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 | 134,304 | 77.98% | 138,737 | 68.19% |
| Spanish | 33,697 | 19.57% | 60,533 | 29.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,184 | 1.27% | 1,927 | 0.95% |
| Asian Language** | 1,094 | 0.64% | 1,214 | 0.60% |
| Other | 949 | 0.55% | 1,038 | 0.51% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 172,228 | 100.00% | 203,449 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 31,573 | 52.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 539 | 27.97% |
| Asian Language** | 522 | 43.00% |
| Other Language | 284 | 27.36% |
| Total | 32,918 | 16.18% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 17,518 | 51.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 618 | 28.30% |
| Asian Language** | 448 | 40.95% |
| Other Language | 186 | 19.60% |
| Total | 18,770 | 10.90% |
* "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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