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Canadian Sources
- Census tables on language
The language composition of Canada, including information on English, French, Aboriginal, and other language groups living in Canada. Information on the language groups' size, geographic distribution, and demographic characteristics is also included. Data on mother tongue and retention of mother tongue languages, knowledge of English, French, Aboriginal, and non-official languages, as well as use of languages in different contexts-at home, at work, and with family and friends-are also included.
- Datasets from <odesi> using the keyword "language"
<odesi> (Ontario Data Documentation, Extraction Service and Infrastructure) is a digital repository for social science data, including polling data. It is a web-based data exploration, extraction and analysis tool that uses the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) social science data standard. <odesi> provides researchers the ability to search for survey questions (variables) across thousands of datasets. The data are in different formats, such as microdata, Excel and B2020 files.
- The evolution of English–French bilingualism in Canada from 1901 to 2011
This article examines the major demographic and linguistic changes that have taken place over that time, both nationally and within Quebec.
- Health indicator profile, by linguistic characteristic (mother tongue, first official language spoken), by sex (CANSIM table 105-0504 )
- Language maps from the Atlas of Canada
In PDF format. Data are from 1996 and 2006 censuses.
- Passing on the ancestral language
From Canadian Social Trends Spring 2006, no. 80. "Using data from the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS), this article examines the preservation of ancestral languages by looking at the extent to which allophone immigrants (i.e. those whose mother tongue is neither English nor French) have transmitted their mother tongue to their Canadian-born children. The analysis focuses on the factors associated with the probability of the ancestral language being the respondent's mother tongue, the respondent's ability to speak the ancestral language, and his or her regular use of this language in the home."
- Statistics from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
Data on mother tongue, knowledge of official languages, first official language spoken and the language most often spoken at home.
- Statistics Canada Data Sources on Official-Language Minorities
The main objective of this document is to raise awareness among Statistics Canada data users of the different sources of language data available at Statistics Canada. Along with the census, surveys with an important sample of official language minority groups and/or with information on languages are listed by themes. Users will find a description of the survey and its target population, sample sizes (total and according to available linguistic characteristics), available language variables based on questions asked, date of the first release, year for which the data [are] available.
- Statistics Canada publications on language
- Statistics Canada thematic maps on language
To access the maps,
- Select the level of geography (from national down to census subdivision),
- Select the actual geographic entity of interest,
- Select the theme (i.e., language)
Note that map themes are not all available for all levels of geography.
- Summary tables on language
Includes various data from the 2011 Census on home language, knowledge of official language, and mother tongue at various levels of geography.
Foreign/International
- Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, 2002, 2006, 2009
Report plus survey microdata are available.
- Ethnologue
"An encyclopedic reference work cataloging all of the world's 6,909 known living languages". Includes statistical summaries by world area, by language size, by language family, and by country. A copy of this reference is available in the McGill Library. Along with the ebook version.
- Evaluating Language Statistics: The Ethnologue and Beyond -- A report prepared for the UNESCO Institute for Statistics
- Language Enrollment Database, 1958-2013
This database offers access to enrollments in languages other than English from the twenty-two surveys conducted by the Modern Language Association between 1958 and 2009 and funded by the United States Department of Education.
- Language maps from Worldmapper
"Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest." While this leads to some rather strange-looking maps, unlike many language maps to be found on the Net, Worldmapper cites its sources.
- MLA Language Map: A Map of Languages in the United States
The MLA Language Map is intended for use by students, teachers, and anyone interested in learning about the linguistic and cultural composition of the United States. The Language Map uses aggregated data from the 2006-10 American Community Survey (ACS) to display the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages commonly spoken in the United States. The Language Map Data Center provides data about over three hundred languages spoken in the United States, using data from the 2006-10 ACS, ACS 2005, and the 2000 US Census. Comparative tables and graphs provide a snapshot of changes between 2000 and 2010 in American language communities, showing speakers' ages and ability to speak English.
- UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
The online edition of the Atlas is complementary to the print edition It does not reproduce the regional and thematic chapters of the print version, but it offers additional information on the listed endangered languages. The full dataset can be downloaded from the site.
