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 | 13,226 | 79.13% | 17,404 | 81.67% |
| Spanish | 2,745 | 16.42% | 2,986 | 14.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 233 | 1.39% | 251 | 1.18% |
| Asian Language** | 502 | 3.00% | 610 | 2.86% |
| Other | 9 | 0.05% | 58 | 0.27% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 16,715 | 100.00% | 21,309 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 934 | 31.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 64 | 25.50% |
| Asian Language** | 352 | 57.70% |
| Other Language | 12 | 20.69% |
| Total | 1,362 | 6.39% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 998 | 36.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 28 | 12.02% |
| Asian Language** | 331 | 65.94% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 1,357 | 8.12% |
* "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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