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 | 11,024 | 91.84% | 14,192 | 91.30% |
| Spanish | 622 | 5.18% | 913 | 5.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 327 | 2.72% | 383 | 2.46% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 0.06% | 41 | 0.26% |
| Other | 24 | 0.20% | 15 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 12,004 | 100.00% | 15,544 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 397 | 43.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 103 | 26.89% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 26.83% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 511 | 3.29% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 150 | 24.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 26 | 7.95% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 15 | 62.50% |
| Total | 198 | 1.65% |
* "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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