Section 5 Subjective sense of vitality

In this portrait of Manitoba Francophones we have drawn a general profile of their different demolinguistic and socioeconomic characteristics. But what about various key aspects of their subjective sense of vitality, and of how they perceive and value the French fact in their living environment?

Results from the Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities bring out at least two key elements shared by most Francophones: a strong, double sense of identification with both Francophone and Anglophone groups, and a high value placed on the French language.

As regards the phenomenon of identity, SVOLM results suggest that Francophones have a double ethnolinguistic identity: 55% of them report that they identify with both Francophone and Anglophone groups, compared with 23% who report identifying mainly or only with the Francophone group.

Identity and sense of belonging are highly complex concepts. Depending on the circumstances, people may identify with their country, their language, their culture, etc. Among Manitoba francophones, the double sense of identification with Francophone and Anglophone groups suggests that in many cases, immersion in the primarily Anglophone culture may contribute to an emerging phenomenon: while Francophones value and respect their cultural and linguistic heritage, their linguistic practices are influenced by living within the dominant and pervasive Anglophone culture. However, to verify and analyze 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 Manitoba Francophones definitely value the French language. Just over 70% of them reported that it is important for them to be able to use French in their daily life. Also, they consider it important or very important for individuals or organizations to work in developing the French-speaking community (72%), for government services to be provided in French (82%) and for linguistic rights to be respected in their province (86%).

It is worth noting that in examining the extent to which French is used in various domains (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, among Manitoba Francophones who report that it is either very important or important to be able to use French in their daily life, 80% watch television only or mainly in English and a similar proportion read newspapers only or mainly in English. Even though Francophones value and give great importance to the French language, their demolinguistic reality and the dynamics of their living environment may work against their use of that language.

The Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities collected data on respondents' subjective perceptions regarding the past and future evolution of the minority language's presence in their municipality of residence, as well as the vitality of the minority official-language community. On this score, 43% of Manitoba Francophones feel that, in their municipality, the French-speaking community's vitality is strong or very strong, while 27% feel that it is neither strong nor weak. Also, when asked how the presence of French in their municipality would evolve in the next 10 years, 74% of Franco-Manitobans said that this presence would stay the same or increase. This was quite similar to the result obtained regarding their perception of how the presence of French had evolved in the past 10 years. These results suggest that Manitoba Francophones are confident regarding their language's presence in their municipality and indeed their province.