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 | 59,848 | 61.12% | 80,375 | 54.49% |
| Spanish | 35,900 | 36.66% | 64,197 | 43.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 926 | 0.95% | 1,277 | 0.87% |
| Asian Language** | 718 | 0.73% | 1,035 | 0.70% |
| Other | 526 | 0.54% | 614 | 0.42% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 97,918 | 100.00% | 147,498 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 32,376 | 50.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 305 | 23.88% |
| Asian Language** | 440 | 42.51% |
| Other Language | 174 | 28.34% |
| Total | 33,295 | 22.57% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 16,788 | 46.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 177 | 19.11% |
| Asian Language** | 259 | 36.07% |
| Other Language | 148 | 28.14% |
| Total | 17,372 | 17.74% |
* "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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