1.4.2 Language

What shapes your identity?



Language and identity: As an individual, you have your own personal language. Not just English, French, Cree, or another language, but also the words and phrases you choose to use. You may use a phrase from a movie you liked, or you may repeat a funny line from a video you watched on the Internet. You may use some expression frequently, such as the Canadian "eh?" or "You know". You may have a particular speech pattern or accent, and you might not even be aware of it! The way you speak and write is unique to you and your identity.

When you speak to someone who understands your language, you share a history of ideas and thoughts. Language is how you share your values, needs, beliefs, and customs. It helps create bonds between people who share it.

Languages spoken in Canada: Most people in Canada speak English, but many also speak French, Cree, Chinese, Ukrainian, or many other languages. That many languages are spoken in Canada is a direct result of globalization. People have moved to Canada from around the world, and many speak the languages of their homelands.

  • 56% of Canadians speak English as their first language
  • 21% of Canadians speak French as their mother tongue
  • The third most common language in Canada is Chinese (Mandarin).
  • The most common Aboriginal language is Cree.
  • More than 200 languages were reported in the 2016 Canadian Census of Population as a home language or mother tongue.

Language is more than a means of communication. It represents our values and influences, our thought processes. Some say language is the most important aspect of culture.
Welcome in many languages
Welcome in many languages
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Oral tradition: Many languages in the past were oral languages only. That means they were spoken only and had no written form. The Cree language was once only a spoken language. When Jesuit missionaries arrived, they used the French alphabet to write Cree based on how it sounded. However, the Cree people were more familiar with symbols than letters. In the mid 1800s, a Methodist missionary helped them to develop a new system of writing. Many Cree children today are learning to read and write using this Cree system.

The
oral history
the history and traditions of a society that passed down through the spoken word from people's personal memories
oral tradition is an important part of most cultures because history, law, stories, and legends were passed from each generation through only the spoken word. Storytelling connects generations in an emotional way as grandparents or elders in a community tell their stories to the younger generations. The oral tradition is a vital part of many cultures, including many of the First Nations tribes of Canada.

Listen to Inuit storyteller Michael Kusugak talk about the storytelling tradition tradition in the Far North