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 | 16,509 | 84.09% | 20,861 | 87.72% |
| Spanish | 726 | 3.70% | 1,106 | 4.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,113 | 10.76% | 1,535 | 6.45% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 0.08% | 47 | 0.20% |
| Other | 270 | 1.38% | 233 | 0.98% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 19,633 | 100.00% | 23,782 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 312 | 28.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 270 | 17.59% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 42.55% |
| Other Language | 70 | 30.04% |
| Total | 672 | 2.83% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 479 | 65.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 536 | 25.37% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 19 | 7.04% |
| Total | 1,034 | 5.27% |
* "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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