3 official languages
- Thread starter youwho
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My native langauges are French and English. I will acknowledge, however, that they are both indigenous to Europe and not North America. So how can we be so hipocritical as to have crushed Canada's indigenous languages underfoot, replaced them with imports, and now take the moral highground insisting that immigrants must learn our languages. In the end, from an ethical standpoint, English and Franch have no more of a right to exist in Canada than any other foreign language.
Out here in Vancouver we have huge east Indian, chinese population. So "hindu" "manderian" or "cantonese" are really more official out here than French will ever be. And in 10-20 years there will be more "South Asians" than French speaking people for that matter.
Correction. French is official in BC whereas Chinese isn't. I'm not saying I agree or disagree, just stating a fact. Although populationwise many language groups outnumber the French speakers in BC
I agree no one in important, it sure looks like chinese is the second official language in Vancouver to me also.
well met! I've wondered about this myself on numerous occasions......
My daughters elementary school provided Punjabi classes to any student who wanted to take it.
I can't see anything else becoming "official" However the term official holds no meaning whatsoever. Ever called Shaw cable? Your asked if you'd prefer English, French, or manderin. Any atm in the lower mainland offers the same. CCRA offers Punjabi, English, French, or Manderin.
We have China Town, Little India, little Italy and numerous other ethnic streets and locations (just wait for a championship soccer game, you'll soon learn which streets are which). I live in Surrey. We have highest population of Indian's outside India. Scott Rd (120ths st) has street signs in both English and Punjabi.
Nobody here is waiting for officallity (is that even a word!?!) to have things in their native tongue.
I think no matter how many immigrants come into Canada bringing their languages with them, these languages will never be official languages. They might be provided as a service to immigrants who do not speak English well such as phone company etc. You might see courses offered in Punjabi or Mandarin but it is not for population consumption.
No, we've lost that distinction to....Coquitlam!
Whalley is also loosing it's title of skid row. Mayor McCallum has certainly changed things in the core.
I use to live on Scott ( I loved that I could have Chineese, or Korean, or Vietnamese, or Indian, or Italian, or Afgani food, and all I had to do was cross the street! I live by Surrey Place...erhm I mean Central City Mall now.
So are you a Surrelian too?
Whalley is also loosing it's title of skid row. Mayor McCallum has certainly changed things in the core.
I use to live on Scott ( I loved that I could have Chineese, or Korean, or Vietnamese, or Indian, or Italian, or Afgani food, and all I had to do was cross the street! I live by Surrey Place...erhm I mean Central City Mall now.
So are you a Surrelian too?
Another language will never be official. But as things have been done in Canada, for quite some time, we welcome immigrants with open arms. For them, but also for their culture, language, and morals. They are added to our own. French and english is only the common language that we use to communicate between each other.
I think that as soon as Mandarin becomes the working language of a large proportion of the country who are instrumental in creating the political and government structure under which the country operates, then sure, make it an official language.