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 | 8,015 | 87.68% | 9,993 | 82.61% |
| Spanish | 857 | 9.38% | 1,793 | 14.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 159 | 1.74% | 205 | 1.69% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 0.35% | 70 | 0.58% |
| Other | 78 | 0.85% | 36 | 0.30% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 9,141 | 100.00% | 12,097 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,050 | 58.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 30 | 14.63% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 21.43% |
| Other Language | 18 | 50.00% |
| Total | 1,113 | 9.20% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 520 | 60.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 27 | 16.98% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 71.88% |
| Other Language | 19 | 24.36% |
| Total | 589 | 6.44% |
* "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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