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 | 38,078 | 71.66% | 37,929 | 66.57% |
| Spanish | 14,428 | 27.15% | 18,207 | 31.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 389 | 0.73% | 488 | 0.86% |
| Asian Language** | 185 | 0.35% | 273 | 0.48% |
| Other | 54 | 0.10% | 81 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 53,134 | 100.00% | 56,978 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 7,252 | 39.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 136 | 27.87% |
| Asian Language** | 91 | 33.33% |
| Other Language | 33 | 40.74% |
| Total | 7,512 | 13.18% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,459 | 37.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 73 | 18.77% |
| Asian Language** | 109 | 58.92% |
| Other Language | 32 | 59.26% |
| Total | 5,673 | 10.68% |
* "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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