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 | 209,386 | 64.54% | 195,650 | 52.74% |
| Spanish | 86,066 | 26.53% | 146,443 | 39.48% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12,439 | 3.83% | 11,312 | 3.05% |
| Asian Language** | 15,626 | 4.82% | 15,975 | 4.31% |
| Other | 917 | 0.28% | 1,570 | 0.42% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 324,434 | 100.00% | 370,950 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 88,292 | 60.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,893 | 25.57% |
| Asian Language** | 7,649 | 47.88% |
| Other Language | 421 | 26.82% |
| Total | 99,255 | 26.76% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 48,627 | 56.50% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,469 | 27.89% |
| Asian Language** | 8,045 | 51.48% |
| Other Language | 272 | 29.66% |
| Total | 60,413 | 18.62% |
* "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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