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 | 154,142 | 75.34% | 149,931 | 68.47% |
| Spanish | 47,875 | 23.40% | 66,192 | 30.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,449 | 0.71% | 1,613 | 0.74% |
| Asian Language** | 845 | 0.41% | 999 | 0.46% |
| Other | 272 | 0.13% | 227 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 204,583 | 100.00% | 218,962 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 24,329 | 36.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 423 | 26.22% |
| Asian Language** | 383 | 38.34% |
| Other Language | 71 | 31.28% |
| Total | 25,206 | 11.51% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 20,644 | 43.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 216 | 14.91% |
| Asian Language** | 362 | 42.84% |
| Other Language | 70 | 25.74% |
| Total | 21,292 | 10.41% |
* "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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