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 | 56,662 | 70.25% | 71,693 | 63.04% |
| Spanish | 21,104 | 26.17% | 38,011 | 33.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,169 | 2.69% | 2,319 | 2.04% |
| Asian Language** | 439 | 0.54% | 869 | 0.76% |
| Other | 281 | 0.35% | 830 | 0.73% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 80,655 | 100.00% | 113,722 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 20,504 | 53.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 730 | 31.48% |
| Asian Language** | 266 | 30.61% |
| Other Language | 544 | 65.54% |
| Total | 22,044 | 19.38% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,641 | 50.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 566 | 26.09% |
| Asian Language** | 308 | 70.16% |
| Other Language | 128 | 45.55% |
| Total | 11,643 | 14.44% |
* "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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