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 | 9,932 | 91.89% | 9,318 | 84.09% |
| Spanish | 422 | 3.90% | 1,524 | 13.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 431 | 3.99% | 152 | 1.37% |
| Asian Language** | 19 | 0.18% | 82 | 0.74% |
| Other | 4 | 0.04% | 5 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 10,808 | 100.00% | 11,081 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 903 | 59.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 30 | 19.74% |
| Asian Language** | 49 | 59.76% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 982 | 8.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 223 | 52.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 94 | 21.81% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 73.68% |
| Other Language | 4 | 100.00% |
| Total | 335 | 3.10% |
* "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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