CHAPTER II: OFFICIAL LANGUAGES IN A CHANGING WORLD
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“FOR ONE THING, ENGLISH CULTURE AND FRENCH CULTURE ARE NOT, AND CANNOT BE, SEPARATE AND DISTINCT FROM EACH OTHER OR FROM OTHER CULTURAL STRAINS IN CANADA[...] THERE MUST BE NO PRESSURE ON ONE TO ABSORB THE OTHER, BUT THEY SHOULD DEVELOP ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER; EACH, I HOPE, INFLUENCING THE OTHER [...]”
RIGHT HONORABLE LESTER B. PEARSON
In recent years, a number of researchers, authors and organizations around the world have suggested that globalization and other major transformations change the traditional framework for discussion and tend to standardize languages and cultures.1
For example, Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, a professor at Roskilde University in Denmark, points out that linguistic diversity, just like biodiversity, is part of human heritage, but that 90% of the world’s oral languages will disappear before the end of the century if nothing is done to protect them.2 Fortunately, the idea that languages, as essential components of identity, must be recognized and protected when political spaces are created is also coming to the forefront. In the European Union, the Group of Intellectuals for Intercultural Dialogue, chaired by writer Amin Maalouf, recognized that the European community must not give in to the temptation to let a single language, English, dominate the work of European institutions. According to the Group, “A turn of events of this kind is not desirable. It would be damaging to the economic and strategic interests of our continent and all our citizens irrespective of their mother tongue. It would also be contrary to the whole ethos of the European project [...].”3 Moreover, the Group continues, “People cannot be expected to be wholeheartedly behind Europe unless they feel that their specific culture, and primarily their language, is fully respected and that the integration of their country in the European Union contributes to the flourishing of their language and culture rather than marginalising them. So many of the crises we have witnessed in Europe and elsewhere stem from the fact that a community has sometime in the past felt that its language was not respected [...].”4
Canada is evolving in this changing context, and it is undeniable that its linguistic duality is also subject to strong pressures. In addition to the linguistic composition of the country, which is rapidly changing, the federal government is facing major transformations. The debate on Senate reform and other reform projects, such as spending power, are two examples.
As a result, the federal official languages policy has never been so relevant. Its purpose flows from the idea that, in this country and throughout the world, there is more than one way of living, communicating and behaving, and that this richness must be protected. It is part of the vision of a pluralist and generous society that respects differences and recognizes the value of language as a fundamental component of its identity and development. It is also related to the idea of shared citizenship — a society that cultivates a sense of belonging in all Canadians, regardless of their social, economic or demographic situation.
This chapter is a discussion of linguistic duality in a country and world that are undergoing profound changes. It will first look at some proposals for reforming the Canadian federation and their possible impact on the official languages program. This discussion is followed by a reflection on the interaction between linguistic duality and cultural diversity, which has been raised in previous annual reports.
Notes
1 For example, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which was adopted in October 2005 by a strong majority of Member States. Canada indicated that it would continue to play a leading international role in promoting the Convention and its implementation.
2 Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Linguistic Genocide in Education—Or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights? (Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000).
3 Group of Intellectuals for Intercultural Dialogue, A Rewarding Challenge: How the Multiplicity of Languages Could Strengthen Europe (Brussels: European Commission, 2008), p. 5.
4 Ibid. p. 12.
