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 | 78,957 | 73.94% | 125,420 | 74.82% |
| Spanish | 22,343 | 20.92% | 36,495 | 21.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,351 | 1.27% | 1,840 | 1.10% |
| Asian Language** | 277 | 0.26% | 750 | 0.45% |
| Other | 3,860 | 3.61% | 3,134 | 1.87% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 106,788 | 100.00% | 167,639 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 14,208 | 38.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 301 | 16.36% |
| Asian Language** | 369 | 49.20% |
| Other Language | 931 | 29.71% |
| Total | 15,809 | 9.43% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 7,309 | 32.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 338 | 25.02% |
| Asian Language** | 119 | 42.96% |
| Other Language | 1,556 | 40.31% |
| Total | 9,322 | 8.73% |
* "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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