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 | 8,168 | 66.16% | 8,433 | 56.70% |
| Spanish | 3,670 | 29.73% | 6,162 | 41.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 457 | 3.70% | 227 | 1.53% |
| Asian Language** | 37 | 0.30% | 32 | 0.22% |
| Other | 13 | 0.11% | 19 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 12,345 | 100.00% | 14,873 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,289 | 53.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 31 | 13.66% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 62.50% |
| Other Language | 19 | 100.00% |
| Total | 3,359 | 22.58% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,438 | 39.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 198 | 43.33% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 16.22% |
| Other Language | 4 | 30.77% |
| Total | 1,646 | 13.33% |
* "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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