1Successful cultural and commercial exchanges often depend on the ability to function in a common language. Personal knowledge of two or more languages represents a form of human capital that enhances opportunities for interaction across cultural boundaries. Despite the expansion of English as a second language, global communication barriers persist. Even where translation resources abound, the presence of substantial majorities each speaking only one language can be an important barrier to bilateral and multilateral interaction. In Canada there has been much attention directed at the level of knowledge and acquisition of English and/or French on the part of the population whose mother tongue, the first language learned and still understood, is neither of the country’s two official languages. Those individuals in Canada whose first language is Chinese and who acquire English and/or French, those whose first language is English and/or French and who have learned Chinese languages, and residents of China who have learned either of these languages collectively strengthen the capacity for cultural bridging between people in the two countries.

2Some observers contend that the persistence of minority languages and ethnic cultures detracts from identification with Canada. An inability to speak an official language can be an important barrier to accessing certain public services and for this reason most Canadians regard the acquisition of English and/or French as essential towards integration. To the extent that such persistence facilitates ethnic bonding it presumably undercuts the “good” social capital arising from interaction that transcends ethnic ties. Measuring the loss of non-official languages across generations is seen as an indicator for adaptation to the host or majority culture. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to the use of non-official languages by immigrants and or their retention by their descendants. This chapter looks at the extent to which Chinese languages are being preserved in Canada, and the potential impact of their retention on ethnic Chinese and Canadian identities. Does the retention of the non-official language diminish identification with Canada?

Canada’s Changing Non-Official Language Landscape

3In 1969, the Canadian Parliament legislated to make English and French the nation’s two official languages. However, it refused to legislate official cultures and instead, in 1971, introduced a policy of multiculturalism. At that time a strong message was conveyed to the effect that there was no contradiction between maintaining one’s ethnic identity and being Canadian. Then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau observed during debate in the House of Commons (on October 8, 1971) that the “question of cultural and ethnic pluralism in this country, and the status of our various cultures and languages, [is] an area of study given all too little attention in the past by scholars.” He contended that: “adherence to one’s ethnic group is influenced not so much by one’s origin or mother tongue as by one’s sense of belonging to the group, and by the group’s collective will to exist.”

4During the early 1970s the foreign-born population of Canada was predominantly white and European in origin. Since that period, however, the composition of the population has been considerably modified, and some three quarters of new Canadians are of non-European origin. As a consequence, the pattern of non-official languages has shifted significantly with the increase in the numbers of persons whose first language is neither English nor French (see Table 15.1). In 2008 the number of immigrants whose mother tongue was English hit a ten-year high, at just over 26,600, and eclipsed Mandarin as the leading mother tongue of immigrants to Canada. Arabic, Tagalog and Spanish held the next three spots. Immigrants whose mother tongue was Cantonese formed the eighteenth largest language group as their numbers fell from 5,322 in 2000 to 3,434 in 2008. In eleventh spot was a group referred to as “Other Chinese,” at 5,693 in 2008, a decline from 8,761 in 2000. These changes in numbers reflected the shift in the regional origins of Chinese immigrants to Canada.

Table 15.1 New Permanent Residents in Canada by Top Five Mother Tongues, 2000–2008

5Among the non-official languages of Canada, Cantonese is the fifth most widely used mother tongue and Mandarin the ninth most widely used (see Figures 15.1 and 15.2). The combination of all Chinese languages into one category in the Census of 1996 made “Chinese” appear to be the most widely spoken non-official language in the country, but the Census of 2001 split the category up, so that Mandarin and Cantonese appeared in fourth and ninth place, respectively, that year. In 2006 Cantonese dropped to fifth place, while Mandarin moved up to seventh place. The most widely spoken non-official language in Canada remains Spanish, though it is spoken more often as a second language rather than as a mother tongue.

