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 | 14,648 | 96.84% | 15,112 | 95.59% |
| Spanish | 59 | 0.39% | 144 | 0.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 286 | 1.89% | 334 | 2.11% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | 0.00% | 38 | 0.24% |
| Other | 133 | 0.88% | 181 | 1.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 15,126 | 100.00% | 15,809 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 34 | 23.61% |
| Other Indo-European* | 52 | 15.57% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 52.63% |
| Other Language | 30 | 16.57% |
| Total | 136 | 0.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8 | 13.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 39 | 13.64% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 21 | 15.79% |
| Total | 68 | 0.45% |
* "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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