Multilingual Survey Design and Fielding: Research Perspectives from the U.S. Census Bureau

Written by:
RSM2014-01

Introduction

Demographic data show increased international migration in recent decades, with this trend projected to continue at least through mid-century (IOM 2010). Many migrants have only limited proficiency in the national languages of the receiving countries, meaning that linguistic diversity and "super diversity" are becoming the new norm (Blommaert and Rampton 2012). In many places there has also been greater formal recognition of the language rights of minority language speakers, including both long-standing linguistic minorities as well as more recent immigrant groups. As a result, survey organizations around the world have shown increased interest in creating measurement materials and procedures in multiple languages to ensure that minority language respondents are accurately represented in statistical data. In the United States, increases in the percentage of the population that speaks a language other than English at home have engendered new federal, state, and local policies governing language rights.

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021