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 | 18,502 | 98.17% | 21,236 | 97.78% |
| Spanish | 162 | 0.86% | 263 | 1.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 133 | 0.71% | 157 | 0.72% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 0.15% | 51 | 0.23% |
| Other | 20 | 0.11% | 12 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 18,846 | 100.00% | 21,719 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 82 | 31.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 59 | 37.58% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 58.82% |
| Other Language | 8 | 66.67% |
| Total | 179 | 0.82% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 23 | 14.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 30 | 22.56% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 58.62% |
| Other Language | 6 | 30.00% |
| Total | 76 | 0.40% |
* "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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