Richard Joy
Encyclopedia
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 wisdom of the day:
Based on these considerations, Joy came to the following sombre conclusion:
In 1972, the book was re-published by Carleton University Press.
Joy updated his findings periodically, based on the results of the most recent decennial census. His second book, Canada's Official Language Minorities, was published by the C.D. Howe Institute in 1978.
His third book, Canada's Official Languages: The Progress of Bilingualism, was published by the University of Toronto Press
in 1992. In this book, Joy concluded that “the data from the language questions of the 1986 census do not yield a straightforward answer to the administrator’s question: to what extent does the population of each municipality wish to be offered service in the minority language? …. What is required is a completely new question that will ask every Canadian his or her preferred official language.”
Joy was born in Montreal. He received a bachelor's degree from McGill University
in 1945 and a master's degree from Harvard University
in 1947.
- Birthrates in QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
were plunging, which meant that the French language could no longer keep pace with English purely through natural increase; - French was in serious decline outside of Quebec and a bilingual beltBilingual beltThe 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...
stretching eastwards into New BrunswickNew BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and west into eastern and north-eastern OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
; - English was in decline in all parts of Quebec other than MontrealMontrealMontreal 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...
.
Based on these considerations, Joy came to the following sombre conclusion:
In 1972, the book was re-published by Carleton University Press.
Joy updated his findings periodically, based on the results of the most recent decennial census. His second book, Canada's Official Language Minorities, was published by the C.D. Howe Institute in 1978.
His third book, Canada's Official Languages: The Progress of Bilingualism, was published by the University of Toronto Press
University of Toronto Press
University of Toronto Press is Canada's leading scholarly publisher and one of the largest university presses in North America. Founded in 1901, UTP has published over 6,500 books, with well over 3,500 of these still in print....
in 1992. In this book, Joy concluded that “the data from the language questions of the 1986 census do not yield a straightforward answer to the administrator’s question: to what extent does the population of each municipality wish to be offered service in the minority language? …. What is required is a completely new question that will ask every Canadian his or her preferred official language.”
Joy was born in Montreal. He received a bachelor's degree from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in 1945 and a master's degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1947.
See also
- Demographics of CanadaDemographics of CanadaThis article about the demographic features of the population of Canada, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population, the People of Canada....
- Languages of Canada
- Official bilingualism in Canada