Thứ Sáu, 22 tháng 11, 2013

Bilingualism Canada: Where Do People Speak Both Official Languages?

In a country as enormous as Canada, it’s difficult to know what’s going on in every area even without the added complication of two languages. But according to one map, it looks like many of us are speaking on the same wavelength.


This map, which was uploaded to Reddit’s Canadian section by user legarsdesvues on Wednesday, takes a look at where English and French are being spoken in the country:


12175 o BILINGUALISM IN CANADA 570


Taking its information from the 2006 Census and originally appearing in a Wikipedia entry entitled “bilingual belt,” it singles out one area, the West Island of Montreal, where residents are fluent in both English and French. Otherwise, a vast majority of the country — Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Nunavut — know only one language, which seems to be English based on those locations.


Despite the adoption of the Official Languages Act in 1969, which recognized English and French as the official languages of federal institutions in Canada, only one province — New Brunswick — is officially bilingual.


In the 2011 census, nearly 7 million Canadians reported speaking French most often at home, making up 21 per cent of the Canadian population. This is easily seen on the Quebec portion of the map, where anywhere from 20 to 100 per cent of the population knows both English and French.


Of course, English and French are hardly the only languages being spoken in Canada. The same census information demonstrates at least 200 languages being spoken at home by Canadians, with 17.5 per cent of the population speaking at least two languages each day.


What are the most common languages in Canada? Take a look:


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  • Chinese, n.o.s.


    bLanguage/b: Chinese, n.o.s.

    bOriginating country/b: China

    bDecrease in Canada/b: Approximately 8 per cent.




  • Italian


    bLanguage/b: Italian

    bOriginating country/b: Italy

    bDecrease in Canada/b: Approximately 5 per cent




  • Polish


    bLanguage/b: Polish

    bOriginating country/b: Poland

    bDecrease in Canada/b: Approximately 4 per cent




  • Greek


    bLanguage/b: Greek

    bOriginating country/b: Greece

    bDecrease in Canada/b: Approximately 1 per cent.




  • Vietnamese


    bLanguage/b: Vietnamese

    bOriginating country/b: Vietnam

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 4 per cent.




  • Cantonese


    bLanguage/b: Cantonese

    bOriginating country/b: China

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 4 per cent.




  • Portuguese


    bLanguage/b: Portuguese

    bOriginating countries/b: Portugal, Brazil, as well as Mozambique and Angola, among others

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 8 per cent.




  • Serbian


    bLanguage/b: Serbian

    bOriginating country/b: Serbia

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 10 per cent.




  • Ukrainian


    bLanguage/b: Ukrainian

    bOriginating country/b: Ukraine

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 10 per cent.




  • Korean


    bLanguage/b: Korean

    bOriginating countries/b: North and South Korea

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 13 per cent.




  • German


    bLanguage/b: German

    bOriginating countries/b: Germany, as well as Austria and Switzerland, among others

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 15 per cent.




  • Romanian


    bLanguage/b: Romanian

    bOriginating countries/b: Romania and Moldova

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 18 per cent.




  • Tamil


    bLanguage/b: Tamil

    bOriginating countries/b: Sri Lanka, India, as well as Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and Réunion

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 24 per cent.




  • Punjabi


    bLanguage/b: Punjabi

    bOriginating countries/b:India and Pakistan

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 26 per cent.




  • Gujarati


    bLanguage/b: Gujarati

    bOriginating country/b: India

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 28 per cent




  • Russian


    bLanguage/b: Russian

    bOriginating countries/b: Russia, as well as countries of the former Soviet Union

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 28 per cent.




  • Urdu


    bLanguage/b: Urdu

    bOriginating countries/b: Pakistan and India

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 32 per cent.




  • Spanish


    bLanguage/b: Spanish

    bOriginating countries/b: Spain, most of Latin America

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 34 per cent.




  • Farsi/Persian


    bLanguage/b: Farsi/Persian

    bOriginating countries/b: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain and Azerbaijan, among others

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 34 per cent.




  • Bengali


    bLanguage/b: Bengali

    bOriginating countries/b: Bangladesh and India, as well as communities in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore and others

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 40 per cent




  • Creoles


    bLanguage/b: Creoles

    bOriginating country/b: Haiti

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 42 per cent




  • Hindi


    bLanguage/b: Hindi

    bOriginating country/b: India

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 48 per cent




  • Arabic


    bLanguage/b: Arabic

    bOriginating countries/b: The League of Arab States, including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan, among others, as well as Turkey, Iran and Israel, among others

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 45 per cent




  • Mandarin


    bLanguage/b: Mandarin

    bOriginating country/b: Northern and southwestern China

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 53 per cent




  • Tagalog


    bLanguage/b: Tagalog

    bOriginating country/b: Philippines

    bIncrease in Canada/b: Approximately 65 per cent




Also on HuffPost:



Bilingualism Canada: Where Do People Speak Both Official Languages?

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