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 | 9,774 | 90.63% | 10,727 | 81.99% |
| Spanish | 766 | 7.10% | 2,189 | 16.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 174 | 1.61% | 97 | 0.74% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 0.11% | 20 | 0.15% |
| Other | 58 | 0.54% | 51 | 0.39% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 10,784 | 100.00% | 13,084 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,372 | 62.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12 | 12.37% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 45.00% |
| Other Language | 40 | 78.43% |
| Total | 1,433 | 10.95% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 367 | 47.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 63 | 36.21% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 58.33% |
| Other Language | 14 | 24.14% |
| Total | 451 | 4.18% |
* "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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