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 | 14,005 | 96.13% | 14,539 | 96.44% |
| Spanish | 79 | 0.54% | 184 | 1.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 383 | 2.63% | 264 | 1.75% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 0.10% | 28 | 0.19% |
| Other | 88 | 0.60% | 60 | 0.40% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,569 | 100.00% | 15,075 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 64 | 34.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 54 | 20.45% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 42.86% |
| Other Language | 20 | 33.33% |
| Total | 150 | 1.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 13 | 16.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 72 | 18.80% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 28.57% |
| Other Language | 28 | 31.82% |
| Total | 117 | 0.80% |
* "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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