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 | 15,563 | 95.98% | 18,055 | 95.52% |
| Spanish | 356 | 2.20% | 613 | 3.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 247 | 1.52% | 144 | 0.76% |
| Asian Language** | 38 | 0.23% | 52 | 0.28% |
| Other | 11 | 0.07% | 38 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 16,215 | 100.00% | 18,902 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 238 | 38.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 34 | 23.61% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 17.31% |
| Other Language | 2 | 5.26% |
| Total | 283 | 1.50% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 178 | 50.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 25 | 10.12% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 44.74% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 220 | 1.36% |
* "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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