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 | 12,053 | 78.04% | 12,256 | 73.57% |
| Spanish | 3,209 | 20.78% | 4,255 | 25.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 103 | 0.67% | 101 | 0.61% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 0.19% | 46 | 0.28% |
| Other | 50 | 0.32% | 2 | 0.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 15,444 | 100.00% | 16,660 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,452 | 34.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 26 | 25.74% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 26.09% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 1,490 | 8.94% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,134 | 35.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 26 | 25.24% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 20 | 40.00% |
| Total | 1,180 | 7.64% |
* "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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