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 | 13,292 | 94.92% | 13,906 | 95.86% |
| Spanish | 93 | 0.66% | 183 | 1.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 533 | 3.81% | 339 | 2.34% |
| Asian Language** | 68 | 0.49% | 31 | 0.21% |
| Other | 17 | 0.12% | 47 | 0.32% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,003 | 100.00% | 14,506 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 38 | 20.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 105 | 30.97% |
| Asian Language** | 16 | 51.61% |
| Other Language | 22 | 46.81% |
| Total | 181 | 1.25% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 21 | 22.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 127 | 23.83% |
| Asian Language** | 28 | 41.18% |
| Other Language | 2 | 11.76% |
| Total | 178 | 1.27% |
* "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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