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 | 8,123 | 38.09% | 13,505 | 47.64% |
| Spanish | 11,819 | 55.42% | 13,113 | 46.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 210 | 0.98% | 435 | 1.53% |
| Asian Language** | 22 | 0.10% | 45 | 0.16% |
| Other | 1,154 | 5.41% | 1,249 | 4.41% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 21,328 | 100.00% | 28,347 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,369 | 25.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 29 | 6.67% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 28.89% |
| Other Language | 254 | 20.34% |
| Total | 3,665 | 12.93% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,514 | 21.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8 | 3.81% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 36.36% |
| Other Language | 287 | 24.87% |
| Total | 2,817 | 13.21% |
* "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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