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 | 12,616 | 95.64% | 14,537 | 94.83% |
| Spanish | 76 | 0.58% | 159 | 1.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 316 | 2.40% | 231 | 1.51% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 0.07% | 64 | 0.42% |
| Other | 174 | 1.32% | 339 | 2.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 13,191 | 100.00% | 15,330 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 48 | 30.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 42 | 18.18% |
| Asian Language** | 37 | 57.81% |
| Other Language | 71 | 20.94% |
| Total | 198 | 1.29% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 27 | 35.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 62 | 19.62% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 22.22% |
| Other Language | 36 | 20.69% |
| Total | 127 | 0.96% |
* "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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