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 | 15,260 | 97.68% | 18,124 | 90.61% |
| Spanish | 175 | 1.12% | 1,689 | 8.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 129 | 0.83% | 124 | 0.62% |
| Asian Language** | 4 | 0.03% | 29 | 0.14% |
| Other | 54 | 0.35% | 37 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 15,622 | 100.00% | 20,003 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,116 | 66.07% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11 | 8.87% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 41.38% |
| Other Language | 14 | 37.84% |
| Total | 1,153 | 5.76% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 74 | 42.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 33 | 25.58% |
| Asian Language** | 3 | 75.00% |
| Other Language | 4 | 7.41% |
| Total | 114 | 0.73% |
* "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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