GLOSSARY
Allophone:
An individual whose mother tongue is a non-official language.
Anglophone:
An individual whose mother tongue is English.
Bilingual (person):
A person who is able to conduct a conversation in two languages; in Canada,
this usually refers to the two official languages, English and French.
Census division:
A general term applying to geographic areas with dimensions varying between
the size of a community and a province, for example, counties, regional
districts, regional municipalities and so forth.
Census metropolitan area:
A large urban area with a population of at least 100 000, with adjacent urban
and rural areas which have a high degree of economic and social integration
with that urban area.
Ecumene:
A term used to describe “inhabited land”.
Francophone:
An individual whose mother tongue is French.
Linguistic diversity:
The different kinds of languages in a society.
Linguistic group:
A group of individuals with the same mother tongue.
Mother tongue:
The first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the
individual at the time of the Census.
Non-official language:
Any language other than English and French.
Official languages:
By law, English and French are the official languages in Canada; they have
equal status, rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the
Parliament and Government of Canada.