Mandarin versus Cantonese

6The Census of 2006 showed that Cantonese continued to be the first language of the majority of the Chinese Canadian population, as 361,450 Canadians reported Cantonese as their mother tongue that year, and around 73,000 others reported that they spoke Cantonese as a second language. However, between 1996 and 2006 the number of immigrants arriving in Canada from China whose mother tongue was Mandarin, the dominant language of mainland China, exceeded the number whose mother tongue was Cantonese (see Table 15.2).

Figure 15.1 Selected Non-Official Mother Tongues of Canadians, by Thousands of Users, 1996, 2001, and 2006

Figure 15.2 Selected Non-Official Languages Spoken in Canada, by Thousands of Speakers, 1996, 2001 and 2006

Table 15.2 Canadians with Mandarin, Cantonese and Other Chinese Languages as Mother Tongues, 2006

7The majority of Cantonese speakers had come to Canada from Hong Kong between the late 60’s to mid 70’s and in significant numbers in the 80’s to late 90’s. Immigrants from Guangdong, Vietnam and Southeast Asia also form an integral part of the Canada’s Cantonese speaker population. But since the 1990’s, the vast majority of new Chinese immigrants have come from mainland China, especially Fujian Province, and tend to speak Mandarin along with their regional languages.

8As China’s global influence increases, it is likely that immigrants of Chinese origin will urge the younger generation to learn Mandarin. The decline of Cantonese purportedly represents a challenge for the older generation who speak only that language. Nonetheless, the Cantonese language still dominates Chinese Canadian television, and most events organized by the media are still conducted in Cantonese. If you want to get a job in the Chinese service sector in Canada, you still need to know Cantonese.

9In 2006, immigrants represented nearly one in five Canadians. Of those with neither English nor French as their mother tongue, some seventy percent were immigrants. Nearly eighty-five percent with Mandarin as their mother tongue were immigrants and this was also the case for seventy-eight percent of those whose mother tongue was Cantonese. There are nearly twice as many first-generation speakers of mother-tongue Cantonese as there are first-generation speakers of mother-tongue Mandarin, and more than ten times as many in the second generation, while in the third generation there are about sixty percent more speakers of mother-tongue Cantonese than there are speakers of mother-tongue Mandarin (see Table 15.3). For every non-immigrant under the age of fifteen whose mother tongue is Mandarin, there are nearly 2.5 whose mother tongue is Cantonese, but among immigrants under the age of fifteen more than twice as many have Mandarin as their mother tongue as have Cantonese as their mother tongue.

Knowledge of Official Languages among the Chinese Population

10Almost all immigrants whose mother tongue is neither English nor French retain their languages of origin. Exceptions arise among immigrants who have arrived in Canada at a very young age, for whom knowledge of the non-official language tends to be eroded over time. However, those monitoring the process of immigrant integration have been particularly interested in the pace at which one or other of the official languages is acquired by persons with neither English nor French as their mother tongue.

11In 2006 some 6.4 percent of all immigrants reported speaking neither English nor French (see Figures 15.3 and 15.4). Among those who had arrived before 1991, some 4.8 percent spoke neither official language, among those who had arrived between 1991 and 2001 the proportion was 7.8 percent, and among those who had arrived between 2001 and 2006 the proportion was 9.2 percent. Of the approximately 520,000 Canadians who in 2006 reported speaking neither English nor French, the majority were over the age of fifty-five. Some one fifth of those persons whose mother tongue was Cantonese reported knowledge of neither English nor French, while one sixth of those whose mother tongue was Mandarin did so. As among immigrants in general, most of those whose mother tongue was either Cantonese or Mandarin and who knew neither English nor French were over the age of fifty-five. Some thirty-eight percent of those immigrants who had Cantonese as their mother tongue and had arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006 reported knowing neither English nor French, as compared to nearly nineteen percent of those whose mother tongue was Mandarin and twenty-one percent of those with other Chinese mother tongues.

