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 | 15,652 | 91.63% | 14,960 | 88.20% |
| Spanish | 829 | 4.85% | 1,565 | 9.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 290 | 1.70% | 217 | 1.28% |
| Asian Language** | 136 | 0.80% | 101 | 0.60% |
| Other | 175 | 1.02% | 119 | 0.70% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 17,082 | 100.00% | 16,962 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 804 | 51.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 59 | 27.19% |
| Asian Language** | 79 | 78.22% |
| Other Language | 22 | 18.49% |
| Total | 964 | 5.68% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 459 | 55.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 114 | 39.31% |
| Asian Language** | 39 | 28.68% |
| Other Language | 57 | 32.57% |
| Total | 669 | 3.92% |
* "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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