Data Visualization

 Bárbara d’Oro Pereira

 JOUR 5206

March 18, 3018

Visualizations:

1)Most spoken Aboriginal languages in Canada

Cree , Inuktitut and Ojibway are the Aboriginal languages most frequently spoken in Canada. Tlicho is 14th most common Aboriginal language. This is a high position in the rank, since Canada has more than 60 Aboriginal languages. Tlicho is also one of the 11 official languages of the Northwest Territories. Since 1988, Canada has established the importance of promoting and preserving the Aboriginal languages in the Northwest Territories through the “Officials Languages Act”. Even though the constitution and the Languages Act guarantee the access to the languages, there is a large gap in the services offered in Aboriginal languages in the country. A recent example is the story of Chris Dryneck. He speaks Tlicho and went on trial without the support of an interpreter, which is a right guaranteed by the Languages Act.

Tlicho is one of the nine official Aboriginal languages in the Northwest Territories.

2)Number of people who speak an Aboriginal language

According to the 2016 Census by Statistics Canada, the number of Aboriginal people who can speak an Aboriginal language is actually higher than the number of people who have declared having an Aboriginal language as their mother tongue.  The 2016 report concluded that “this suggests that many people, especially young people, are learning Aboriginal languages as second languages”. In the Northwest Territories, where Chris Dryneck  is from, a three-year action plan has been developed to promote the language revitalization and its access. One of the ways of achieving reconciliation with the indigenous community is to preserve and promote the Aboriginal languages in the country.

Many of the Aboriginal languages spoken in Canada are unique to the country according to Statistics Canada.