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 | 17,178 | 85.31% | 18,484 | 74.36% |
| Spanish | 2,499 | 12.41% | 5,998 | 24.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 348 | 1.73% | 310 | 1.25% |
| Asian Language** | 89 | 0.44% | 29 | 0.12% |
| Other | 23 | 0.11% | 35 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 20,137 | 100.00% | 24,856 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,488 | 58.15% |
| Other Indo-European* | 84 | 27.10% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 27.59% |
| Other Language | 14 | 40.00% |
| Total | 3,594 | 14.46% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,148 | 45.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 84 | 24.14% |
| Asian Language** | 53 | 59.55% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 1,285 | 6.38% |
* "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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