“Language is a fundamental aspect of cultural identity.”[1]People need language to express and transmit their culture – the shared values, customs, and histories that shape how people behave, think, and view the world. When a language is lost, either by an individual or cultural group, the histories and philosophies unique to that culture may also be lost.[1,2]
In 2021, 19% of people in Guelph and Wellington County had a mother tongue language other than English, and 10% spoke a language other than English most often at home.[3] While most people in Guelph and Wellington County were able to conduct a conversation in English (98.8%),[3] it is not necessarily the language that people are most proficient or comfortable speaking. Supporting people to communicate using their preferred spoken language may make communication more effective and it supports the preservation of language, culture, and identity.
This section provides information about mother tongue and language spoken at home.
Mother Tongue |
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Mother tongue is the first language a person learned at home in childhood and still understands.[3] The charts below present information from the census about the most common mother tongue languages of people in Guelph and Wellington County. People may have more than one mother tongue, if these languages were learned at the same time and are still understood. However, only people who reported a single mother tongue have been included below. Key FindingsIn 2021, most people in Guelph (77.3%) and Wellington County (not including Guelph) (87.1%) had English as their mother tongue language. This was comparable to 2016 (the previous census year). In Guelph, Punjabi (Panjabi), Mandarin, Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino), Spanish, Vietnamese, and French were the most common mother tongue languages (other than English). Between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of the population with some mother tongue languages (other than English) increased (notably Punjabi, Spanish, Arabic, and Tigrigna) while other mother tongue languages decreased (notably Italian).
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*Punjabi is also known as Panjabi. **Tagalog is also known as Pilipino and Filipino. Source: Statistics Canada. 2022. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released August 17, 2022. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed August 18, 2022).
In Wellington County (not including Guelph), German and Dutch were the most common mother tongue languages (other than English) in 2021. Between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of the population with some mother tongue languages (other than English) increased (notably Punjabi (Panjabi), Portuguese, Polish, Spanish, and Urdu) while other mother tongue languages decreased (notably German and Dutch).
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*Wellington County does not include the City of Guelph. **German includes German, Hutterisch, Low German, Low Saxon, Pennsylvania German, Plaudietsch, Swabian, Swiss German, and Tyrolian. ***Punjabi is also known as Panjabi. ****Tagalog is also known as Pilipino and Filipino. Source: Statistics Canada. 2022. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released August 17, 2022. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed August 18, 2022). Looking for more information?For more information about this measure please download the excel file below. |
Language Spoken at Home |
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The charts below present information from the census about the top ten languages spoken most often at home in Guelph and Wellington County. Only people who reported a single language spoken most often at home have been included in the charts below. People may speak other languages at home. People may also speak more than one language most often at home, if those languages are spoken equally often. However, only people who reported a single language spoken most often at home have been included below. Key FindingsIn 2021, most people in Guelph (87.6%) and Wellington County (not including Guelph) (94.2%) spoke English most often at home. This was comparable to 2016 (the previous census year). While some people with a mother tongue other than English, speak their mother tongue most often at home, many people speak English most often at home (although they may speak their mother tongue language regularly, too). Most notably, many people in Guelph and Wellington County whose mother tongue was not English, spoke English most often at home in 2021.
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*Wellington County does not include the City of Guelph. Source: Statistics Canada. 2022. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released August 17, 2022. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed August 18, 2022).
In Guelph, Punjabi (Panjabi), Mandarin, Vietnamese, Tigrigna, Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino), and Spanish were the most common languages (other than English) spoken most often at home . Between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of the population who spoke some languages (other than English) most often at home increased (notably Punjabi, Tigrigna, Tagalog, Spanish, Arabic, and Gujarati) while other languages decreased (notably Mandarin and Yue (Cantonese)).
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*Punjabi is also known as Panjabi. **Tagalog is also known as Pilipino and Filipino. ***Yue is also known as Cantonese. ****Persian is also known as Farsi, and includes Dari, Iranian Persian, and Persian. Source: Statistics Canada. 2022. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released August 17, 2022. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed August 18, 2022).
In Wellington County (not including Guelph), German was the most common language (other than English) spoken most often at home, followed by Punjabi (Panjabi) and Dutch. Between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of the population who spoke some languages (other than English) most often at home increased (notably Punjabi, Tagalog, Spanish, Urdu, and Gujarati) while other languages decreased (notably German).
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*Wellington County does not include the City of Guelph. **German includes German, Hutterisch, Low German, Low Saxon, Pennsylvania German, Plaudietsch, Swabian, Swiss German, and Tyrolian. ***Punjabi is also known as Panjabi. ****Tagalog is also known as Pilipino and Filipino. Source: Statistics Canada. 2022. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released August 17, 2022. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed August 18, 2022). Looking for more information?For more information about this measure please download the excel file below. |
Note
The census of the population is mandatory and conducted once every five years. The census gathers information from all Canadian citizens, landed immigrants and non-permanent residents (people who have a work or student permit or refugee status). The census captures information from the entire population about demographic, social, and economic characteristics.[5]
References
[1] Rovira, L. C. (2008). The relationship between language and identity. The use of the home language as a human right of the immigrant. RevistaInterdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana, 16(31), 63- 81.
[2] Gomashie, G. A. (2019). Kanien’keha / Mohawk Indigenous language revitalisation efforts in Canada. McGill Journal of Education (Online), 54(1), 151-171.
[3] Statistics Canada. 2022. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released August 17, 2022. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed August 18, 2022).
[4] Statistics Canada. (2022). Mother tongue. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/dict/az/Definition-eng.cfm?ID=pop095
[5] Statistics Canada. (2021). Census of Population. http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3901