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TRILINGUALISM FLOURISHES IN MONTREAL
Cheryl Cornacchia
Montreal Gazette
[email protected]
Jan 8 2008
Canada
While widespread bilingualism remains an unattained goal in the rest of
Canada, in Montreal, the level of trilingualism has jumped yet again.
In 2006, the number of people in the Greater Montreal area able to
converse in both of Canada's official languages plus another language,
increased to 18 per cent up from 16.5 per cent in 2001.
About 660,000 Montrealers know three languages, according to Jack
Jedwab, the Montreal researcher who conducted the study that looks
at trilingualism in 10 selected Canadian cities.
"It's good news all around," said Jedwab, an executive director of
the Association for Canadian Studies in Montreal.
When it comes to language proficiency, Jedwab said, Montrealers far
surpass those living in the nine other cities analyzed as part of
the study.
Montreal is not only one of North America's most cosmopolitan cities
but also one of the most linguistically gifted, he said.
"The message for the rest of the country," he added is that "where
there is a will, there is a way."
At 10.5 per cent and 10.2 per cent of their population, respectively,
Toronto and Ottawa came the closest to Montreal for trilingual
speakers. At 1.2 per cent, Halifax had the fewest number of trilingual
speakers.
Jedwab who teaches a course entitled Canada's Official Language
Minorities: History and Demography at McGill University's Institute
for the Study of Canada, analyzed 2006 Canadian census data, released
last month, to arrive at the linguistic portrait.
The study also found that in Montreal Armenians (77 per cent),
followed by Italians (72.3 per cent) and, then, the Dutch (71.9 per
cent) were the three most bilingual of the city's allophone groups.
The least bilingual of the city's allophone groups, unable to speak
either of Canada's official languages, were Cantonese (21 per cent),
Cambodian (15.5 per cent) and Punjabi (15.3 per cent).
Hagop Boulgarian, principal of l'Ecole Armenien Sourp Hagop, a
675-student private elementary/secondary school in Montreal said the
findings about his ethnic group didn't surprise him.
With genocide and a diaspora in his people's history, Boulgarian said,
learning new languages - and fast - has been an important survival
tool for Armenians in general, not only the 25,000 living in the
Greater Montreal region.
Aloisio Mulas, acting director of the Picai Institute of Montreal,
which is devoted to the promotion of Italian culture and language,
said Italians in Montreal have shared that passion for speaking French
and English.
However, he said, attendance in Italian language classes at the
institute have been falling over the past decade. Some families after
a generation or two in the city, he said, become less concerned about
ensuring their children keep up their Italian language skills.
Denise De Haan Veilleux, a cultural attache at the Consulate General
of the Netherlands in Montreal said she is pleased but not surprised
to see that so many Dutch living in Montreal are multilingual.
In Holland, she said, children must study two languages, English and
French or German when they reach high school.
"It's just something you do," said De Hann Veilleux. "The attitude
towards other languages is very different.
"It's no big deal" added the 47-year-old francophone, who grew up in
Quebec City and learned English and Dutch only after she married and
moved abroad for various postings.
With the family now back in Canada, she said, her 20-year-old son
studying at McGill University and a 13-year-old daughter are lucky
to be able to speak French, English, Dutch, German and Arabic.
"It's like a present you give them as children," she said. "They
don't have to learn as adults."
Cheryl Cornacchia
Montreal Gazette
[email protected]
Jan 8 2008
Canada
While widespread bilingualism remains an unattained goal in the rest of
Canada, in Montreal, the level of trilingualism has jumped yet again.
In 2006, the number of people in the Greater Montreal area able to
converse in both of Canada's official languages plus another language,
increased to 18 per cent up from 16.5 per cent in 2001.
About 660,000 Montrealers know three languages, according to Jack
Jedwab, the Montreal researcher who conducted the study that looks
at trilingualism in 10 selected Canadian cities.
"It's good news all around," said Jedwab, an executive director of
the Association for Canadian Studies in Montreal.
When it comes to language proficiency, Jedwab said, Montrealers far
surpass those living in the nine other cities analyzed as part of
the study.
Montreal is not only one of North America's most cosmopolitan cities
but also one of the most linguistically gifted, he said.
"The message for the rest of the country," he added is that "where
there is a will, there is a way."
At 10.5 per cent and 10.2 per cent of their population, respectively,
Toronto and Ottawa came the closest to Montreal for trilingual
speakers. At 1.2 per cent, Halifax had the fewest number of trilingual
speakers.
Jedwab who teaches a course entitled Canada's Official Language
Minorities: History and Demography at McGill University's Institute
for the Study of Canada, analyzed 2006 Canadian census data, released
last month, to arrive at the linguistic portrait.
The study also found that in Montreal Armenians (77 per cent),
followed by Italians (72.3 per cent) and, then, the Dutch (71.9 per
cent) were the three most bilingual of the city's allophone groups.
The least bilingual of the city's allophone groups, unable to speak
either of Canada's official languages, were Cantonese (21 per cent),
Cambodian (15.5 per cent) and Punjabi (15.3 per cent).
Hagop Boulgarian, principal of l'Ecole Armenien Sourp Hagop, a
675-student private elementary/secondary school in Montreal said the
findings about his ethnic group didn't surprise him.
With genocide and a diaspora in his people's history, Boulgarian said,
learning new languages - and fast - has been an important survival
tool for Armenians in general, not only the 25,000 living in the
Greater Montreal region.
Aloisio Mulas, acting director of the Picai Institute of Montreal,
which is devoted to the promotion of Italian culture and language,
said Italians in Montreal have shared that passion for speaking French
and English.
However, he said, attendance in Italian language classes at the
institute have been falling over the past decade. Some families after
a generation or two in the city, he said, become less concerned about
ensuring their children keep up their Italian language skills.
Denise De Haan Veilleux, a cultural attache at the Consulate General
of the Netherlands in Montreal said she is pleased but not surprised
to see that so many Dutch living in Montreal are multilingual.
In Holland, she said, children must study two languages, English and
French or German when they reach high school.
"It's just something you do," said De Hann Veilleux. "The attitude
towards other languages is very different.
"It's no big deal" added the 47-year-old francophone, who grew up in
Quebec City and learned English and Dutch only after she married and
moved abroad for various postings.
With the family now back in Canada, she said, her 20-year-old son
studying at McGill University and a 13-year-old daughter are lucky
to be able to speak French, English, Dutch, German and Arabic.
"It's like a present you give them as children," she said. "They
don't have to learn as adults."