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 Existing language data is often outdated and does not necessarily reflect large-scale population movements. To meet the need for up-to-date information, TWB has successfully worked with partners like IOM DTM, REACH and UNICEF to integrate standard language questions into ongoing surveys.

Below we propose a set of standard questions that can be included in any survey. All questions are formatted to conform with OpenDataKit (ODK) standards.

We have carefully developed these questions and tested them in several languages and contexts to make sure that each question obtains relevant answers. However, we recommend that you test your survey instrument with a small sample, in line with good data collection practices.

The languages are listed using the international language codes.

If you have any questions or comments, let us know at [email protected]

Use this if you can include only a single language question in your survey

Use this if you can include up to four language questions in your survey

Main language

Individual


PHRASING	What is the main language you use at home?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the wording “main language spoken at home” as opposed to “mother tongue” or “primary language.” In our experience, this wording is the easiest to translate and helps to ensure that this questions focuses on language, and not ethnicity. Include a list of answers with as many local languages as you know. Making the question open ended is likely to cause significant coding and consistency issues due to multiple different spellings, or different dialects of the same language being referred to separately.
	Download all questions for individuals

Household


PHRASING	What is the main language your household uses at home?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the wording “main language spoken at home” as opposed to “mother tongue” or “primary language.” In our experience, this wording is the easiest to translate and helps to ensure that this questions focuses on language, and not ethnicity. Include a list of answers with as many local languages as you know. Making the question open ended is likely to cause significant coding and consistency issues due to multiple different spellings, or different dialects of the same language being referred to separately.

Key informant


PHRASING	What is the primary language used by the community at this site?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Include a list of answers with as many local languages as you know. Making the question open ended is likely to cause significant coding and consistency issues due to multiple different spellings, or different dialects of the same language being referred to separately. This question is best when paired with the "other spoken languages" question as it will help to know when the language of responders is different than the language of the community.

Use this if you can include up to four language questions in your survey

Preferred spoken language

Individual


PHRASING	Which language do you prefer to receive spoken or signed information in?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (multiple answers)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question.

Household


PHRASING	Which language does your household prefer to receive spoken or signed information in?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question.

Key informant


PHRASING	Which language do the majority of people at this site prefer to receive spoken or signed information in?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question.

Use this if you can include up to four language questions in your survey

Preferred written language

Individual


PHRASING	Which language do you prefer to receive written or signed information in?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, other ______, None
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question. Make sure to include a "none" option in case the person wants to specify that they cannot read and do not prefer to receive any written information.

Household


PHRASING	Which language does your household prefer to receive written information in?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, other ______, None
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question. Make sure to include a "none" option in case the respondent wants to specify that no one in their household can read and they do not prefer to receive any written information.

Key informant


PHRASING	Which language do the majority of people at this site prefer to receive written information in?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, other ______, None
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question. Make sure to include a "none" option in case the respondent wants to specify that no one at this site can read and they do not prefer to receive any written information.

Use this if you can include up to four language questions in your survey

Preferred mode of information

Individual


PHRASING	How do you prefer to receive information?
QUESTION CHOICES	In person, Radio, TV, Poster, Leaflet, Phone call, SMS, other
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	List out other formats that may be relevant in your context.

Household


PHRASING	How does your household prefer to receive information?
QUESTION CHOICES	In person, Radio, TV, Poster, Leaflet, Phone call, SMS, other
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	List out other formats that may be relevant in your context.

Key informant


PHRASING	How do the majority of people at this site prefer to receive information?
QUESTION CHOICES	In person, Radio, TV, Poster, Leaflet, Phone call, SMS, other
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	List out other formats that may be relevant in your context.

Other spoken languages

Individual


PHRASING	Which other language(s) do you speak?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (multiple answers)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question.

Household


PHRASING	Which other language(s) do members of your household speak?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (multiple answers)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question.

Key informant


PHRASING	Which other language(s) are spoken by the community at this site?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages, [American] Sign Language, other ______
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (multiple answers)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question.

Ability to speak given language

Individual


PHRASING	How well can you speak [English]?
QUESTION CHOICES	Very well, well, not well, not at all.
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Replace "English" with any relevant language. Where possible, check the overall accuracy of this self-reported comprehension rating through comprehension testing with a sample of respondents.

Household


PHRASING	How well can members of your household speak [English]?
QUESTION CHOICES	Very well, well, not well, not at all.
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Replace "English" with any relevant language. This can be a challenging question to ask in household surveys where it's very likely that different members of the household have different language skills. Where possible, check the overall accuracy of this self-reported comprehension rating through comprehension testing with a sample of respondents.

