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 | 50,143 | 73.29% | 56,776 | 72.99% |
| Spanish | 16,881 | 24.67% | 19,745 | 25.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,178 | 1.72% | 908 | 1.17% |
| Asian Language** | 148 | 0.22% | 330 | 0.42% |
| Other | 64 | 0.09% | 30 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 68,414 | 100.00% | 77,789 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,227 | 31.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 217 | 23.90% |
| Asian Language** | 152 | 46.06% |
| Other Language | 3 | 10.00% |
| Total | 6,599 | 8.48% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,034 | 35.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 287 | 24.36% |
| Asian Language** | 52 | 35.14% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 6,373 | 9.32% |
* "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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