More Canadians report having a stronger attachment to their native language than other indicators of identity, including the country they call home, according to new research.
According to a survey Leger conducted for the Canadian Research Association, 88% of respondents reported a strong attachment to their mother tongue, compared with 85%. % report the same for Canada.
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The importance of language was particularly evident 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.{18
Of the identity markers considered in the study, Canadians were the least likely to report strong attachment to religious groups.
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Jack Jedwab, president of the Canadian Research Association, said the findings highlight the important role language plays in people's identities.
"It may surprise you 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 said we must be careful not to underestimate the importance of language. He said language has the dual function of facilitating communication 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. I see it doing," he added.
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An online survey was completed by 1,764 Canadians between July 8th and 10th. it was done. Online surveys were not taken into account, so a range of error cannot be assigned. A really random sample.
First language 91% of Canadians who speak French report feeling strongly attached to their language, compared to 67% who reported the same feelings towards Canada.
More people in Quebec felt a stronger attachment to their native language than in the province.
Only 37% of Canadians reported having a strong attachment to a religious group. was.
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Mr. Jedwab said that for Quebec, which closely monitors the state of French compared to other languages, the Census
Leger's survey also found that more than half of French-speaking Quebecers said they knew English well enough to have a conversation. understood. 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 previous 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.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
