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 | 370,481 | 75.42% | 404,239 | 66.64% |
| Spanish | 102,465 | 20.86% | 175,849 | 28.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,834 | 1.39% | 8,444 | 1.39% |
| Asian Language** | 9,620 | 1.96% | 15,525 | 2.56% |
| Other | 1,820 | 0.37% | 2,576 | 0.42% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 491,220 | 100.00% | 606,633 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 89,601 | 50.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,950 | 34.94% |
| Asian Language** | 7,480 | 48.18% |
| Other Language | 991 | 38.47% |
| Total | 101,022 | 16.65% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 50,975 | 49.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,574 | 23.03% |
| Asian Language** | 5,079 | 52.80% |
| Other Language | 679 | 37.31% |
| Total | 58,307 | 11.87% |
* "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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