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LANGUAGE
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 | 15,401 | 82.98% | 14,043 | 69.40% |
| Spanish | 1,054 | 5.68% | 2,736 | 13.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 783 | 4.22% | 1,204 | 5.95% |
| Asian Language** | 1,104 | 5.95% | 2,013 | 9.95% |
| Other | 218 | 1.17% | 240 | 1.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 18,560 | 100.00% | 20,236 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,490 | 54.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 444 | 36.88% |
| Asian Language** | 1,025 | 50.92% |
| Other Language | 83 | 34.58% |
| Total | 3,042 | 15.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 618 | 58.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 250 | 31.93% |
| Asian Language** | 611 | 55.34% |
| Other Language | 88 | 40.37% |
| Total | 1,567 | 8.44% |
* "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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