Language Questions in Humanitarian Data Collection

LANGUAGE QUESTIONS IN HUMANITARIAN DATA COLLECTION Language-related questions for new and ongoing surveys If aid organizations are to communicate effectively with the people they aim to help, in the languages they are most comfortable with, they need to know what those languages are. Existing language data is often outdated and does not necessarily reflect large-scale […]

Language Data Initiative

LANGUAGE DATA INITIATIVE TWB’s Language Data Initiative is putting language on the map in the humanitarian and development sector. There is little information available on the languages crisis-affected people speak and understand. Humanitarians often develop communication strategies without reliable data on literacy, languages spoken, or preferred means of communication. The result too often is that […]

Language data for Guinea

According to the 2014 census of Guinea, the country has 22 major languages. French is the country’s official language, but is used almost exclusively as a second language. Six indigenous languages have the status of national languages: Pular (or Fula), Maninka, Susu, Kissi, Kpelle and Toma. According to the census (see chart below), Pular is […]

Language data for Nicaragua

The official language of Nicaragua is Spanish; however, according to the Nicaraguan Population Census from 2007, Nicaraguans on the Caribbean coast speak both Indigenous languages and English. Some of the most common Indigenous languages include Miskito, Sumo, and Rama. The Nicaraguan Census survey accounted for all people who spoke an Indigenous language, making no difference […]