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 | 17,925 | 84.23% | 18,755 | 82.72% |
| Spanish | 2,556 | 12.01% | 3,350 | 14.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 774 | 3.64% | 524 | 2.31% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 0.10% | 42 | 0.19% |
| Other | 5 | 0.02% | 1 | 0.00% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 21,281 | 100.00% | 22,672 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,131 | 33.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 68 | 12.98% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 54.76% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 1,222 | 5.39% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,213 | 47.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 177 | 22.87% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 28.57% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 1,396 | 6.56% |
* "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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