Language practices

As mentioned in the previous sections of this guide, questions on language practices arose from social and political developments at both the national level and in the province of Quebec.

Introduction to the data on language practices

Among the outcomes of these developments, the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism recommended that a question be added to the census on language use both at home and at work. In response, Statistics Canada added four new questions. Two questions ask about the Home Language and two ask about the person’s Language of Work. 

Other surveys at Statistics Canada have also tried to map the complete range of domains of language use. For this reason we also add language use in the public domain as exemplified in the Survey on the Vitality of Official Language Minorities. In short, this section is divided in three and covers: Language of Work, Home Language, and Language in the Public Domain.

Data Tables - language of work

In terms of data for the Language of Work variable, the National Household Survey is the only choice for the 2011 census year. Users looking for previous years shall consult the Census of Population data (2001-2006).

Several combinations of variables are available in cross-tabulations to serve different purposes. For instance, the perspective of language rights at work, language services demand, immigrant education, training, and labour force participation, as well as the distribution of languages in the labour force may all come into play.

To expand these potential research foci, we provide a few different tables of general interest. The first table highlights the language practices of Canadians at home and at work in relation to their mother tongue. This is interesting because the language spoken at home does not necessarily correlate to the languages used in the public domain or at work.

The second and third tables focus on the intersection between work and education for the general population as well as for immigrants. Towards this aim, the tables focus on language of work either by industry (NAICS) or occupation (NOC) combined with the moderating influences of education, immigrant status, and age.

The fourth table combines four language variables (i.e. mother tongue, home language, language of work, and first official language spoken) by immigrant status and place of birth. Through this table, the user may be able to get a general sense of the entire language spectrum including early childhood language, language by domain, language service demand according to the part of the world that the individual was born in.

  1. Language used most often at work (8), Other language used regularly at work (9), Language spoken most often at home (8), Other language spoken regularly at home (9), Mother Tongue (8) and Immigrant Status/Period of Immigration (10) for the working population aged 15+, Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas (Cat. 99-012-X2011029)
  2. (General) Language used most often at work (8), Other language used regularly at work (9), Mother Tongue (8), Industry-NAICS (21), Industry-NOC (11), Highest certificate, diploma, or degree (7) for the working population aged 15+, Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas (Cat. 99-012-X2011028)
  3. Language used most often at work (8), Other language used regularly at work (9), Mother Tongue (8) Industry-NAICS (21), Highest certificate, diploma, or degree (7) Immigrant status (4) and Age (5) for the working population aged 15+ in Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas (Cat. 99-012-X2011026)
  4. Mother tongue (8), First official language spoken (5) Language used most often at work (8) Other language used regularly at work (9) Language spoken most often at home (8) and Population by immigrant status and Place of Birth (66) for the working population aged 15+, Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas (Cat. 99-010-X2011042)

Data tables - home language

In contrast to the previous variable, the Home Language was introduced relatively early. It was phased in two parts. The first question that deals with languages spoken most often was added in 1971. The second question that asks about other languages spoken regularly was added in 2001. This variable gives us a clearer picture of the prevailing language practices in the family. Whereas Mother Tongue measures a persons’ childhood language, the Home Language variable measures language as currently spoken. Data for this variable comes from the Census (1971-) for all years. In the case of the 2011 census program, the National Household Survey also contains both questions.

The first table we provide contains the detailed Home Language variable by age and sex. It is intended as a general population table. It should be noted that this table includes Official languages, Aboriginal languages, as well as Immigrant languages.

The Home Language variable can also be crossed with other variables. In particular, we provide two such tables below. The second table combines Mother Tongue with Home Language, while the third uses the First Official Language Spoken (FOLS) variable. FOLS is particularly useful whenever examining the subject of official-language minorities.

  1. Detailed language spoken most often at home (232) Detailed other languages spoken regularly at home (233) Age (17) and Sex (3), Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas (Cat. 98-314-X2011042)
  2. Detailed mother tongue (232) Detailed language spoken most often at home (232) Other languages spoken regularly at home (9) and Sex (3), Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas (Cat. 98-314-XCB2011041)
  3. First official language spoken (7) Detailed language spoken most often at home (232) Age (17) and Sex (3), Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas (98-314-XCB201137)

Data tables - public domain

One survey in particular, the Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities (SVOLM), captures the full range of language practices across six social domains ranging from private to public (Corbeil, Grenier, and Lafrenière, 2007).