12The largest communities of Chinese-language-speakers are in Toronto and Vancouver, where their critical mass allows them to work in Chinese languages rather than, or as well as, in English. In 2006 some forty-six percent of Canada’s mother-tongue Cantonese population resided in the Toronto region (170,495 people) and another thirty-five percent resided in Vancouver (128,550 people). Among the mother-tongue Mandarin population, some forty-one percent resided in Vancouver (70,410 people) compared to thirty-seven percent in Toronto (63,820 people).

13In 2006, around 7.5 percent of Canadians whose mother tongue was neither English nor French used a non-official language at work. Among the mother-tongue Mandarin population, some 18.8 percent used Mandarin most often in the workplace, a proportion that was at twenty-seven percent in Vancouver and seventeen percent in Toronto. Among the mother-tongue Cantonese population, some 37.4 percent used Cantonese most often in the workplace, the same percentage did so in Toronto, and nearly twenty-five percent did so in Vancouver.

Figure 15.3 Knowledge of English and French among Canadians with Chinese Mother Tongues, 2006 (%)

Figure 15.4 Canadians with Chinese Mother Tongues Having Knowledge of Neither English nor French, 2006 (%)

Language Retention, Ethnic Identification, and Belonging to Canada

14Observers of language integration are generally concerned with the extent to which the children of immigrants retain their language of origin, particularly if they believe that retention of the non-official language impedes acquisition of one of the official languages. Canadian Census data support the idea that non-official languages become eroded in the second generation.

15Among the second generation in groups of Canadians with non-official mother tongues, there is a broadly similar rate of language transfer, that is, of changing from the language first learned to the use of another language in the home (see Figure 15.5). In 2006, those reporting Punjabi as their mother tongue had the highest rate of home language retention, with some 37.4 percent continuing to speak it most often in their homes, while among those whose mother tongue was Greek only twenty percent continued to speak it in their homes, but overall about one in three persons in the second generation reported speaking their mother tongue most often at home.

16The Ethnic Diversity Survey, conducted by Statistics Canada in partnership with the Department of Canadian Heritage in 2002, offers some insight into the use of non-official languages in various contexts, and permits an examination of how language may influence other expressions of identity. The survey reported that, among persons whose mother tongue was neither English nor French, some 68% used a nonofficial language, with siblings the figure drops to 51% and with friends some 30% use a non-official language while 54% use English only. The survey also provides data about the use of non-official and official languages, and about feelings of belonging, among the Chinese population in Canada (see Table 15.4). There was not much impact on the strength of feeling of belonging to Canada among those Chinese who used mainly English or a non-official language most often with siblings, parents or friends. However, those who used a non-official language most often reported somewhat higher rates of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group.

Figure 15.5 Use of Mother Tongues in the Home by Members of Second Generations in Selected Language Groups for Age Cohorts 15 to 24 and 25 to 34, 2006 (%)

Table 15.4 Visible Minority Chinese Reporting Belonging to Canada and Belonging to an Ethnic or Cultural Group, 2002 (%)

17Before the Census of 1991, a campaign was conducted to encourage the population to write in “Canadian” as their response to the question on ethnic origins. Until then, “Canadian” had not been among the suggested responses on the list provided on the Census form. In the view of the architects of the campaign, ethnicity was divisive and the very reporting of it encouraged interethnic conflict, so writing in “Canadian” was seen as a means of asserting a strengthened Canadian identity. Some 700,000 persons responded to the appeal and made “Canadian” the sixth most popular response to the Census question on ethnic origins. In 1996 the Census form itself listed “Canadian” sixth among the suggested responses to the question, and that year it emerged as the most popular response, with 5.3 million persons declaring “Canadian” their single ethnic origin and another 1.7 million including it as part of a multiple response.

