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 | 4,695 | 57.76% | 4,815 | 57.27% |
| Spanish | 3,314 | 40.77% | 3,450 | 41.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 63 | 0.78% | 92 | 1.09% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 0.39% | 32 | 0.38% |
| Other | 25 | 0.31% | 18 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 8,129 | 100.00% | 8,407 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,052 | 30.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6 | 6.52% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 40.63% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 1,071 | 12.74% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,391 | 41.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 27 | 42.86% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 71.88% |
| Other Language | 14 | 56.00% |
| Total | 1,455 | 17.90% |
* "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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