I recently worked on a post comparing the American census with its Indian counterpart. I co-authored it with Nataly Kelly of Common Sense Advisory.
Here’s an excerpt and the link:
Asking the language question. In the past, the U.S. Census asked individuals if they spoke a language other than English at home. No longer. The 2010 Census uses a short form, in which there is no question about language use. Presumably, individuals interested in this data will be able to obtain it from Question #14 of the ongoing American Community Survey instead. India takes the opposite approach – all languages and mother tongues with populations of 10,000 and above are recorded. The 2001 Indian Census found 122 languages and 234 mother tongues among its population.
Go check it out!
