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 | 4,115 | 81.50% | 4,720 | 80.42% |
| Spanish | 898 | 17.79% | 1,090 | 18.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 36 | 0.71% | 16 | 0.27% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | 0.00% | 36 | 0.61% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 7 | 0.12% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 5,049 | 100.00% | 5,869 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 382 | 35.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 9 | 56.25% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 55.56% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 411 | 7.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 226 | 25.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 25 | 69.44% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 251 | 4.97% |
* "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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