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 | 94,912 | 86.29% | 100,846 | 85.76% |
| Spanish | 12,846 | 11.68% | 14,259 | 12.13% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,194 | 1.09% | 1,102 | 0.94% |
| Asian Language** | 907 | 0.82% | 1,190 | 1.01% |
| Other | 130 | 0.12% | 190 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 109,989 | 100.00% | 117,587 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,337 | 30.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 216 | 19.60% |
| Asian Language** | 453 | 38.07% |
| Other Language | 38 | 20.00% |
| Total | 5,044 | 4.29% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,713 | 36.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 347 | 29.06% |
| Asian Language** | 355 | 39.14% |
| Other Language | 19 | 14.62% |
| Total | 5,434 | 4.94% |
* "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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