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InCanada, anallophone is a resident whosefirst language is neitherFrench norEnglish.[1][2] The term parallelsanglophone andfrancophone, which designate people whose mother tongues are English and French, respectively. Some sources do not consider native speakers ofIndigenous languages to be allophones.[3]
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The word "allophone" (from Greekἀλλόφωνοςallóphōnos "speaking a foreign tongue")[4] is formed from theGreek rootsἄλλος (állos), meaning "other", andφωνή (phōnḗ), meaning "sound" or "voice".
The term became popularized in the 1960s, during theQuiet Revolution, asFrench Canadian society in Quebec sought to integrate immigrants, most of whom had traditionally integrated into theEnglish-speaking community. As integrating immigrants was deemed essential to assure the survival of French-speaking Quebec in light of plummeting birth rates, demographers devised this category to monitor the integration of immigrants into French- and English-speaking communities. Because allophones often adopt English, French, or both languages at home or learn one language before another, they can be grouped into English or French communities based onhome language or first official language learned.
In 2006, 20% of the population of Canada was allophone.[5]
In 2021, 20.7% of the population ofOntario was allophone.[6]
| Language | Single | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| Total | ||
| 1.Italian | 124,695 | 6,065 |
| 2.Arabic | 76,285 | 10,245 |
| 3.Spanish | 70,100 | 4,825 |
| 4.Greek | 41,980 | 1,755 |
| 5.Haitian Creole | 34,885 | 5,710 |
| 6.Chinese | 33,490 | 705 |
| 7.Portuguese | 33,360 | 1,455 |
| 8.Vietnamese | 21,635 | 1,125 |
| 9.German | 17,690 | 995 |
| 10.Polish | 17,160 | 685 |
| 11.Armenian | 13,935 | 405 |
| 12.Romanian | 12,660 | 460 |
| 13.Russian | 12,420 | 355 |
| 14.Tamil | 11,095 | 860 |
| 15.Persian | 10,495 | 395 |
Allophones constitute an increasing share of the Quebec population and are the main source of population increase in the province, reflecting both increased levels of immigration, declining birthrates among established anglophone and francophone populations, and a shift in immigration from English-speaking countries to Asia and the Americas.[8] In 1971, allophones were 6.6% of the population. By 2001, this had increased to 10.0%. Speakers of Arabic, Spanish, and Haitian Creole experienced the greatest growth from 1996 to 2001.[9]
Increasing numbers of allophones speak French at home: about 20.4% of allophones in the province reported that they spoke French most often at home in 2001, compared with 16.6% in 1996, and 15.4% in 1991.[9] Most allophones live inMontreal, Quebec's largest metropolitan area. They tend tomigrate out of the province: between 1996 and 2001, over 19,170 migrated to other provinces, 18,810 of those to Ontario.[10]
Most allophone students in Quebec attend francophone schools.[11]