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 | 11,128 | 97.79% | 14,910 | 97.30% |
| Spanish | 87 | 0.76% | 152 | 0.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 155 | 1.36% | 204 | 1.33% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 0.09% | 43 | 0.28% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 15 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 11,380 | 100.00% | 15,324 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 71 | 46.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 37 | 18.14% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 20.93% |
| Other Language | 4 | 26.67% |
| Total | 121 | 0.79% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 21 | 24.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 57 | 36.77% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 80.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 86 | 0.76% |
* "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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