Primary Language Spoken at Home
Definition
The primary language spoken at home by the family receiving assistance.
Data Standards
Missing
Optional. Required beginning with October 2016 report.
Out of Range
01-12
Codes:
01 = English
02 = Spanish
03 = Native Central, South American, and Mexican languages (e.g., Mixteco, Quichean)
04 = Caribbean Languages (e.g., Haitian-Creole, Patois)
05 = Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages (e.g., Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali)
06 = East Asian Languages (e.g., Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog)
07 = Native North American/Alaska Native Languages
08 = Pacific Island Languages (e.g., Palauan, Fijian)
09 = European and Slavic Languages (e.g., German, French, Italian, Croatian, Yiddish, Portuguese, Russian)
10 = African Languages (e.g., Swahili, Wolof)
11 = Other (e.g., American Sign Language)
12 = Unspecified (Unknown or head of household declined to identify home language)
Internal Inconsistency
No internal consistency standard.
Field Size
2
Format (NN)
Number
Guidance
Report the two digit code indicating which language is the primary language spoken at home. If primary language is unknown, report “12”.