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 | 102,716 | 64.03% | 105,364 | 54.80% |
| Spanish | 40,056 | 24.97% | 67,490 | 35.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 8,669 | 5.40% | 8,995 | 4.68% |
| Asian Language** | 8,740 | 5.45% | 10,054 | 5.23% |
| Other | 232 | 0.14% | 356 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 160,413 | 100.00% | 192,259 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 35,247 | 52.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,614 | 40.18% |
| Asian Language** | 5,977 | 59.45% |
| Other Language | 137 | 38.48% |
| Total | 44,975 | 23.39% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 20,505 | 51.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,220 | 37.14% |
| Asian Language** | 6,522 | 74.62% |
| Other Language | 114 | 49.14% |
| Total | 30,361 | 18.93% |
* "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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