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 | 153,779 | 90.49% | 167,598 | 87.52% |
| Spanish | 8,682 | 5.11% | 14,862 | 7.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,699 | 2.18% | 3,193 | 1.67% |
| Asian Language** | 3,340 | 1.97% | 5,038 | 2.63% |
| Other | 447 | 0.26% | 813 | 0.42% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 169,947 | 100.00% | 191,504 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 6,913 | 46.51% |
| Other Indo-European* | 693 | 21.70% |
| Asian Language** | 3,522 | 69.91% |
| Other Language | 93 | 11.44% |
| Total | 11,221 | 5.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,827 | 44.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 912 | 24.66% |
| Asian Language** | 2,115 | 63.32% |
| Other Language | 125 | 27.96% |
| Total | 6,979 | 4.11% |
* "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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