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 | 7,137 | 82.17% | 3,180 | 60.92% |
| Spanish | 440 | 5.07% | 570 | 10.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 146 | 1.68% | 62 | 1.19% |
| Asian Language** | 739 | 8.51% | 1,043 | 19.98% |
| Other | 224 | 2.58% | 365 | 6.99% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 8,686 | 100.00% | 5,220 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 265 | 46.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 37 | 59.68% |
| Asian Language** | 774 | 74.21% |
| Other Language | 95 | 26.03% |
| Total | 1,171 | 22.43% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 251 | 57.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 39 | 26.71% |
| Asian Language** | 443 | 59.95% |
| Other Language | 67 | 29.91% |
| Total | 800 | 9.21% |
* "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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