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 | 9,593 | 74.29% | 11,397 | 79.21% |
| Spanish | 2,985 | 23.12% | 2,693 | 18.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 295 | 2.28% | 215 | 1.49% |
| Asian Language** | 34 | 0.26% | 29 | 0.20% |
| Other | 6 | 0.05% | 54 | 0.38% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 12,913 | 100.00% | 14,388 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 625 | 23.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 40 | 18.60% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 58.62% |
| Other Language | 2 | 3.70% |
| Total | 684 | 4.75% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 827 | 27.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 45 | 15.25% |
| Asian Language** | 19 | 55.88% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 891 | 6.90% |
* "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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