Fun with the MLA language map

[muckefuck]

• Of the 35 named languages spoken as primary home languages among households within my current area code according to the 2000 census, I've studied[*] 22.
• Languages which are not named separately are spoken by 3,666 individuals or 12% of the non-English total. The biggest single bloc of these (1,835) is speakers of "African languages". (The only named "African language" is Arabic.)
• Even though a majority (56.8%) of residents in my area code have English as their home language, only a minority (46.4%) of children aged 5-17 do.
• Although the area includes Little Saigon, there are twice as many speakers of Spanish than speakers of Asian languages.
• None of the places I've lived in a Chicago had a majority with languages other than English as their home languages, but my brother and sister-in-law's area does.

[*] Where "studied" has the minimum value of "dicked around with a Teach Yourself-style book for a non-negligible amount of time".

Comments

[alcarilinque.livejournal.com]

Just curious-- what's the list of languages spoken in your area code, and where (more exactly) do you find the info?

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

I didn't think there was a language freak left online who didn't already know about the MLA Language Map. My zip code is 60640 (most of Uptown, parts of Edgewater and Andersonville).

[keyne.livejournal.com]

I didn't!