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 | 316,636 | 72.09% | 344,240 | 66.27% |
| Spanish | 67,234 | 15.31% | 110,158 | 21.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 15,591 | 3.55% | 18,000 | 3.47% |
| Asian Language** | 38,558 | 8.78% | 45,066 | 8.68% |
| Other | 1,191 | 0.27% | 1,981 | 0.38% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 439,210 | 100.00% | 519,445 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 56,753 | 51.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 6,406 | 35.59% |
| Asian Language** | 26,407 | 58.60% |
| Other Language | 612 | 30.89% |
| Total | 90,178 | 17.36% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 31,884 | 47.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,820 | 30.92% |
| Asian Language** | 26,329 | 68.28% |
| Other Language | 354 | 29.72% |
| Total | 63,387 | 14.43% |
* "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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