Person—preferred spoken language, code (ASCL 2016) N[NNN]
Identifying and definitional attributes | |
Metadata item type: | Data Element |
|---|---|
| Short name: | Preferred spoken language |
| METEOR identifier: | 666375 |
| Registration status: |
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| Definition: | The language (including sign language) most preferred by the person for communication, as represented by a code. |
| Context: | Health and welfare services: An important indicator of ethnicity, especially for persons born in non-English-speaking countries. Its collection will assist in the planning and provision of multilingual services and facilitate program and service delivery for migrants and other non-English speakers. |
| Data Element Concept: | Person—preferred spoken language |
Value domain attributes | ||||
Representational attributes | ||||
| Classification scheme: | Australian Standard Classification of Languages 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representation class: | Code | |||
| Data type: | Number | |||
| Format: | N[NNN] | |||
| Maximum character length: | 4 | |||
Collection and usage attributes | ||||
| Guide for use: | The ASCL has a three-level hierarchical structure. The most detailed level of the classification consists of languages which are represented by four-digit codes. The second level of the classification comprises narrow groups of languages (the Narrow group level), identified by two-digit and three-digit codes. The most general level of the classification consists of broad groups of languages (the Broad group level) and is identified by one-digit codes. The classification includes Australian Indigenous languages and sign languages. For example, the Lithuanian language has a code of 3102. In this case 3 denotes that it is an Eastern European language, while 31 denotes that it is a Baltic language. The Pintupi Aboriginal language is coded as 8713. In this case 8 denotes that it is an Australian Indigenous language and 87 denotes that the language is a Western Desert language. Language data may be output at the Broad group level, Narrow group level or the language level of the classification. Also, significant languages within a Narrow group can be presented separately with the remaining languages of the Narrow group aggregated. The same principle can be adopted to highlight significant Narrow groups within a Broad group. | |||
Source and reference attributes | ||||
| Submitting organisation: | Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | |||
Data element attributes | ||||
Collection and usage attributes | ||||
| Guide for use: | This may be a language other than English even where the person can speak fluent English. | |||
Source and reference attributes | ||||
| Submitting organisation: | Australian Government Department of Social Services | |||
Relational attributes | ||||
| Implementation in Data Set Specifications: |
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