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 | 63,973 | 70.60% | 77,529 | 70.45% |
| Spanish | 22,817 | 25.18% | 27,750 | 25.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,289 | 2.53% | 2,492 | 2.26% |
| Asian Language** | 1,330 | 1.47% | 1,741 | 1.58% |
| Other | 208 | 0.23% | 535 | 0.49% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 90,617 | 100.00% | 110,047 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,135 | 36.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 595 | 23.88% |
| Asian Language** | 733 | 42.10% |
| Other Language | 100 | 18.69% |
| Total | 11,563 | 10.51% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,600 | 37.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 287 | 12.54% |
| Asian Language** | 543 | 40.83% |
| Other Language | 57 | 27.40% |
| Total | 9,487 | 10.47% |
* "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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