Bilingual belt
Encyclopedia
The bilingual belt is a term for the portion of Canada
where both French
and English
are regularly spoken.
The term was coined by Richard Joy
in his 1967 book Languages in Conflict, where he wrote, "The language boundaries in Canada are hardening, with the consequent elimination of minorities everywhere except within a relatively narrow bilingual belt."
Joy's analysis of the 1961 census caused him to conclude,
When the bilingual belt is added to the French language heartland of “Interior Quebec”, the result is:
Joy recognized the continued (although diminished) existence of residual French-speaking communities in places like Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
and Saint Boniface, Manitoba
, but these communities were isolated and very small, and were, in his view, already well on the way to extinction, along with most of the smaller pockets of English-speakers within Quebec. For example, he had this to say about the French language in Manitoba: “The Franco-Manitobans have resisted assimilation more effectively than have the minorities in the other Western Provinces, but the 1961 Census reported only 6,341 children of French mother tongue, as against 12,337 of French origin. ... This could well indicate that the actual numbers, and not merely the relative strength, of those who retain the old language will soon start to fall.”
- In New Brunswick: In seven counties in the province’s north and north-east, French was the mother tongue of 59% of the population. Joy indicated that in this region, rates of bilingualism were high among francophones but that French “is spoken by practically none” of the Anglophones
in this part of the bilingual belt.
- In Quebec: Joy pointed to a strip of territory running from the Eastern Townships
westward through Montreal
to Pontiac County
. In this region, French was the mother tongue of 70% of the population, and English of the remaining 30%. The rates of bilingualism were 40% for persons with French as their mother tongue, and “less than a third” for persons with English as their mother tongue.
- In Ontario: This part of the bilingual belt consisted of “the eleven counties which form a band, along the Quebec border, running from the St. Lawrence River to the Upper Lakes”. Joy reported that in this region, French was the mother tongue of 30% of the population, and that fewer than one quarter of persons of French descent had been assimilated.
Based on the 2006 census, 63% of bilingual Canadians lived in the bilingual belt, a region which represents 24% of the overall Canadian population. Geographic distribution of Canadians in the rest of Quebec and New Brunswick correspond roughly to their share of the overall population. Outside those provinces, bilingual Canadians are underrepresented.
The bilingual belt also contains the highest proportion of individuals who are incapable of speaking the official language of the province. Despite this, a very small proportion of Canadians are incapable of speaking their province’s official language. In Quebec, less than 5% of Quebecers (or 1% of Canadians overall) reported that they can only speak English. In the rest of Canada (excluding New Brunswick) only 0.25% percent of Canadians reported that they can only speak French. New Brunswick serves as the exception where 56% of the population can only speak English, and 10% can only speak French.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where both French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
are regularly spoken.
The term was coined by Richard Joy
Richard Joy
Richard J. Joy was the author of several books on Canadian language demographics. In 1967, he self-published the groundbreaking book, Languages in Conflict: The Canadian Experience, in which he used statistics from the 1961 census to demonstrate a number of points which ran counter to the accepted...
in his 1967 book Languages in Conflict, where he wrote, "The language boundaries in Canada are hardening, with the consequent elimination of minorities everywhere except within a relatively narrow bilingual belt."
Joy's analysis of the 1961 census caused him to conclude,
A bilingual region between two increasingly unilingual solitudes
The bilingual belt is the frontier zone on either side of what Joy referred to as “Interior Quebec”—the heartland of the French language in North America, in which, in the 1961 census, “over 95% of the population gave French as their mother tongue and only 2% speak “English Only.” The bilingual belt is, therefore, the "region of contact" between the Quebec heartland in which French is the overwhelmingly predominant language and the rest of Canada, in which English is the overwhelmingly predominant language.When the bilingual belt is added to the French language heartland of “Interior Quebec”, the result is:
Joy recognized the continued (although diminished) existence of residual French-speaking communities in places like Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
and Saint Boniface, Manitoba
Saint Boniface, Manitoba
Saint Boniface is a city ward of Winnipeg, home to much of the Franco-Manitoban community. It features such landmarks as the Cathédrale de Saint Boniface , Boulevard Provencher, the Provencher Bridge, Esplanade Riel, St. Boniface Hospital, the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and the Royal...
, but these communities were isolated and very small, and were, in his view, already well on the way to extinction, along with most of the smaller pockets of English-speakers within Quebec. For example, he had this to say about the French language in Manitoba: “The Franco-Manitobans have resisted assimilation more effectively than have the minorities in the other Western Provinces, but the 1961 Census reported only 6,341 children of French mother tongue, as against 12,337 of French origin. ... This could well indicate that the actual numbers, and not merely the relative strength, of those who retain the old language will soon start to fall.”
Regions within the bilingual belt
Strictly speaking, the bilingual belt has never been a single contiguous region. Instead, the parts of the bilingual belt lying within Ontario and west Quebec form one geographical unit, and the part in northern New Brunswick formed a separate geographical unit. Joy also noted that there was considerable demographic variation within the bilingual belt itself, based on such factors as proximity to the unilingual French-speaking heartland of “Interior Quebec” and the ratio in any particular part of the bilingual belt of native French-speakers to native English-speakers. He summarized these regional divisions as follows:- In New Brunswick: In seven counties in the province’s north and north-east, French was the mother tongue of 59% of the population. Joy indicated that in this region, rates of bilingualism were high among francophones but that French “is spoken by practically none” of the Anglophones
English Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
in this part of the bilingual belt.
- In Quebec: Joy pointed to a strip of territory running from the Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat,...
westward through Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to Pontiac County
Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Pontiac is a county regional municipality MRC Pontiac in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It should not be confused with the municipality of Pontiac, which is located inside the county regional municipality of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais....
. In this region, French was the mother tongue of 70% of the population, and English of the remaining 30%. The rates of bilingualism were 40% for persons with French as their mother tongue, and “less than a third” for persons with English as their mother tongue.
- In Ontario: This part of the bilingual belt consisted of “the eleven counties which form a band, along the Quebec border, running from the St. Lawrence River to the Upper Lakes”. Joy reported that in this region, French was the mother tongue of 30% of the population, and that fewer than one quarter of persons of French descent had been assimilated.
Demographic trends in more recent years
Demographic data from more recent censuses indicate that the geographic extent of the bilingual belt has remained largely unchanged in the nearly half century since the 1961 census, although assimilation and migration patterns have caused some population characteristics to change over time. Most notably, rates of bilingualism among the English-mother tongue population in the Quebec part of the bilingual belt are now far higher than they were in 1961.Based on the 2006 census, 63% of bilingual Canadians lived in the bilingual belt, a region which represents 24% of the overall Canadian population. Geographic distribution of Canadians in the rest of Quebec and New Brunswick correspond roughly to their share of the overall population. Outside those provinces, bilingual Canadians are underrepresented.
The bilingual belt also contains the highest proportion of individuals who are incapable of speaking the official language of the province. Despite this, a very small proportion of Canadians are incapable of speaking their province’s official language. In Quebec, less than 5% of Quebecers (or 1% of Canadians overall) reported that they can only speak English. In the rest of Canada (excluding New Brunswick) only 0.25% percent of Canadians reported that they can only speak French. New Brunswick serves as the exception where 56% of the population can only speak English, and 10% can only speak French.
See also
- AcadiaAcadiaAcadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
- Anglo-Quebecer
- Franco-OntarianFranco-OntarianFranco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
- Official Bilingualism in Canada
- Spoken languages of Canada