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 | 5,728 | 95.88% | 5,819 | 94.22% |
| Spanish | 22 | 0.37% | 84 | 1.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 161 | 2.70% | 119 | 1.93% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 0.17% | 55 | 0.89% |
| Other | 53 | 0.89% | 99 | 1.60% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 5,974 | 100.00% | 6,176 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 28 | 33.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 80 | 67.23% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 54.55% |
| Other Language | 19 | 19.19% |
| Total | 157 | 2.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10 | 45.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 94 | 58.39% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 4 | 7.55% |
| Total | 118 | 1.98% |
* "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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