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 | 256,537 | 74.79% | 251,390 | 67.24% |
| Spanish | 65,679 | 19.15% | 99,180 | 26.53% |
| Other Indo-European* | 11,105 | 3.24% | 11,857 | 3.17% |
| Asian Language** | 8,858 | 2.58% | 10,060 | 2.69% |
| Other | 831 | 0.24% | 1,375 | 0.37% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 343,010 | 100.00% | 373,862 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 54,041 | 54.49% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,284 | 19.26% |
| Asian Language** | 4,776 | 47.48% |
| Other Language | 483 | 35.13% |
| Total | 61,584 | 16.47% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 36,115 | 54.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,363 | 21.28% |
| Asian Language** | 4,484 | 50.62% |
| Other Language | 316 | 38.03% |
| Total | 43,278 | 12.62% |
* "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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