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 | 14,102 | 95.61% | 13,894 | 96.19% |
| Spanish | 48 | 0.33% | 245 | 1.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 595 | 4.03% | 290 | 2.01% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 0.03% | 15 | 0.10% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,749 | 100.00% | 14,444 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 79 | 32.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 55 | 18.97% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 26.67% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 138 | 0.96% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 9 | 18.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 113 | 18.99% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 50.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 124 | 0.84% |
* "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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