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 | 18,764,213 | 68.52% | 19,014,873 | 60.52% |
| Spanish | 5,478,712 | 20.01% | 8,105,505 | 25.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,059,180 | 3.87% | 1,335,332 | 4.25% |
| Asian Language** | 1,905,985 | 6.96% | 2,709,179 | 8.62% |
| Other | 175,457 | 0.64% | 251,740 | 0.80% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,383,547 | 100.00% | 31,416,629 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,303,949 | 53.10% |
| Other Indo-European* | 453,589 | 33.97% |
| Asian Language** | 1,438,588 | 53.10% |
| Other Language | 81,653 | 32.44% |
| Total | 6,277,779 | 19.98% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,960,128 | 54.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 343,196 | 32.40% |
| Asian Language** | 1,061,519 | 55.69% |
| Other Language | 57,940 | 33.02% |
| Total | 4,422,783 | 16.15% |
* "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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