In this series of articles we overview languages present in any given country. This time we are looking at the languages spoken in Canada
The biggest languages present in Canada include:
- English – 32.84 million speakers;
- French – 11.32 million speakers;
- Chinese – 755 thousand speakers;
- Punjabi – 642 thousand speakers;
- Spanish – 528 thousand speakers;
- Filipino – 491 thousand speakers;
- Arabic – 453 thousand speakers;
- German – 415 thousand speakers;
- Italian – 377 thousand speakers;
The following languages are legally recognized as the “official languages” of the country:
- English
- French
Below you will find summaries for the languages supported by our translation services.
English
English belongs to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is one of the official languages of Canada, alongside 2 other.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 1.15 billion |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-European |
| Writing | English alphabet |
| Major English-speaking populations in: | 35 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
English is spoken by around 1.15 billion people around the world. Countries with a significant number of people speaking the language include:
- Kenya
- Germany
- Canada
- Singapore
- Italy
- Poland
- Brazil
- Egypt
- New Zealand
More than three quarters of the population of Canada understands English.
Writing
English uses the Latin alphabet. It employs the standard version of the script with no additional, language-specific symbols. It is written from left to right.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Canadian market via the English language, you might be interested in the following services:
French
French is a Romance language, closely related to Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and other languages of the same branch of the language family. It is one of the official languages of Canada, alongside 2 other.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 274 million |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-European |
| Writing | French alphabet |
| Major French-speaking populations in: | 49 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
French is spoken by around 274 million people around the world. Examples of countries, where French has a major presence, include:
- Vietnam
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Albania
- Burkina Faso
Less than 50% of the population speaks French on a daily basis, but the number of speakers is still significant for the country – around 11.32 million.
Writing
French employs the French script, which in itself is a sub-type of the Latin script. It is written in the left-to-right fashion.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Canadian market via the French language, you might be interested in the following services:
- French Document Translation
- French Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- French E-Commerce Translation
Chinese
Chinese is a Sino-Tibetan language, distantly related to as well as a number of other languages. It has no country-wide official status in Canada.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 1.20 billion |
|---|---|
| Language family | Sino-Tibetan |
| Writing | Hanzi logograms |
| Major Chinese-speaking populations in: | 6 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
More than a billion people use Chinese as their language of day-to-day communication. Examples of countries, where Chinese has a major presence, include:
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Taiwan
- Malaysia
In Canada approximately 2% or 755 thousand people use Chinese in their day-to-day communication.
Writing
The Hanzi logograms is used for writing the Chinese language. It employs the standard version of the script with no additional, language-specific symbols.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Canadian market via the Chinese language, you might be interested in the following services:
- Chinese Document Translation
- Chinese Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- Chinese E-Commerce Translation
Spanish
Spanish is a Indo-European language, distantly related to Macedonian, Croatian, Urdu, Bulgarian, as well as a number of other languages. It has no country-wide official status in Canada.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 558 million |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-European |
| Writing | Spanish alphabet |
| Major Spanish-speaking populations in: | 20 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
Approximately 558 million people in more than 20 countries speak Spanish as either the first or a second language. With regard to the number of speakers, the most notable 3 countries are Spain, Argentina, and Mexico.
In Canada approximately 1.4% or 528 thousand people use Spanish in their day-to-day communication.
Writing
Spanish uses the Latin alphabet. It employs the extended version of the script, however, with 9 additional symbols. It is written from left to right.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Canadian market via the Spanish language, you might be interested in the following services:
- Spanish Document Translation
- Spanish Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- Spanish E-Commerce Translation
Arabic
Arabic is a Afro-Asiatic language, distantly related to Somali, Maltese, Hebrew, as well as a number of other languages. It has no country-wide official status in Canada.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 422 million |
|---|---|
| Language family | Afro-Asiatic |
| Writing | Arabic abjad |
| Major Arabic-speaking populations in: | 22 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
More than a hundred million people use Arabic as their language of day-to-day communication. With regard to the number of speakers, the most notable 3 countries are Algeria, Bahrain, and Comoros.
Around 1.2% of the population of Canada speak Arabic.
Writing
Arabic employs the Arabic abjad. It is written in the right-to-left fashion.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Canadian market via the Arabic language, you might be interested in the following services:
- Arabic Document Translation
- Arabic Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- Arabic E-Commerce Translation
German
German is a Germanic language, closely related to Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, English, and other languages of the same branch of the language family. It has no country-wide official status in Canada.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 230 million |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-European |
| Writing | German alphabet |
| Major German-speaking populations in: | 12 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
Approximately 230 million people in more than 12 countries speak German as either the first or a second language. With regard to the number of speakers, the most notable 3 countries are Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Around 1.1% of the population of Canada speak German.
Writing
The German alphabet is used for writing the German language. Being a subset of the Latin script, it uses some non-standard characters like ä, ö, ü, ß, overall 4 symbols.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Canadian market via the German language, you might be interested in the following services:
- German Document Translation
- German Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- German E-Commerce Translation
Italian
Italian belongs to the Romance branch of the Indo-European language family. It has no country-wide official status in Canada.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 85 million |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-European |
| Writing | Italian alphabet |
| Major Italian-speaking populations in: | 9 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
There are major Italian-speaking populations in more than 5 countries of the world. Examples of countries, where Italian has a major presence, include:
- Malta
- Italy
- Monaco
- Vatican
Less than a quarter of the population speaks Italian in Canada, 377 thousand people in total.
Writing
Italian uses the Latin alphabet. It employs the extended version of the script, however, with 7 additional symbols. It is written from left to right.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Canadian market via the Italian language, you might be interested in the following services:
- Italian Document Translation
- Italian Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- Italian E-Commerce Translation
Related services
We hope you have found the answers to the question about what languages are spoken in Canada“. If you wish to know more about these languages or would like to inquire about our translation services, please contact us at [email protected].
