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 | 21,309 | 85.26% | 19,099 | 64.87% |
| Spanish | 2,890 | 11.56% | 9,417 | 31.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 273 | 1.09% | 186 | 0.63% |
| Asian Language** | 518 | 2.07% | 723 | 2.46% |
| Other | 3 | 0.01% | 16 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 24,993 | 100.00% | 29,441 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,486 | 58.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 99 | 53.23% |
| Asian Language** | 449 | 62.10% |
| Other Language | 7 | 43.75% |
| Total | 6,041 | 20.52% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,672 | 57.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 37 | 13.55% |
| Asian Language** | 293 | 56.56% |
| Other Language | 3 | 100.00% |
| Total | 2,005 | 8.02% |
* "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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