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 | 62,052 | 50.09% | 73,554 | 45.63% |
| Spanish | 59,269 | 47.84% | 84,745 | 52.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,319 | 1.06% | 1,683 | 1.04% |
| Asian Language** | 927 | 0.75% | 625 | 0.39% |
| Other | 313 | 0.25% | 574 | 0.36% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 123,880 | 100.00% | 161,181 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 34,901 | 41.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 344 | 20.44% |
| Asian Language** | 274 | 43.84% |
| Other Language | 155 | 27.00% |
| Total | 35,674 | 22.13% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 22,200 | 37.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 268 | 20.32% |
| Asian Language** | 371 | 40.02% |
| Other Language | 87 | 27.80% |
| Total | 22,926 | 18.51% |
* "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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