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 | 72,330 | 81.02% | 78,473 | 75.33% |
| Spanish | 14,022 | 15.71% | 22,324 | 21.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 731 | 0.82% | 802 | 0.77% |
| Asian Language** | 2,003 | 2.24% | 2,417 | 2.32% |
| Other | 186 | 0.21% | 159 | 0.15% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 89,272 | 100.00% | 104,175 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,449 | 37.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 181 | 22.57% |
| Asian Language** | 1,393 | 57.63% |
| Other Language | 55 | 34.59% |
| Total | 10,078 | 9.67% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,236 | 37.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 118 | 16.14% |
| Asian Language** | 1,387 | 69.25% |
| Other Language | 114 | 61.29% |
| Total | 6,855 | 7.68% |
* "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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