Section 5 Subjective vitality

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As has been seen thus far, Ontario Francophones do not necessarily form a homogeneous group. We have seen, for example, that they are distributed across various regions of the province, some bordering on Quebec; that they live in municipalities in which their proportion varies from one region to another of the province; and that the extent to which they use French in various domains of the private and public spheres depends on a number of factors, some of them of a demolinguistic nature. This said, the Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities results bring out at least two key elements shared by most Francophones: a strong sense of double identification with the Francophone and Anglophone groups, and the value that they assign to the French language.

As regards the phenomenon of identity, the SVOLM results suggest that Francophones have a double ethnolinguistic identity: 52% of them report that they identify with both the Francophone and Anglophone groups, compared to 35% who report identifying "mainly" or "only" with the Francophone group. The degree of identification with the two main language groups varies slightly from one region of Ontario to another (see chart 5.1). More especially, only the South-East and Toronto regions exhibit proportions lower than those of the other regions of Ontario as regards the sense of double ethnolinguistic identification. In the former case, this reflects the fact that Francophones in the South-East region are proportionally more likely than those of other regions (except Ottawa) to identify mainly with the Francophone group, while Toronto Francophones are proportionally more likely than those of other regions (except the Rest of the province) to identify mainly with the Anglophone group.

 Chart 5.1 Percentage of Francophones by identification to Franchophone and Anglophone groups, Ontario, 2006

The sense of belonging and identity are highly complex concepts. Depending on the circumstances, people may identify with their country, their language, their culture, etc. The sense of double identification with the Francophone and Anglophone groups that is observed among Ontario Francophones suggests that in many cases, immersion in the primarily Anglophone culture may have contributed to the emergence of a phenomenon in which the Francophone cultural and linguistic heritage is valued and respected while linguistic practices are influenced by living within the dominant and pervasive Anglophone culture. However, to verify and analyse this hypothesis would go beyond the scope of this analytical report and the limitations of the SVOLM in this regard.

Nevertheless, a number of factors indicate that Ontario Francophones assign a definite value to the French language. A large proportion of them (79%) report that it is important for them to be able to use French in their daily life. Also, they consider it important for individuals or organizations to work at the development of the French-speaking community (81%), for government services to be provided in French (87%) and for linguistic rights to be respected in their province (92%) (see chart 5.2).

 Chart 5.2 Percentage of Francophones by certain indicators of the value assigned to the French language, Ontario and regions, 2006

It is worth noting that in examining the extent to which French is used in the various domains about which SVOLM asks questions, notably regarding interactions with health care and justice system professionals as well as access to the main mechanisms for transmitting culture, we observe a phenomenon that may, on the face of it, seem contradictory: valuing a language does not necessarily translate into using it a great deal. For example, we note that among Ontario Francophones who report that it is either very important or important to be able to use French in their daily life, 57% watch television only or mainly in English, and 65% read newspapers only or mainly in English. Even though French is valued and assigned great importance, the demolinguistic reality and the dynamics of the environment in which Francophones live may work against the use of that language.

We have already shown the extent to which the demolinguistic characteristics of the living environment play a major role in the use of the language. However, the SVOLM results suggest that these characteristics have less influence on the phenomenon of valuing the minority language than on language practices as such, notably owing to the fact that this phenomenon does not appear to be governed by the same factors as those affecting practices. The same may be said for the sense of belonging and double identification with the Francophone and Anglophone groups: the region of residence and the proportion of Francophones within their municipality appear to have little influence on this phenomenon. For example, although the results reveal some regional variations, double identification with the Francophone and Anglophone groups is consistently stronger than or equal to identification with the Francophone group, in every region.

The Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities survey collected data on subjective perceptions with regards to past and future evolution of the presence of the minority language in the municipality of residence as well as the perceived vitality of the Official-Language community. As regards these data, 38% of Francophones believe that the vitality of the French-speaking community in their municipality is strong or very strong, while 40% expect the presence of French to remain the same in their municipality over the next ten years (see chart 5.3).

 Chart 5.3 Percentage of Francophones by the perception of the evolution of French in the municipality of residence, Ontario and regions, 2006

Some regional variations are noted. For example, the largest proportions so Francophones who believe that the vitality of the French-speaking community in their municipality is strong or very strong are in the South-East (67%) and the North-East (57%) (see chart 5.4). Perceptions of the French language, its vitality and its presence in the municipality of residence therefore seem more likely to be influenced by the demolinguistic characteristics of the living environment.

 Chart 5.4 Percentage of Francophones by the perception of the vitality of the French-speaking community in the municipality of residence, Ontario and regions, 2006