San Francisco Language Access Ordinance Report 2018 San Francisco Language Access Ordinance Summary Re | Page 19

EMERGING LANGUAGE CONSIDERATIONS
An emerging community is a group of individuals who share a
culture and language, but may not have reached statistically
significant thresholds. However, their presence and need for
services is evident. These populations include the Maya, Arab,
and African immigrant communities. Although they may not
all live in San Francisco, these communities are present in the
Bay Area and typically work or receive services in San
Francisco.  
The LAO defines “Emerging Language Population” as “at
least 5,000 but less than 10,000 city residents who speak a
shared language other than English.”  2  According to the latest
American Community Survey, which is the most readily
available data, Russian and Vietnamese have reached this
threshold, with both languages representing 3% of all LEP
clients served in FY 2016-2017. Recognizing this trend, City
departments already have been consistently providing
services to these populations.
[2] Administrative Code Section 91.2
EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE DATA COLLECTION
Reliable data on language, in particular for limited English
speakers, is becoming difficult to obtain and analyze. The
most reliable source is the U.S. Census Bureau. However,
the American Community Survey (ACS) is based on an
annual sampling of about one in 40 households and has a
high margin of error. In addition, the Census Bureau has
stopped disaggregating more detailed data on individual
languages at the Census tract, city, and county levels to
protect the data privacy of smaller language groups in the
United States. As such, the City should consider other
sources of reliable data, such as data from community-
based organizations, school districts, and local and state
governments to obtain a more complete picture of
communities that may require language access services.
MAYAN LANGUAGES
Mayan refers to at least 26 different
cultural and linguistic groups from
Mexico and Central America who often
do not speak Spanish or are limited
Spanish proficient. The languages
spoken in San Francisco are primarily
Maya Yucateco, with smaller
populations of Maya Mam, Tseltal, Ch’ol,
and K’iche. While this growing
population in San Francisco is evident
through the proliferation  of Mayan and
Mayan serving businesses, their
linguistic diversity makes the population
difficult to document and track. 
ARABIC
Of the 3,247 residents in the city who
speak Arabic at home, 32% or 1,126,
are LEP, with the majority living in
Districts 3, 6, and 7.
KOREAN
More than half (51%) of the 6,242
residents who speak Korean at home
are LEP. The largest concentration of
Korean LEP speakers lives in District 5
(1,135 residents). 
FRENCH
Of the 9,419 residents who speak
French at home, 1,129 are LEP. They
live in scattered pockets throughout
San Francisco, with the greatest
concentration in District 2.