Languages
| Languages of Toronto | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mother tongue (single and multiple responses) | ||||
| English | 57% | |||
| French | 1.5% | |||
| Indo-Iranian languages (Punjabi, Urdu, Persian, etc.) | 10% | |||
| Chinese Languages (Cantonese, Mandarin etc.) | 8% | |||
| Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.) | 8% | |||
| Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, etc.) | 5% | |||
| Malayo-Polynesian languages (Filipino etc.) | 3% | |||
| Dravidian languages (Tamil etc.) | 2.5% | |||
| Semitic languages (Arabic, Somali, Hebrew, etc.) | 2.5% | |||
| Germanic languages (German, Dutch etc.) | 1% | |||
| Korean | 1% | |||
| Austro-Asiatic languages (Vietnamese etc.) | 1% | |||
| Greek | 1% | |||
While English is the predominant language spoken by Torontonians, Statistics Canada reports that other language groups are significant, of which most prevalent are:
- The Indo-Iranian languages (554,855 native speakers, most of which having Panjabi (Punjabi), Urdu, or Persian as their mother tongue)
- The Romance languages (531,270 native speakers; most notably the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese language, as well as French, Canada's other official language)
- The Chinese languages (455,200 native speakers; predominantly Cantonese and Mandarin)
- The Slavic languages (268,905 native speakers, of which those of Russian and Polish are leading the pack)
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Toronto
Famous quotes containing the word languages:
“The less sophisticated of my forbears avoided foreigners at all costs, for the very good reason that, in their circles, speaking in tongues was commonly a prelude to snake handling. The more tolerant among us regarded foreign languages as a kind of speech impediment that could be overcome by willpower.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of Indo-European is fraught with grave possibilities of misunderstanding.”
—Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897–1934)