What languages are spoken in Canadian regions? Language discrimination
Canada is officially bilingual. Does it mean that every Canadian is bilingual? Where should you settle if you know English or French? Is there discrimination based on language?
Today I want to tell you about French in Canada, its status, where French is most popular, and why it is worth learning French even if you are not going to live in a French-speaking area.
Status of the French language
I think everyone knows that French is one of the two official languages of Canada, along with English. And many people think that if the country has two official languages, all residents are bilingual and can speak both freely. This is absolutely not true.
French is an official language in Canada only at the federal level. That is, people can use it, can receive public services in French, documents are translated into French, and so on. But English still prevails in most provinces, although French is protected by law, and the authorities try to promote its use.
French is spoken in Canada by about 8 million people, more than 20% of the population. French speakers are called francophones, and almost all of them live in only three provinces: Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.
French-speaking province
The most logical place to start, of course, is Quebec because it is the only province where French is the only official language. It is spoken by 85% of the inhabitants. Quebec was once a bilingual region, but then French was made the only official language. Although there are quite a lot of English speakers in Montreal.
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