DCHP-3

bilingual

DCHP-2 (Jun 2016)

Spelling variants:
bi-lingual

1adj.

speaking both English and French with (near-)native fluency.

Type: 4. Culturally Significant — While the general definition of bilingual is 'being able to speak or write fluently in two languages', in Canada, it is generally implies that the languages are English and French (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference). As Chart 1 shows, bilingual, without any limiters, is most frequent in Canada in the North American context, lagging (though considerably) only South Africa (.za), which has eleven official languages and thus more need to express the concept. Chart 2 shows that when used in relation to French, bilingual is most frequently documented in Canada.
See also Gage-1, s.v. "bilingual" (3), which is marked "Cdn.", ITP Nelson, s.v. "bilingual" (2 & 3), which is marked "Canadian".

Quotations

1877
They were carefully instructed in the religion and language of their ancestors, so that they were bilingual, and talked French as well as English.
1893
The most important of these recommendations were the establishing of a special Model School for the training of French teachers, the withdrawal of all unauthorized textbooks from the schools, and the introduction of bilingual readers.
1923
Opponents, however, characterized this as being "the thin edge of the wedge," and one speaker stated Manitoba was no longer a bi-lingual, but a multi-lingual province, in which lie Ruthenian, German and Polish speaking people had, by virtue of their numbers, claims equally as great as those of the French.
1969
[...] the report discovers that "the salaries of bilingual French Canadians are clearly lower than those of bilingual English Canadians[...]"
1976
Ever since the introduction of bilingualism, the public service has had certain target percentages of bilingual employees established for its different occupational categories.
2007
Do I need to speak French or be bilingual? This also depends on the job. Some jobs have language requirements that demand you must have some French or be bilingual, but some jobs do not. You can select your language(s) when you apply online at jobs.gc.ca.
2008
Bilingualism in Canada sounds like a good idea -- and it would be if we didn't run into silly situations. The recent occurrence of a bilingual person (Justin Bell) stopped by an RCMP officer for a traffic violation is such a case. The motorist asked to be addressed in French.
2013
Mr. Harper, who has only five MPs in Quebec, said he is trying to maximize the impact of his small team. That might explain why he ensured that his new bilingual Minister of Heritage, Manitoba's Shelley Glover, was also present with his Quebec team at the Gilmour Hill announcement.
2adj.

pertaining to the official use of both English and French.

Type: 4. Culturally Significant — The legal precedent for using either English or French in Canada dates to Section 133 of the British North America Act of 1867, in which the use of either language was officially permitted in Parliament and before the federal courts (see the 1867 quotation, which does not yet use the term bilingual). The Act made mandatory the keeping of records in both English and French in Parliament as well as all governmental journals, enactments and publications of laws (see Canadian Heritage reference).
However, French was never quite equal to English. Some persisting challenges were later addressed by The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism established in 1963 (see also bi and bi), whose recommendations led to federal and provincial language policy changes as outlined in the Official Languages Act of 1969. The Act declares English and French the official languages of Canada and mandates all federal institutions to provide services in either English or French upon customer request (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference). Currently, an updated Official Languages Act of 1988 is used in conjunction with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to regulate the status and use of English and French in all government-controlled sectors such as the Canada Post Corporation and Industry Canada (see also Charter and Justice Laws Canada reference). Similar policies are also enforced by former state-owned institutions such as Air Canada and also by some private businesses (e.g. Football Canada).
See also Gage-3, s.v. "bilingual" (3b), which is marked "Cdn.".

Quotations

1867
[133. Either the English or the French language may be used by any person in the debates of the houses of the parliament of Canada and of the houses of the legislature of Quebec; and both those languages shall be used in the respective records and journals of those houses ; and either of those languages may be used by any person or in any pleading or process in or issuing from any court of Canada established under this act, and in or from all or any of the courts of Quebec. The acts of the parliament of Canada and of the legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in both those languages.]
1896
Mr. McCarthy brought in an amendment that under certain circumstances bilingual series of text books in English, French, or foreign language, shall be used with the object of teaching the English language effectively.
1943
MOCK PARLIAMENT will go into session Monday evening, March 15, in the Main Lounge of Brock Hall, under the sponsorship of the Parliamentary Forum. Abolition of the bilingual system in Canada, and a discussion of the "beer situation" are on the agenda for the Spring sitting of the Mock Parliament.
1952
A sign on the Montreal Road some miles from Ottawa warns motorists of a "BOMP AHAD". A bilingual country, this, or a trilingual, with the Highways Department possessing a language all its own?
1970
… the board of education, which covers the counties of Stormont, Glengarry and Dundas, refuses to establish an all-French high school in Cornwall. Instead, it offers what it calls bilingual and bi-English- language schools with a smattering of French -- and a shift in one high school which is called the French cultural shift, planned to begin in September.
2007
If you're thinking about doing French in any way or if you're thinking about doing languages - where Canada is bilingual - I would definitely suggest to go do the programs in Saint-Pierre, he said.
2008
The union also met with Tribune staff to ask the paper to accept French articles, since the student union is officially bilingual.
2014
Finally, the editorial suggests that it is hypocritical to have federal language policies that protect English and French when Quebec has a language policy of unilingualism. In fact, Canada has a wide spectrum of provincial language policies. There is one officially bilingual province, one officially unilingual French province

References

Images

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 31 May 2016

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 31 May 2016

Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 31 May 2016

Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 31 May 2016