18The Census of 2001 saw a further increase in the number of “Canadian” responses, but analysis of these responses suggested that the vast majority of those giving them had previously reported French and British origins, and the vast majority of the members of minority ethnic groups had not shifted to the “Canadian” response, although many had included it in a multiple response. Among those respectively reporting Cantonese or Mandarin as their mother tongue, nearly every person identifying as first- or second-generation identified solely with a minority ethnic origin. Among those in the third or later generations, forty-nine percent of the mother-tongue Cantonese population identified solely with a minority ethnic origin, while thirty-seven percent of the Mandarin mother-tongue population did so. One in five of the persons in the third generation with Cantonese as their mother tongue made “Canadian” part of their response to the question on ethnic origin. Nearly one in three in the third generation with Mandarin as their mother tongue made “Canadian” part of their response.

19On the basis of the Census data on the degree of self-identification as “Canadian,” some might contend that Canadian identity gets stronger from one generation to the next. It should not be assumed, however, that nominal ethnic Canadianness implies a greater sense of belonging to Canada. Including “Canadian” as part of the response to the Census question on ethnic origin is most prevalent in the third generation. Some analysts are persuaded that self-identifying as ethnically “Canadian” implies a greater sense of belonging to Canada (see Hassman-Howard 1999), while Jeffrey G. Reitz and Rupa Banerjee (2007), working on the basis of the responses to the ethnic self-identification question in the Ethnic Diversity Survey, point to a presumed gap in self-identifying as Canadian between second-generation white Canadians and second-generation visible-minority Canadians. Yet the survey data reveal that, despite much less frequently self-identifying as “Canadian,” immigrants had a stronger sense of belonging to Canada than their descendants did. The majority of the Chinese, South Asian and Black respondents to the survey reported a strong sense of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group, yet members of all these groups reported an even stronger sense of belonging to Canada (see Figure 15.6).

20As for differences in the sense of belonging to Canada between first-generation and second-generation members of visible minorities, they were not very substantial (see Figure 15.7), although it is possible to make the gap appear wider by focusing only on those who reported “very strong” feelings of belonging (see Reitz and Banerjee 2007).

21It is often assumed that where the sense of belonging to Canada is weak, it is due to the persistence of identification with an ancestral culture or ethnic origin. Following such logic, it might be assumed that Chinese Canadians possess a weaker sense of belonging to Canada than members of other groups do because of the persistence of their ties to Chinese culture. Such explanations are at the root of social integration theory, which assumes that ties to countries of origin are an important obstacle to cultural adjustment. Yet the data from the Ethnic Diversity Survey do not support this notion (see Table 15.5). Around eighty-five percent of those Chinese respondents who reported strong rates of ethnic belonging also reported a strong sense of belonging to Canada. By contrast, some sixty-three percent of those who reported a very weak sense of belonging to their ethnic group reported a strong sense of belonging to Canada.

Figure 15.6 Proportions of Members of Selected Visible Minority Groups Reporting Belonging to Canada and Belonging to Ethnic or Cultural Groups, 2002 (%)

Figure 15.7 Proportions of Members of Selected Visible Minority Groups Aged 30 to 44 Years, and in First and Second Generations, Reporting Belonging to Canada, 2002 (%)

22Among those who identified as Chinese in the Ethnic Diversity Survey, 11 percent reported that all their friends were of the same first ancestry as themselves and 38 percent reported that most of them were. The combined total, 49 percent, compared with 37 percent of the South Asian population and twenty-two percent of the white population reporting that all or most of their friends had the same first ancestry. Social capital theorists contend that there is a distinction between “good” and “bad” social capital, the former referring to bonding between members of the same ethnic group and the latter to bridging across ethnic groups. Yet the data from the survey indicated that one’s share of friends of the same ancestry had virtually no bearing on the strength of one’s sense of belonging to an ethnic group or to Canada (see Figure 15.8).

