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 | 7,363 | 54.19% | 9,732 | 57.74% |
| Spanish | 4,695 | 34.56% | 5,418 | 32.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 167 | 1.23% | 217 | 1.29% |
| Asian Language** | 173 | 1.27% | 110 | 0.65% |
| Other | 1,189 | 8.75% | 1,377 | 8.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 13,587 | 100.00% | 16,854 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,439 | 26.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12 | 5.53% |
| Asian Language** | 47 | 42.73% |
| Other Language | 952 | 69.14% |
| Total | 2,450 | 14.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,198 | 25.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 59 | 35.33% |
| Asian Language** | 81 | 46.82% |
| Other Language | 859 | 72.25% |
| Total | 2,197 | 16.17% |
* "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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