Native North American Languages Spoken at Home in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2006-2010. American Community Survey Briefs

摘要

This report presents data on the frequency and percentage of the U.S. population aged 5 and over who spoke a Native North American language at home. The data are based on 5-year estimates from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2006-2010 Puerto Rico Community Survey. For the first time ever, this aggregation of ACS data over a 5-year period allows us to study small segments of the population, such as speakers of Native North American languages. These data come from a multipart question addressing language ability. The first part of the question asks Does this person speak a language other than English at home. Respondents who answer Yes are then asked to write in the name of that language. Data on language ability is used to meet the communication needs of hospitals, schools, and other agencies that serve non-English speakers. In addition, language use data are used for bilingual ballot provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.