DCHP-2

heritage language DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — Ethnicities, Administration

  a language that relates to one's family's ethnic background that is not an official language or an Aboriginal language; an immigrant language.

  Type: 1. Origin — Although the concept is relevant in other settings, the term heritage language seems to originate in Canada. Alternatives include community language, ethnic language or immigrant language, among other terms, which have been used in other English-dominant settings. The term heritage language is not used on the Canadian census, where home language is used, though it it occurs in official publications (see Statistics Canada reference) and in the educational sector (see Cummins 1992).
  See COD-2, s.v. "heritage language", which is marked "Cdn".

  See also: home language  immigrant language  official language  Aboriginal language  

  • 1977  Catholic students in Toronto will be short-changed in learning their basic skills because of the new ethnic language courses, some parents are saying. In some schools, 30 minutes will be trimmed from the 5 1 program to make time for the Heritage Language program. This program, financed by the provincial Government and the school board, was set up to teach Italian, Portuguese or Chinese to children in the schools. 
  • 1989  * The public and private sectors examine their employment practices to ensure all Albertans are treated equally.
    * Boards of education be encouraged to work with heritage language groups to make school facilities available at minimal cost for language instruction.
    * More resources should be available, where required, to those agencies working with immigrant and refugee families. 
  • 1989  At a time when school boards, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver, are swamped with requests for increased monies for English as a second language programs - presumably a must for immigrants who wish to live and work in Canada - the federal funds are going toward "heritage" language training. That is, training in the language of the country departed, not the country of arrival. 
  • 1999  He was involved in the formation of the Canadian Languages Association and the development of the Canadian Languages Network. He served as president of the Saskatchewan Organization for Heritage Languages and was a member of the Multicultural-Interculturelle Sector board, the Saskatchewan Council of Cultural Organization's restructuring committees, and the cultural advisory committee. Akhtar has also served as the president of the Pakistan Canada Cultural Association and the Saskatchewan Intercultural Association, and was a director for the Islamic Association of Saskatchewan and Saskatoon Folkfest. 
  • 2015  I have a young nephew and niece, ages three and one. When the first child was born, I asked my sister for her children to call me according to the language customs for "aunt" in our heritage language. While we were born and raised in the United States, we grew up referring to our aunts and uncles this way, and I would like to continue the tradition.