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 | 20,650 | 97.93% | 22,319 | 96.66% |
| Spanish | 281 | 1.33% | 612 | 2.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 104 | 0.49% | 121 | 0.52% |
| Asian Language** | 45 | 0.21% | 36 | 0.16% |
| Other | 6 | 0.03% | 3 | 0.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 21,086 | 100.00% | 23,091 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 307 | 50.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 42 | 34.71% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 88.89% |
| Other Language | 3 | 100.00% |
| Total | 384 | 1.66% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 178 | 63.35% |
| Other Indo-European* | 32 | 30.77% |
| Asian Language** | 19 | 42.22% |
| Other Language | 6 | 100.00% |
| Total | 235 | 1.11% |
* "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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