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 | 16,209 | 66.35% | 20,176 | 67.74% |
| Spanish | 7,798 | 31.92% | 9,244 | 31.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 296 | 1.21% | 170 | 0.57% |
| Asian Language** | 88 | 0.36% | 187 | 0.63% |
| Other | 39 | 0.16% | 9 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 24,430 | 100.00% | 29,786 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,888 | 31.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 17 | 10.00% |
| Asian Language** | 124 | 66.31% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 3,029 | 10.17% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,450 | 44.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 64 | 21.62% |
| Asian Language** | 39 | 44.32% |
| Other Language | 26 | 66.67% |
| Total | 3,579 | 14.65% |
* "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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