Aboriginal People in Manitoba 2000Chapter 1 : Demographics |
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Aboriginal Languages in Manitoba 22
Although spoken most by elders and least by the young, use of Aboriginal languages continues to be prevalent. However, mother tongue (first language learned and still understood) and home language (the language used most frequently in the home) vary among the Aboriginal groups and across the regions of Manitoba.
For all Aboriginal people in Manitoba, English is the most common mother tongue (65%), followed by Cree (18%), Ojibway (8%)and French (4%). Languages most frequently spoken in the home are English (76%), Cree (13%),and Ojibway (4%).
Among the North American Indian identity population, English is the mother tongue of 55% and the home language of 66%. Cree is the mother tongue of 28% and the home language of 20%.
A distinct north/south split is in evidence in language use for North American Indians. In the north, Cree is the mother tongue of 20,255 Census respondents, just under 50% of the population, while English is the mother tongue of 17,090. However, English is slightly more likely to be spoken in the home than an Aboriginal language – 21,390 English,as compared to 15,770 Cree, 2,260 Ojibway, and 1,140 other languages (e.g.Dene).
By contrast, English is the mother tongue of over 75% of the population in all southern areas, and is the home language of approximately 90% of the southern Indian population. Ojibway is the second most commonly used language, except in Winnipeg where Cree is more commonly used in the home (550 persons versus 375 Ojibway-speakers). English is the home language of 95% of North American Indians living in Winnipeg.
Some evidence for the vitality of Aboriginal languages on reserve is provided by the 1998 Manitoba First Nations Regional Health Survey. Fully 55% of respondents, most of whom were 25-44 years of age, indicated they were more comfortable using an Aboriginal language in day to day conversations. Fully 74% felt there had been progress over the past few years in promoting the use of Aboriginal languages.
It should be recognized that many more Aboriginal people understand Aboriginal languages than are able to carry on a conversation in those languages or use an Aboriginal language in the home. Therefore the potential market for Aboriginal language programming exceeds what would be expected from statistics on mother tongue and home language. For example,the 1991 Aboriginal Peoples Survey found that, among the Metis, 60% of those who could speak an Aboriginal language watched native-language television “...but so did 32% of those who could not.”23 Undoubtedly this applies to an even greater degree among North American Indians.
Among the Metis in Manitoba, English is the mother tongue of 83% and the home language of 94%. French is the second most reported mother tongue at 11% but only 3.5%, or 1,600 persons reported French as the language most commonly used in the home. 4% of Metis reported Cree or Ojibway as their mother tongue, while less than 2% reported use of these languages in the home. Very few Metis reported Michif as either mother tongue or home language. However, some language specialists maintain that Metis people who indicate use of French or Cree are actually speaking Michif variants or dialects.
Although English usage is dominant among Metis throughout Manitoba, there are regional variations. On one extreme, 21,890 or 97% of Metis in Winnipeg speak English at home, compared to 610 speaking French and just 100 speaking other languages. French is most common in the southeast area of the province outside Winnipeg, where it is the mother tongue of 39% of Metis (1,335) and the home language of 18% (625). Elsewhere, French is rarely heard. There are 165 Metis speaking French at home in the Interlake, 140 in the north/central area, 35 in the Parklands and just 10 in northern Manitoba. 690 Metis in northern Manitoba speak an Aboriginal language at home.
