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 | 17,453 | 94.40% | 18,762 | 94.50% |
| Spanish | 529 | 2.86% | 705 | 3.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 416 | 2.25% | 293 | 1.48% |
| Asian Language** | 70 | 0.38% | 71 | 0.36% |
| Other | 21 | 0.11% | 22 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 18,489 | 100.00% | 19,853 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 253 | 35.89% |
| Other Indo-European* | 23 | 7.85% |
| Asian Language** | 35 | 49.30% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 311 | 1.57% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 167 | 31.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 91 | 21.88% |
| Asian Language** | 24 | 34.29% |
| Other Language | 13 | 61.90% |
| Total | 295 | 1.60% |
* "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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