New survey finds more Canadians have stronger attachment to their first language than other markers of identity, including the country they call home reported to have
According to a survey conducted by his Leger for the Canadian Research Association, 88% of respondents reported a strong attachment to their native language, compared with 85%. reported the same for Canada.
The importance of language was particularly pronounced among French-speaking peoples and indigenous peoples.
Reports of strong attachment to the first language outweighed all other markers of identity, including geography, ethnic group, racialized identity, and religious affiliation.
Among the indicators of identity considered in the survey, Canadians were the least likely to report strong attachment to religious groups.
Jacques Jedwab, Canadian Association for Research The chairman said the findings highlight the important role language plays in people's identities.
"I think you might be surprised that many Canadians may not intuitively think that language is as important as other expressions of identity that attract attention.
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Jedwab said that given how important language is to a community, people should be careful not to underestimate the importance of language. He said it has the dual function of facilitating and expressing culture.
"People may tend to downplay the importance of other languages," he said.
“Historically, we have not paid enough attention to indigenous languages.
An online survey was completed by 1,764 Canadians between July 8-10. Online surveys are not considered truly random samples, so error bars cannot be assigned.
Among Canadians whose first language is French, 91% reported a strong attachment to their language, compared to those who reported the same feelings towards Canada. he was 67%.
More people in Quebec felt a stronger attachment to their native language than to their state.
Only 37% of Canadians reported having a strong attachment to a religious group.
Mr Jedwab said the census release would be particularly important for Quebec, which closely monitors the state of French compared to other languages.
} Leger's survey also found that more than half of French-speaking Quebecers say they know English well enough to have a conversation. This contrasts with less than 1 in 10 English respondents who said they could converse in French in all provinces except Quebec and New Brunswick.
According to the last census, English-French bilingualism rose from 17.5% in 2011 to 17.9% in 2016, the highest bilingual rate in Canada's history.60% of the increase in bilingualism The above was attributed to Quebec.
This Canadian Press report was first published on August 11, 2022.