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 | 94,556 | 82.61% | 110,841 | 83.87% |
Spanish | 17,147 | 14.98% | 18,740 | 14.18% |
Other Indo-European* | 2,225 | 1.94% | 1,755 | 1.33% |
Asian Language** | 352 | 0.31% | 609 | 0.46% |
Other | 186 | 0.16% | 216 | 0.16% |
Total Population Age 5+ | 114,466 | 100.00% | 132,161 | 100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
Spanish | 5,439 | 29.02% |
Other Indo-European* | 441 | 25.13% |
Asian Language** | 273 | 44.83% |
Other Language | 35 | 16.20% |
Total | 6,188 | 4.68% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
Spanish | 5,456 | 31.82% |
Other Indo-European* | 618 | 27.78% |
Asian Language** | 157 | 44.60% |
Other Language | 61 | 32.80% |
Total | 6,292 | 5.50% |
* "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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