The youngest bilingual Canadians: Insights from the 2016 Census regarding children aged 0-9

This study used the 2016 Canadian Census data to examine home bilingualism amongst children aged 0–9 years. Across Canada, 18 percent of children used at least two languages at home, which rose to more than 25 percent in large cities, and the Canadian territories. English and French was the most common language pair in Quebec and Ontario, and various other pairs were spoken in most provinces. In the territories, 17 percent of children spoke an Indigenous language and English, and we discuss specific opportunities and challenges for Indigenous language revitalization. The presence of bilingual adults in the home, and immigration generation were the strongest predictors of children's home bilingualism. We conclude by discussing how policies can encourage child bilingualism, such as by supporting children’s home language in early and primary education settings. Such policies must be tailored to the needs of the specific communities to optimally support bilingual children and their families.

本研究利用2016年加拿大人口普查数据，对0至9岁儿童的家庭双语现象进行了探讨。在全加拿大范围内，约有18%的儿童在家使用至少两种语言，而在大城市及加拿大领地这一比例上升至超过25%。在魁北克省和安大略省，英语和法语是最常见的语言组合，而在大多数省份中，还存在着其他多种语言组合。在领地中，17%的儿童使用原住民语言和英语进行交流，我们讨论了原住民语言复兴的具体机遇与挑战。家庭中双语成人的存在以及移民代际是儿童家庭双语现象的最强预测因素。在结论部分，我们讨论了如何通过政策鼓励儿童双语能力的发展，例如通过在早期教育和基础教育阶段支持儿童的本族语。此类政策必须针对特定社区的需求进行定制，以最大限度地支持双语儿童及其家庭。