Punjabi, Bengali languages growing in Canada
26 Oct 2012 8:00 AM IST
One-fifth of Canada’s population speak a language other than the country’s two official languages - English or French - at home, with Punjabi, Hindi and Bengali among the fastest growing immigrant languages, according to the latest census data.
Nearly 6,630,000 people, spoke a language other than English or French, either alone or in some combination with English or French, according to ‘2011 Census of Population: Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians’.
Almost one-third or 2,145,000 people reported that the only language they spoke at home was a language other than English or French, that is, a non-official language. The remaining two-thirds spoke a non-official language in combination with either English or French.
The 2,145,000 people who spoke only a non-official language accounted for 6.5 per cent of the population, unchanged from 2006.
In total, 58 per cent of the population or 19,225,000 spoke only English at home, while 18.2 per cent or 6,043,000 spoke only French. Both proportions were down slightly from 2006, government agency ‘Statistics Canada’ reported.
The use of multiple languages at home has increased. In 2011, 11.5 per cent of the population reported using English and a language other than French, up from 9.1 per cent in 2006. Similarly, 1.3 per cent of the population reported using French and a language other than English in 2011, up from 1.0 per cent. Most of these people lived in Quebec.
The home languages showing the strongest growth between 2006 and 2011 were primarily Asian. The population that reported speaking the Philippine-based language Tagalog increased by 64 per cent, the highest growth.
Nearly 6,630,000 people, spoke a language other than English or French, either alone or in some combination with English or French, according to ‘2011 Census of Population: Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians’.
Almost one-third or 2,145,000 people reported that the only language they spoke at home was a language other than English or French, that is, a non-official language. The remaining two-thirds spoke a non-official language in combination with either English or French.
The 2,145,000 people who spoke only a non-official language accounted for 6.5 per cent of the population, unchanged from 2006.
In total, 58 per cent of the population or 19,225,000 spoke only English at home, while 18.2 per cent or 6,043,000 spoke only French. Both proportions were down slightly from 2006, government agency ‘Statistics Canada’ reported.
The use of multiple languages at home has increased. In 2011, 11.5 per cent of the population reported using English and a language other than French, up from 9.1 per cent in 2006. Similarly, 1.3 per cent of the population reported using French and a language other than English in 2011, up from 1.0 per cent. Most of these people lived in Quebec.
The home languages showing the strongest growth between 2006 and 2011 were primarily Asian. The population that reported speaking the Philippine-based language Tagalog increased by 64 per cent, the highest growth.
Next Story
