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 | 93,873 | 90.81% | 113,095 | 85.81% |
| Spanish | 6,830 | 6.61% | 13,425 | 10.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,433 | 1.39% | 3,334 | 2.53% |
| Asian Language** | 1,127 | 1.09% | 1,747 | 1.33% |
| Other | 108 | 0.10% | 201 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 103,371 | 100.00% | 131,802 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,394 | 47.63% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,136 | 34.07% |
| Asian Language** | 786 | 44.99% |
| Other Language | 75 | 37.31% |
| Total | 8,391 | 6.37% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,030 | 44.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 411 | 28.68% |
| Asian Language** | 598 | 53.06% |
| Other Language | 28 | 25.93% |
| Total | 4,067 | 3.93% |
* "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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