{"title":"Immigrant linguistic integration in the multilingual context of Montreal","authors":"Ibrahim Bousmah, G. Grenier","doi":"10.1075/LPLP.20020.GRE","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\nWe investigate the relative intensity of use of English and French at home for allophone immigrants in the Montreal metropolitan area. We find that the linguistic distances between immigrants’ mother tongues and English and French have an important impact on the relative intensities of use at home of the two Canadian official languages. However, immigrants whose mother tongues are closer to French than to English are relatively less likely to use an official language at home. We further investigate the role of spousal and other characteristics on the integration of immigrants. The results suggest that the home environment is an important factor contributing to the linguistic integration. Individuals exposed to an official language at home with their spouse have significantly higher rates of linguistic integration. Also, English is more attractive than French in the sense that immigrants with an Anglophone partner will have higher integration rates to English than those with a Francophone partner integrating to French.","PeriodicalId":44345,"journal":{"name":"Language Problems & Language Planning","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2021-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Language Problems & Language Planning","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1075/LPLP.20020.GRE","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
We investigate the relative intensity of use of English and French at home for allophone immigrants in the Montreal metropolitan area. We find that the linguistic distances between immigrants’ mother tongues and English and French have an important impact on the relative intensities of use at home of the two Canadian official languages. However, immigrants whose mother tongues are closer to French than to English are relatively less likely to use an official language at home. We further investigate the role of spousal and other characteristics on the integration of immigrants. The results suggest that the home environment is an important factor contributing to the linguistic integration. Individuals exposed to an official language at home with their spouse have significantly higher rates of linguistic integration. Also, English is more attractive than French in the sense that immigrants with an Anglophone partner will have higher integration rates to English than those with a Francophone partner integrating to French.
期刊介绍:
Language Problems and Language Planning is published in cooperation with the Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems. This international multi-lingual journal publishes articles primarily on political, sociological, and economic aspects of language and language use. It is especially concerned with relationships between and among language communities, particularly in international contexts, and in the adaptation, manipulation, and standardization of language for international use.