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 | 149,154 | 55.81% | 165,279 | 57.06% |
| Spanish | 113,794 | 42.58% | 118,743 | 40.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,883 | 1.08% | 3,003 | 1.04% |
| Asian Language** | 1,198 | 0.45% | 2,342 | 0.81% |
| Other | 236 | 0.09% | 306 | 0.11% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 267,265 | 100.00% | 289,673 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 37,946 | 31.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 623 | 20.75% |
| Asian Language** | 838 | 35.78% |
| Other Language | 55 | 17.97% |
| Total | 39,462 | 13.62% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 43,175 | 37.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 720 | 24.97% |
| Asian Language** | 467 | 38.98% |
| Other Language | 60 | 25.42% |
| Total | 44,422 | 16.62% |
* "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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