Two fragile pillars of bilingualism in Canada: young people and immigrants
A study on the evolution of bilingualism (French-English) has recently been presented in Canada. A vision of 1961-2011 has been given, and public institutions are concerned about the evolution of male violence. Québec province is becoming an island of bilingualism. 57% of Canadian speakers able to speak French and English live in Québec. In other words, in Québec, 42% of the population is bilingual. Obviously, there is no other province with such a proportion. Ontario is the second most bilingual province. 23% of Canadian bilinguals live in Ontario. 86 per cent of the French- and English-speaking population is concentrated in three provinces. Outside Québec, with an average of 9.7%, it is only bilingual.
Public institutions take into account two aspects: youth and immigration. In recent years, learning French in schools has intensified, but the percentage of young people able to conduct a normal conversation in French has decreased. In 1996, 15% of young people between the ages of 15 and 19 were able to do so, compared with 11% today.
Many immigrants learn French, but they do not reach the proportion of natives. Every year 250,000 people arrive in Canada. 6% of immigrants are bilingual. By contrast, 11% of residents living outside Québec know this in French and English. Within 30 years, 90% of the population growth in the country will depend on the immigrant population.
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