Ability to write in given language

Individual


PHRASING	How well can you read [English]?
QUESTION CHOICES	Very well, well, not well, not at all.
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Replace "English" with any relevant language. Where possible, check the overall accuracy of this self-reported comprehension rating through comprehension testing with a sample of respondents.

Household


PHRASING	How well can members of your household read [English]?
QUESTION CHOICES	Very well, well, not well, not at all.
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Replace "English" with any relevant language. Where possible, check the overall accuracy of this self-reported comprehension rating through comprehension testing with a sample of respondents.

Languages spoken by service providers

Individual


PHRASING	Which language do service providers mainly use when speaking with you?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	This question is best when paired with the Other spoken languages question, as it will help to know when responders are using a spoken language that is different than the language(s) of the community.

Household


PHRASING	Which language do service providers mainly use when speaking with your household?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	This question is best when paired with the Other spoken languages question, as it will help to know when responders are using a spoken language that is different than the language(s) of the community.

Key informant


PHRASING	Which language do service providers mainly use to speak with people at this site?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	This question is best when paired with the Other spoken languages question, as it will help to know when responders are using a spoken language that is different than the language(s) of the community.

Languages used by service providers in written format

Individual


PHRASING	Which language do service providers mainly use when sharing written information with you?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	This question is best when paired with the Other spoken languages question, as it will help to know when responders are using a spoken language that is different than the language(s) of the community.

Household


PHRASING	Which language do service providers mainly use when sharing written information with your household?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	This question is best when paired with the Other spoken languages question, as it will help to know when responders are using a spoken language that is different than the language(s) of the community.

Key informant


PHRASING	Which language do service providers mainly produce written material in for people at this site?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	This question is best when paired with the Other spoken languages question, as it will help to know when responders are using a spoken language that is different than the language(s) of the community.

Preferred means of feedback to service providers

Individual


PHRASING	How do you prefer to give feedback or share concerns with service providers?
QUESTION CHOICES	In person, Phone call, SMS, Suggestion box, Voice recorder, Radio, other
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	List out other formats that may be relevant in your context.

Household


PHRASING	How does your household prefer to give feedback or share concerns with service providers?
QUESTION CHOICES	In person, Phone call, SMS, Suggestion box, Voice recorder, Radio, other
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	List out other formats that may be relevant in your context.

Preferred language of feedback to service providers

Individual


PHRASING	Which language would you prefer to use when giving feedback or sharing concerns with service providers?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages.
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question.

Household


PHRASING	Which language would your household prefer to use when giving feedback or sharing concerns with service providers?
QUESTION CHOICES	List of local languages.
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	Use the same list of languages/answers as in the main language question.

Downloadable question bank
XLS files formatted for ODK or Kobo Toolbox

Ukraine response

Recommended questions on language and communication for needs assessments during the 2022 Ukraine response, including translations into relevant languages.

	Questions for individuals
	Czech (CS) · Hungarian (HU) · Romanian (RO) · Russian (RU) · Slovak (SK) · Ukrainian (UK) · German (DE) · Polish (PL) · Multilingual (EN, CS, HU, RO, RU, SK, UK, DE, PL)

	Questions for households
	Czech (CS) · Hungarian (HU) · Romanian (RO) · Russian (RU) · Slovak (SK) · Ukrainian (UK) · German (DE) · Polish (PL) · Multilingual (EN, CS, HU, RO, RU, SK, UK, DE, PL)

	Questions for key informants
	Czech (CS) · Hungarian (HU) · Romanian (RO) · Russian (RU) · Slovak (SK) · Ukrainian (UK) · German (DE) · Polish (PL) · Multilingual (EN, CS, HU, RO, RU, SK, UK, DE, PL)

Pakistan flood response

Recommended questions on language and communication for needs assessments as part of Pakistan flood response, including translations into relevant languages.

	Questions for individuals
	Balochi (BA) · Pashto (PS) · Punjabi (PA) · Saraiki (SAR) · Sindhi (SD) · Urdu (UR)

	Questions for households
	Balochi (BA) · Pashto (PS) · Punjabi (PA) · Saraiki (SAR) · Sindhi (SD) · Urdu (UR)

	Questions for key informants
	Balochi (BA) · Pashto (PS) · Punjabi (PA) · Saraiki (SAR) · Sindhi (SD) · Urdu (UR)

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PHRASING	Are there any particular groups of people who struggle to receive information in this community? If so, please specify.
QUESTION CHOICES	No, Yes
QUESTION FORMAT	Multiple choice (single answer)
NOTES	If answer is positive, include list of potentially excluded groups in a follow-up question (older people, persons with disabilities, children, women, pregnant women, minority ethnic groups, other).

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