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 | 336,850 | 81.34% | 363,654 | 75.28% |
| Spanish | 36,606 | 8.84% | 66,778 | 13.82% |
| Other Indo-European* | 12,347 | 2.98% | 14,092 | 2.92% |
| Asian Language** | 27,396 | 6.62% | 36,590 | 7.57% |
| Other | 919 | 0.22% | 1,983 | 0.41% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 414,118 | 100.00% | 483,097 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 34,210 | 51.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,576 | 25.38% |
| Asian Language** | 13,316 | 36.39% |
| Other Language | 534 | 26.93% |
| Total | 51,636 | 10.69% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 17,002 | 46.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,132 | 25.37% |
| Asian Language** | 10,150 | 37.05% |
| Other Language | 248 | 26.99% |
| Total | 30,532 | 7.37% |
* "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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