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 | 9,604 | 55.42% | 8,665 | 51.11% |
| Spanish | 7,604 | 43.88% | 8,198 | 48.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 44 | 0.25% | 55 | 0.32% |
| Asian Language** | 50 | 0.29% | 25 | 0.15% |
| Other | 27 | 0.16% | 10 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,329 | 100.00% | 16,953 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,422 | 41.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6 | 10.91% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 20.00% |
| Other Language | 10 | 100.00% |
| Total | 3,443 | 20.31% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,930 | 51.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6 | 13.64% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 4 | 14.81% |
| Total | 3,940 | 22.74% |
* "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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