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 | 24,075 | 70.74% | 24,645 | 55.38% |
| Spanish | 8,955 | 26.31% | 18,376 | 41.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 434 | 1.28% | 731 | 1.64% |
| Asian Language** | 557 | 1.64% | 721 | 1.62% |
| Other | 14 | 0.04% | 31 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 34,035 | 100.00% | 44,504 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,541 | 57.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 283 | 38.71% |
| Asian Language** | 379 | 52.57% |
| Other Language | 4 | 12.90% |
| Total | 11,207 | 25.18% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,433 | 60.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 108 | 24.88% |
| Asian Language** | 403 | 72.35% |
| Other Language | 7 | 50.00% |
| Total | 5,951 | 17.48% |
* "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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