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.

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The Horned Snake (1995) Patricia M. Ningewance

To examine the critical state of Aboriginal languages in Canada as reflected in the 1996 Census, the following maps show:

• Aboriginal Languages by Community, 1996
• Index of Aboriginal Language Continuity, 1996
• Index of Aboriginal Language Ability, 1996

Each map shows information for Aboriginal communities with a minimum mother tongue population of 20. As of 1996, only three of Canada's 50 Aboriginal languages (Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut) had large enough populations to be considered truly secure from the threat of extinction in the long-run. This is not surprising in light of the fact that only a small proportion of the Aboriginal population speaks an Aboriginal language. Of some 800 000 persons who claimed an Aboriginal identity in 1996, only 26% said an Aboriginal language was their mother tongue and even fewer spoke it at home.

Societal factors often contribute to the decline of languages. Without doubt, the forces of dominant languages and modernization exert a strong influence on any minority language. In the case of Aboriginal languages, historical events such as the prohibition of indigenous language use in residential schools have also contributed to this process. In addition, the fact that most Aboriginal languages were predominantly oral may also have diminished, in an already difficult environment, their chances of survival.

Shown below in Table 1 is a summary of the principal Aboriginal Languages in Canada. Canada's Aboriginal languages are among the most endangered in the world. Significant numbers of languages have either already disappeared or are close to extinction, and among those spoken today, only 3 of some 50 are viable with a large population base. Large or small, viable languages tend to have relatively young speakers, are successfully passed on between generations, and are spoken in isolated or well-organized communities. In contrast, endangered languages are characterized by small population groups, older speakers, and lower rates of language transmission.

Table 1. Aboriginal Languages in Canada

¹ Not identified elsewhere
² For information on viability "status" consult text Data and Mapping Notes.
³ Data for the Iroquian family is not particularly representative due to incomplete enumeration of reserves. Other languages may also be affected by incomplete enumeration.
Source: Statistics Canada. 1996 Census of Population. Ottawa.

The principal source of information for both the maps and text is from the following article: Norris, Mary Jane. Canada's Aboriginal Languages. Canadian Social Trends, Winter 1998, pp. 9-16. For further information on the publishing of this map consult the text Data and Mapping Notes.