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 | 19,484 | 96.18% | 21,583 | 93.70% |
| Spanish | 310 | 1.53% | 1,030 | 4.47% |
| Other Indo-European* | 390 | 1.93% | 291 | 1.26% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 0.16% | 81 | 0.35% |
| Other | 42 | 0.21% | 48 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 20,258 | 100.00% | 23,033 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 525 | 50.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 84 | 28.87% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 11.11% |
| Other Language | 2 | 4.17% |
| Total | 620 | 2.69% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 123 | 39.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 126 | 32.31% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 34.38% |
| Other Language | 2 | 4.76% |
| Total | 262 | 1.29% |
* "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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