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 | 14,222 | 97.94% | 15,165 | 97.29% |
| Spanish | 99 | 0.68% | 211 | 1.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 115 | 0.79% | 80 | 0.51% |
| Asian Language** | 24 | 0.17% | 28 | 0.18% |
| Other | 61 | 0.42% | 103 | 0.66% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,521 | 100.00% | 15,587 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 83 | 39.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 10 | 12.50% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 46.43% |
| Other Language | 19 | 18.45% |
| Total | 125 | 0.80% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 41 | 41.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 27 | 23.48% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 54.17% |
| Other Language | 15 | 24.59% |
| Total | 96 | 0.66% |
* "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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