diff --git a/app-profiles/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js b/app-profiles/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js
index b9279c8bf..961029559 100644
--- a/app-profiles/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js
+++ b/app-profiles/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
  * migrated bundle behaves identically.
  */
 import { lbl } from './src/composables/useDashboardAggregations.js'
+import { readLanguageFamily } from '@map/composables/legends/useLanguageFamilyLegendData.js'
 
 // same numeric coercion the DataTable uses for its num columns
 const num = (v) => { if (typeof v === 'number') return v; const n = parseFloat(String(v ?? '').replace(/[^0-9.\-]/g, '')); return isNaN(n) ? null : n }
@@ -41,7 +42,11 @@ export default {
     wagf_block: { label: 'Block', get: (r) => lbl(r.wagf_block) },
     country_code: { label: 'Country', get: (r) => lbl(r.country_code), geoIso: (r) => r.country_code && r.country_code.value },
     engagement_status: { label: 'Status', get: (r) => lbl(r.engagement_status) },
-    language_family: { label: 'Language Family', get: (r) => lbl(r.imb_language_family) },
+    // The API fills imb_language_family for only a few dozen rows, so the family is resolved
+    // the way the research map's legend buckets it: the API family when present, else derived
+    // from the primary-language label. The same accessor drives the counts and the row-click
+    // filter, so a family row narrows every linked panel.
+    language_family: { label: 'Language Family', get: (r) => readLanguageFamily({ languageFamily: r.imb_language_family, primary_language: r.primary_language }) },
     primary_language: { label: 'Language', get: (r) => lbl(r.primary_language) },
     // People tier accessors — key by CODE (DashboardFacetRail resolves code→human name via
     // useAffinityBlockLegendData). Mirrors research-map's affinity-block → cluster → PG hierarchy.
diff --git a/library/composables/legends/useLanguageFamilyLegendData.js b/library/composables/legends/useLanguageFamilyLegendData.js
index e75a67b08..68968dcc5 100644
--- a/library/composables/legends/useLanguageFamilyLegendData.js
+++ b/library/composables/legends/useLanguageFamilyLegendData.js
@@ -132,6 +132,11 @@ function readFamily(p) {
   }
   return 'Unknown'
 }
+// Per-row family accessor for surfaces that aggregate RAW API rows (the research
+// dashboard's facet rail). Same precedence as the legend buckets above: the API
+// family when present, else derived from the primary-language label. Feed it
+// { languageFamily, primary_language } (or any shape readFamily reads).
+export const readLanguageFamily = readFamily
 function readLanguage(p) {
   // Read from _raw first (returns original API comma-inverted label like "Arabic, Sudanese").
   // p.language may have been overwritten to the unwrapped value form by useMapData.