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 | 147,077 | 85.10% | 178,356 | 82.27% |
| Spanish | 16,441 | 9.51% | 26,048 | 12.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,418 | 3.13% | 6,562 | 3.03% |
| Asian Language** | 3,661 | 2.12% | 5,283 | 2.44% |
| Other | 232 | 0.13% | 544 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 172,829 | 100.00% | 216,793 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,672 | 33.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,311 | 19.98% |
| Asian Language** | 2,221 | 42.04% |
| Other Language | 149 | 27.39% |
| Total | 12,353 | 5.70% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,631 | 34.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,235 | 22.79% |
| Asian Language** | 1,655 | 45.21% |
| Other Language | 38 | 16.38% |
| Total | 8,559 | 4.95% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy