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 | 180,585 | 63.86% | 188,536 | 56.21% |
| Spanish | 85,593 | 30.27% | 130,074 | 38.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 7,146 | 2.53% | 6,903 | 2.06% |
| Asian Language** | 8,872 | 3.14% | 9,059 | 2.70% |
| Other | 606 | 0.21% | 823 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 282,802 | 100.00% | 335,395 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 67,671 | 52.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,027 | 29.36% |
| Asian Language** | 5,109 | 56.40% |
| Other Language | 321 | 39.00% |
| Total | 75,128 | 22.40% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 42,062 | 49.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,465 | 34.49% |
| Asian Language** | 6,125 | 69.04% |
| Other Language | 218 | 35.97% |
| Total | 50,870 | 17.99% |
* "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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