A. J. Christopher
Questions of language in the commonwealth censuses
Nelson Mandela University
abstract censuses governments conduct provide information society provision better order welfare frequently included questions language two aspects subject enquiry first language aspect personal identity notably mother tongue spoken recorded second measure progress education levels literacy probed thus specific skills particular languages asked often monitor language loss promotion official tongues however within countries commonwealth remarkable lack linguistic curiosity feature apparent since beginning modern census taking 19th century perpetuated postcolonial era result language questions posed diverse little systematic approach information sought indeed half countries latest round commonwealth censuses asked none remainder usually included one two issues result comparatively little known published census data either linguistic allegiances abilities large proportion inhabitants commonwealth evolution time copyright 2010 john wiley amp sons ltd