Bilingualism in Canada

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Bilingual stop sign in the capital, Ottawa

The Bilingualism in Canada refers to the use of English and French by the people and the authorities of Canada . “Institutional bilingualism ” describes the state's task of ensuring that both official languages have equal status by adopting and enforcing constitutional provisions and laws . It is not to be equated with “personal bilingualism” - the ability to speak two different languages. There is also no obligation to speak both languages.

Situation in the provinces and territories

Of the ten provinces, only New Brunswick has chosen to voluntarily become officially bilingual. Québec, on the other hand, is the only province that is officially monolingual (French). In the eight other provinces, although English is the language of the vast majority and a generally recognized working language in authorities and courts, it is only the de facto official language. In practice, all provinces offer services and education in both languages ​​to some extent, but the offer varies widely, even within a province.

English and French are equally official languages ​​in the three territories. In addition, Inuktitut is the third official language in Nunavut . In the Northwest Territories, nine indigenous languages ​​also have official status; However, laws are only binding in English and French and the authorities only have to publish in other languages ​​if the legislator expressly requests this.

Chronological development of language policy

  • 1867: Article 133 of the British North America Act (the text is now part of the Constitutional Act of 1867 ) allows French or English to be used in the Canadian Parliament and Federal Courts. It also mandates the use of both languages ​​in the publication of laws, ordinances, court judgments, etc.
  • 1870: With Manitoba's admission to the Canadian Confederation , French is made the official and school language in this province. The provincial parliament deliberately disregarded the Manitoba Act in 1890 and withdrew French from its status as an official language. It also stops funding Catholic schools; with the result that French as a school language is almost completely out of use (→ Manitoba school question ).
  • 1912: The Ontario government adopts Regulation 17 , which prohibits the use of French as the language of instruction after the first year of school and no longer provides for French language teaching after the fourth year of school. Due to violent protests, regulation 17 can never be fully implemented and is finally repealed in 1927.
  • 1927: Postage stamps become bilingual; banknotes follow nine years later .
  • 1963: The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism , appointed by Prime Minister Lester Pearson , begins its work. Their recommendations finally lead in 1969 to the adoption and entry into force of the Official Language Act at federal level.
  • 1969: New Brunswick takes over the regulation of the federal government, enacts its own official language law and thereby becomes an officially bilingual province.
  • 1970: The official language commissioner begins its work.
  • 1974: The Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act (Loi sur l'emballage et l'étiquetage des produits de consommation) passed by the Federal Parliament stipulates that all consumer goods packaging throughout the country must be labeled in English and French. Bilingual packaging has since become the most visible feature of official bilingualism.
  • 1977: The French Language Charter comes into force in Québec . It tightened the Quebec Official Language Act of 1974, which made French the only official language of the province. Additional regulations make French the sole working language , prevent immigrants and Francophones from enrolling their children in English-speaking classes, and restrict the use of English on commercial lettering. Individual provisions have to be relaxed later as they violate the constitution.
  • 1984: French is made an official language in the Northwest Territories. It had this status since 1877, but the provision was lifted in 1892.
  • 1985: Manitoba Provincial Parliament and Courts refuse to lift the 1890 ban on French as the official language. However, following a decision by the Supreme Court , the province is forced to do so as this is contrary to the constitution.
  • 1986: The French Language Services Act comes into effect in Ontario, obliging provincial authorities to provide French-speaking services in communities where the francophone population is greater than 5,000 or where the French-speaking population is at least 10% of the total population.
  • 1988: Revision of the Official Language Act, bringing it into line with the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . In addition, the English-speaking minority in Québec and the French-speaking minority in the other provinces are supported. Among other things, schools for the linguistic minorities are co-financed from federal funds.
  • Current: the binding legal text has been changed slightly or editorially since then, most recently in 2015.

See also

literature

  • Linda Cardinal, François Laroque: La Constitution bilingue du Canada, un projet inachevé. Presses de l ' Université de Laval 2017
  • Hans Heinrich Stern: Fundamental concepts of language teaching. Oxford University Press, 1983

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Regulations 17
  2. ^ Official Languages ​​of New Brunswick Act
  3. ↑ Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act ( Memento of January 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Charter of the French Language: French , English
  5. ↑ Reference Re Manitoba Language Rights ( Memento April 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ^ French Language Services Act
  7. ↑ The web link in the Lemma Official Language Act (Canada) leads to the currently valid version
  8. ↑ Under his leadership, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education focused on the acquisition of French as a second language for Anglophone school children. Stern, life and work at "Sprachforscher im Exil 1933-1945". The German National Library lists a number of his works on Canadian bilingualism.