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 | 22,916 | 77.29% | 22,062 | 60.82% |
| Spanish | 5,364 | 18.09% | 12,736 | 35.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 400 | 1.35% | 531 | 1.46% |
| Asian Language** | 970 | 3.27% | 884 | 2.44% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 62 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 29,650 | 100.00% | 36,275 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 7,185 | 56.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 218 | 41.05% |
| Asian Language** | 568 | 64.25% |
| Other Language | 47 | 75.81% |
| Total | 8,018 | 22.10% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,454 | 45.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 65 | 16.25% |
| Asian Language** | 613 | 63.20% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 3,132 | 10.56% |
* "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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