wild goose chase
Active Member
The diversity of language is one aspect of diversity that we pride ourselves on. Though many Torontonians speak English as a second language, their children sometimes speak not only English fluently first, but continue carrying their parent's language, but usually assimilation means heritage languages are not carried past 3 generations (this seems a general trend in North America, with some exceptions like Mennonites who have a strong history of German language preservation). Even with multiculturalism implying you "don't have to" assimilate, most still do, and heritage languages are still spoken by "recent" immigrants. Ask many 3rd or 4th generation Canadians and they will answer "no" to knowing or speaking their ancestral language. Of course, it hasn't been that many generations (1960s or 70s) since multiculturalism and the pressure to drop heritage languages was lessened, so we will see if things change.
Do you see Toronto continuing to carry heritage languages by native born Canadians who can speak both English and the other language for a long time or do you think in a generation or two assimilation in language will rapidly take place and Toronto will be a racially diverse but less linguistically diverse city.
Or do you think alternatively, that because Toronto will remain a major immigration gateway, as many native-born Canadians will keep in touch and communicate with others of their ethnicity?
Do you see Toronto continuing to carry heritage languages by native born Canadians who can speak both English and the other language for a long time or do you think in a generation or two assimilation in language will rapidly take place and Toronto will be a racially diverse but less linguistically diverse city.
Or do you think alternatively, that because Toronto will remain a major immigration gateway, as many native-born Canadians will keep in touch and communicate with others of their ethnicity?