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 | 154,682 | 88.31% | 167,385 | 84.42% |
| Spanish | 16,480 | 9.41% | 26,600 | 13.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,017 | 1.72% | 2,654 | 1.34% |
| Asian Language** | 823 | 0.47% | 1,415 | 0.71% |
| Other | 157 | 0.09% | 220 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 175,159 | 100.00% | 198,274 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 12,149 | 45.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 620 | 23.36% |
| Asian Language** | 607 | 42.90% |
| Other Language | 88 | 40.00% |
| Total | 13,464 | 6.79% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,391 | 38.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 819 | 27.15% |
| Asian Language** | 329 | 39.98% |
| Other Language | 59 | 37.58% |
| Total | 7,598 | 4.34% |
* "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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