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 | 6,722 | 70.84% | 11,598 | 73.76% |
| Spanish | 2,625 | 27.66% | 3,941 | 25.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 99 | 1.04% | 105 | 0.67% |
| Asian Language** | 1 | 0.01% | 45 | 0.29% |
| Other | 42 | 0.44% | 36 | 0.23% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 9,489 | 100.00% | 15,725 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,012 | 25.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 15 | 14.29% |
| Asian Language** | 12 | 26.67% |
| Other Language | 19 | 52.78% |
| Total | 1,058 | 6.73% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 623 | 23.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 21 | 21.21% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 2 | 4.76% |
| Total | 646 | 6.81% |
* "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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