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 | 17,895 | 73.45% | 23,589 | 76.32% |
| Spanish | 4,323 | 17.74% | 5,047 | 16.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 200 | 0.82% | 234 | 0.76% |
| Asian Language** | 71 | 0.29% | 61 | 0.20% |
| Other | 1,875 | 7.70% | 1,978 | 6.40% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 24,364 | 100.00% | 30,909 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,133 | 22.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 65 | 27.78% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 21.31% |
| Other Language | 808 | 40.85% |
| Total | 2,019 | 6.53% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,129 | 26.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 83 | 41.50% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 35.21% |
| Other Language | 1,098 | 58.56% |
| Total | 2,335 | 9.58% |
* "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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