Houston Language Bank bilingual translations are designed to promote English language comprehension in the Communication Product delivered for website posting. Condensing English language content of the information message, produced in bilingual format cultivates English acquisition and drives info comprehension across the family's multi-generation composition.
English Proficiency Levels
English language proficiency for these 1.8 million taxpayers varies greatly.
Except for the elderly, most immigrants here acquire a functional level in spoken English; and, generally their second language proficiencies relate to work.
However, degrees of difficulty in English reading comprehension remain a chronic barrier to accessing complex and critical public information,
just as it is for native English speakers who acquire a second language.
Levels of Need for Language Access Among Constituencies
The levels of need for translated information access among today's culturally diverse population varies.
These variables depend on immigrant / refugee status, English bilingual education background, and socio-economic status, among other determinants.
Prioritizing translated public information is based on considerations of both raw population numbers and the language groups' arrival context and circumstance.
Prioritizing specific language translations is based on Needs Assessment determined by Public Sector departments in concert with Constituent Public input.
Primary Languages:
Other than Spanish
Arabic
Asia Minor Languages
Bhutanese
Burmese
Cambodian
Cantonese
East European
Farsi
French
Hindi
Japanese
Korean
Lao
Mandarin
Portuguese
Russian
Tagalog
Taiwanese
Thai
Urdu
Vietnamese
Languages Spoken: City of Houston, State of Texas and the United States - Source: 2011 ACS, US Census Bureau Date: May 9, 2013
Afghanis / Pashto, Dari
Azerbaijanis / Azeri
Bosnian & Serbian / Bosnian, Serbo-Croatian
Burundi / Kirundi, Kinyarwanda
Congolese / Swahili, Lingala, Kirundi, Kinyardwandan
Eritreans / Tigrinya, Kunama, Afar
Ethiopians / Oromo, Tigrinya
Germany / German
Hmong / Hmong, Mong
Israel / Hebrew
Kosovar Albanians / Albanian
Kyrgyzstan / Russian, Kyrgyz
Malawi / Malawian
Mali / French, Bambara, Arabic
Mauritania/ Arabic
Nepal / Nepali, Tamang
Polish / Polish
Romanian / Romanian
Rwandan / Kinyarwanda
Somali Bantu / Maay Maay, Somali, Af-Maay, Zigua, Swahili
Sri Lanka / Sinhala, Tamil, Malay
Sudan Darfur Peoples / Fur, Massalit, Zaghawa
Sudanese / Dinka, Nuer, Zande, Arabic, Bare
Uganda / Swahili
Zambia / Bantu, English
.