Table 15.5 Sense of Belonging to an Ethnic or Cultural Group Correlated with Sense of Belonging to Canada among the Visible Minority Chinese Population, 2002 (%)

Figure 15.8 Correlation between Having Friends of the Same First Ancestry and Having a Strong Sense of Belonging to Canada for the Visible Minority Chinese Population, 2002 (%)

23Finally, the number of trips taken back to the country of origin by Chinese Canadians did not have much influence on their sense of belonging to Canada (see Figure 15.9).

24Citizenship is one area where there appeared to be significant differences among Canadians of Chinese origin in the strength of their sense of belonging to Canada. Chinese respondents reporting Canadian citizenship indicated a stronger sense of belonging to Canada than those holding dual citizenship, that is, citizenship of Canada as well as citizenship in their country of birth. Some seventy-five percent of the former had a strong sense of belonging to Canada, compared with nearly sixty-six percent of the latter.

Models of Diversity and Cultural Bridging between Canada and China

25Overseas migrants play an important role in the relationship between Canada and China. Although most migrants would not describe themselves as cultural brokers, very often persons of Chinese origin in Canada establish bridges between the cultures, and, while their numbers are relatively few, persons of Canadian origin living and working in China also play a role in the bridging process. However, cultural brokerage requires that those making up the bridge possess dual or multiple attachments. The persistence of such attachments remains at the very centre of the debate in Canada over the nation’s approach to managing diversity. While some feel that adjustment to life in Canada does not require that minority ethnic cultures and traditions be abandoned, others insist that if Canada is to build a cohesive society, immigrants and, more importantly, their descendants need to give up their ethnic and cultural ties to countries of origin. There is a need to understand better how the persistence of migrant ties influences cultural and commercial ties between countries, and specifically, in the case of Chinese migration, the ties between Canada and China.

Figure 15.9 Correlation between Number of Trips to Country of Birth and Sense of Belonging to Canada for the Visible Minority Chinese Population, 2002 (%)

26Critics of the Canadian multicultural model believe that the persistence of ethnic cultures undercuts national identification, but very often their criticism has fallen short of providing evidence for the ways in which this undercutting happens. Too often, it is assumed that if the sense of belonging to Canada is insufficient, it must be because the sense of belonging to a minority ethnic culture is too strong. As demonstrated above, however, in the case of Canada’s Chinese population their sense of ethnic belonging does not in fact diminish their sense of belonging to Canada, nor does the degree of contact with members of the same group (the “bad” social capital) have that effect. Only the holding of dual citizenship appears to make a noticeable impact on the strength of the sense of belonging to Canada, and even in these cases the difference is not so very great.

27In the Canadian multicultural paradigm, knowledge of non-official languages has not been deemed essential to ethnic belonging: in effect, a strong sense of belonging to one’s ethnic origins is not seen to require knowledge of the associated language. While members of ethnic communities may disagree with this view, it has not been the subject of much public debate. That is not to say that Canadian government policy does not recognize the importance of language as an expression of culture. It does so, after all, with respect to the country’s French and Aboriginal communities. Yet there is no historic commitment to the preservation and enhancement of non-official languages, and there seems to be no strong reason for the government to extend support to such an objective.

28As for the role of Chinese languages, whether as mother tongues or second languages, they do not appear to have a considerable effect on the strength of the Canadian Chinese population’s sense of belonging to Canada. On the other hand, they do influence the strength of the sense of belonging to the ethnic or cultural group. In other words, for the Chinese population language retention is an important element of ethnic belonging. Again, however, that does not mean that Chinese Canadians cannot feel a strong sense of ethnic belonging without knowledge of any of the Chinese languages.

29The Chinese population of Canada is often wrongly presumed to be linguistically monolithic. In fact, its linguistic diversity to some extent reflects the historic migration patterns of the Chinese in Canada. It is also in part a microcosm of the ethnic diversity in China, which is not well-known to many Canadians. Understanding the internal diversity of the Chinese Canadian population and the diversity of the population of China will be extremely useful to those engaged in building bridges between the two countries.