% | 480 | 2.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 73 | 0.43% | 36 | 0.19% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 0.05% | 33 | 0.17% |
| Other | 1,835 | 10.78% | 1,724 | 8.87% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,020 | 100.00% | 19,439 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 247 | 51.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9 | 25.00% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 30.30% |
| Other Language | 495 | 28.71% |
| Total | 761 | 3.91% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 28 | 18.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 26 | 35.62% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 44.44% |
| Other Language | 696 | 37.93% |
| Total | 754 | 4.43% |
* "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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