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 | 13,713 | 97.12% | 17,693 | 92.31% |
| Spanish | 160 | 1.13% | 1,200 | 6.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 198 | 1.40% | 201 | 1.05% |
| Asian Language** | 48 | 0.34% | 26 | 0.14% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 47 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,119 | 100.00% | 19,167 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 730 | 60.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 39 | 19.40% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 88.46% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 792 | 4.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 51 | 31.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 41 | 20.71% |
| Asian Language** | 34 | 70.83% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 126 | 0.89% |
* "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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