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 | 96,033 | 84.46% | 114,324 | 80.07% |
| Spanish | 11,842 | 10.41% | 20,253 | 14.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,598 | 2.28% | 3,350 | 2.35% |
| Asian Language** | 2,798 | 2.46% | 4,216 | 2.95% |
| Other | 436 | 0.38% | 630 | 0.44% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 113,707 | 100.00% | 142,773 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,596 | 42.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 871 | 26.00% |
| Asian Language** | 2,189 | 51.92% |
| Other Language | 246 | 39.05% |
| Total | 11,902 | 8.34% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,323 | 36.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 647 | 24.90% |
| Asian Language** | 1,486 | 53.11% |
| Other Language | 180 | 41.28% |
| Total | 6,636 | 5.84% |
* "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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