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 | 13,777 | 80.62% | 15,332 | 80.06% |
| Spanish | 2,035 | 11.91% | 3,130 | 16.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,191 | 6.97% | 626 | 3.27% |
| Asian Language** | 85 | 0.50% | 24 | 0.13% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 38 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,088 | 100.00% | 19,150 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,536 | 49.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 163 | 26.04% |
| Asian Language** | 24 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 9 | 23.68% |
| Total | 1,732 | 9.04% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 954 | 46.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 299 | 25.10% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 71.76% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 1,314 | 7.69% |
* "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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