Natural Resources Canada
www.nrcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Aboriginal Languages
Canada's ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES are many and diverse, and their importance to indigenous people immense. Language is one of the most tangible symbols of culture and group identity. It is not only a means of communication, but a link which connects people with their past and grounds their social, emotional and spiritual vitality. Although loss of language does not necessarily lead to the death of a culture, it can severely handicap transmission of that culture. For Aboriginal peoples, great losses have already occurred. During the past 100 years or more, nearly ten once flourishing languages have become extinct; at least a dozen are on the brink of extinction. When these languages vanish, they take with them unique ways of looking at the world, explaining the unknown and making sense of life.
Read more about Aboriginal Languages
Aboriginal Languages Map(s)
