Language Spoken at Home
Respondents were asked whether they sometimes or always spoke a language other than English at home. If yes, they wrote in the language spoken most often at home. Respondents who only spoke another language at school, or if speaking was limited to only slang, were not marked as speaking another language.

Understanding the primary language spoken in a neighborhood can have important implications for local government, business and schools. Children with non-English speaking parents experience a disadvantage in not having a parent who can help with nightly English homework.  At the same time, the ability to master more than one language can improve a child’s critical thinking abilities.  Data on languages spoken can also help local governments and businesses better understand their clientele and cater translations to the local community. This information, used alongside information about housing, voting, employment and education, is also used by the government to help enforce laws against discrimination.