A comprehensive survey of First Nations languages in B.C. reveals that all of the languages are facing severe threats to their vitality with the loss of aging fluent language speakers.
Despite this finding, language experts are cautiously optimistic about the future thanks to a growing interest in Indigenous language revitalization among First Nations communities and an increasing number of people, especially younger individuals, who are learning and speaking these languages. The Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages 2018 provides several examples of successful language revitalization efforts in First Nations communities.
The report gathered information from more than 137,653 First Nations people in B.C. Across the province, 34 unique First Nations languages and 93 dialects are spoken, more than any other province or territory in Canada. In 2018, only three per cent of Indigenous people in B.C. (fewer than 4,200 people) identified themselves as being fluent in their mother tongue language, a decrease since the 2014 report.
While just over half of fluent speakers are aged 65 and over, the vast majority of all language learners are young, between the ages of 0 and 24. There are also a considerable number of adult learners, including young adults and elders. The report attributes these positive findings to the growth of community-based language revitalization projects across the province.
Despite the decline in fluent speakers since the last report on B.C.鈥檚 Indigenous languages in 2014, there have been positive developments that have the potential to support a language shift. The federal government, in partnership with Indigenous peoples across the country, has begun drafting legislation to give all Indigenous languages official status, legal protection and increased support, as well as more and longer-term funding for community-based language revitalization initiatives, a move that responds to one of four Calls to Action on Indigenous languages in a report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Earlier this year, the B.C. government recognized the importance of Indigenous languages with an unprecedented $50-million grant to First Peoples鈥� Cultural Council (FPCC) to support revitalization efforts across the province. The new funding, spread over three years, will allow FPCC to increase support to all of B.C.鈥檚 First Nations communities through larger and longer-term grants, the development of individual community language revitalization plans, and expansion of language immersion programs and learning resources.
