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 | 12,100 | 94.52% | 11,928 | 82.24% |
| Spanish | 571 | 4.46% | 2,504 | 17.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 72 | 0.56% | 46 | 0.32% |
| Asian Language** | 18 | 0.14% | 14 | 0.10% |
| Other | 40 | 0.31% | 12 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 12,801 | 100.00% | 14,504 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,732 | 69.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 13 | 28.26% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 57.14% |
| Other Language | 7 | 58.33% |
| Total | 1,760 | 12.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 445 | 77.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 25 | 34.72% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 50.00% |
| Other Language | 12 | 30.00% |
| Total | 491 | 3.84% |
* "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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