Using data from SVOLM, researchers at Statistics Canada developed six inter-related language indices that include the home language, language used with friends, language in the immediate network of adults, language of work, institutional languages, and languages in the media. As no aggregated data tables have been publicly released, we use the tables found in the appendix of the accompanying analytical report as a starting point to discuss the changing trends (see Corbeil, Grenier, and Lafrenière, 2007).

On the institutional side, SVOLM tables provide information on the languages used by health care practitioners, police, public servants, lawyers, and notaries. In terms of semi-private interactions, the survey provides tables on the languages while shopping, during sports, and with friends and neighbours. Lastly, language use is also reported in relation to writing in forms, reading books and newspapers, surfing the Internet, listening to the radio, and watching television. For an easier browsing experience, we provide these tables under the headings of Institutional Language Use, Social Language Use, and Language Use Through Media.

Related publications

  1. Béland, P. (2008) Langue et immigration, langue du travail: Eléments d'analyse. Conseil Supérieur de la Langue Française.
  2. Blaser, C. [Statistics Canada] (2009) Health care professionals and Official Language Minorities in Canada.(pdf, 740 KB) Demography Division. (Cat. 91-550-X)
  3. Boyd, M., and Schellenberg, G. (2007) Re-accreditation and the occupations of immigrant doctors and engineers.(pdf, 104 KB) Canadian Social Trends. (Cat. 11-008)
  4. Chui, T. and Zietsma, D. (2003) Earnings of immigrants in the 1990s.(pdf, 143 KB) Canadian Social Trends
  5. Corbeil, J.P. (2008) Using languages at work in Canada, 2006 Census.(pdf, 367 KB) **Glossary of definitions
  6. Derrick, T. [Statistics Canada] (2009) Immigrants in Canada who work in a language other than English or French.(pdf, 135 KB) Canadian Social Trends. (Cat. 11-008-X)
  7. Derrick, T. [Statistics Canada] (2009) The impact of working in a non-official language on the occupations and earnings of immigrants in Canada. (pdf, 136 KB) Canadian Social Trends. (Cat. 11-008-X)
  8. Dryburgh, H., and Hamel, J. (2004) Immigrants in demand: Staying or leaving? (pdf, 219 KB) Canadian Social Trends.
  9. Grenier, C., Corbeil, J-P, and Lafreniere, S. (2007) Minorities speak up: Results of the survey on the vitality of official-language minorities. (pdf, 1.38 MB) Demography Division, Statistics Canada. (Cat. 91-548-X)
  10. Grondin, C. [Statistics Canada] (2007) Knowledge of Official Languages among new immigrants: How important is it in the labour market? (pdf, 662 KB) Special Surveys Division. (Cat. 89-624-XIE)
  11. Houle, R., Corbeil, J.P., Charron, M. (2012) Les langues de travail au Québec en 2006. Office Québécois de la Langue Francaise. 
  12. Lavoie, E., and Houle, R., (2015) Language practices of children in Francophone families living in a minority linguistic environment.(pdf, 1.00 MB) Portrait of Official Language Minorities in Canada. Cat. 89-642-x2015012.
  13. Lavoie, E., and Houle, R., (2015) Language practices of children in Francophone families living outside Québec.(pdf, 576 KB) Insights on Canadian Society. Cat. 75-006-X
  14. Lepage, J.F. [Statistics Canada] (2012) The situation of Official-Language minorities in the labour market. (pdf, 495 KB) Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division. (Cat. 89-651-X2012001)
  15. Marmen, L. and Delisle, S. (2003) Healthcare in French outside Québec.(pdf, 93 KB) Canadian Social Trends.
  16. Martel, L. Caron-Malenfant, Vézina, S., and Bélanger, A. (2007) Labour Force Projections for Canada, 2006-2031.(pdf, 700 KB)Canadian Economic Observer. (Cat. 11-010-XIB)
  17. Office Québécois de la Langue Française (2006) Langue du travail: Indicateurs relatifs à l'évolution de la population active et a l'utilisation des langues au travail en 2001.(pdf, 1.46 MB)
  18. Statistics Canada (2003) Use of English and French at work. 2001 Census analysis series.
  19. Tran, K. (2004) Visible minorities in the labour force: 20 years of change.(pdf, 323 KB) Canadian Social Trends.
  20. Turcotte, M. [Statistics Canada] (2010) Retail customer service in French.(pdf, 153 KB) Canadian Social Trends (Cat. 11-008-X)