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 | 7,145 | 89.77% | 8,074 | 86.88% |
| Spanish | 636 | 7.99% | 1,107 | 11.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 117 | 1.47% | 81 | 0.87% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 0.77% | 25 | 0.27% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 6 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 7,959 | 100.00% | 9,293 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 511 | 46.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3 | 3.70% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 48.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 526 | 5.66% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 289 | 45.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 59 | 50.43% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 14.75% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 357 | 4.49% |
* "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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