Bilingualism in minority settings in Canada: Integration or assimilation?

This study explores social psychological correlates of bilingualism in the Canadian context. First, it investigates the relation between language confidence and identity as moderated by ethnolinguistic vitality. Second, it examines whether bilinguals can be distinguished from predominantly unilingua...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of intercultural relations 2015-05, Vol.46 (May), p.55-72
Main Authors: Freynet, Nathalie, Clément, Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Assimilation
Bilingual identity
Bilingualism
Canada
Canada language confidence
Correlation analysis
Cultural identity
English Language
Ethnolinguistics
France
Francophones
Identity
Language usage
Quebec
Social Integration
Social psychology
Sociolinguistics
Studies
Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities
Vitality
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Summary:This study explores social psychological correlates of bilingualism in the Canadian context. First, it investigates the relation between language confidence and identity as moderated by ethnolinguistic vitality. Second, it examines whether bilinguals can be distinguished from predominantly unilingual participants on subjective vitality and language usage and evaluates the impact of ethnolinguistic vitality on these differences. Data from Statistics Canada collected among minority Francophones outside of Quebec and minority Anglophones in Quebec (N=7377) were used for analysis. The results show that language confidence is significantly related to levels of identity for all regions. Bilinguals are significantly distinct from predominantly monolingual participants on most factors for maintenance of identity. However, among all Francophone samples, bilinguals most resemble the French-dominant participants.
ISSN:0147-1767
1873-7552
DOI:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.023