language

[danno]

why is it  that i receive offers in a four-en language, other than our national language off English or french..  this is Canada,  not India,  not Egypt  not Pakistan, as a proud Canadian, i feel insulted that your sending me advertising in some four-en language.  there are 2 national languages in this country, ENGLISH AND FRENCH. can you please respect that., plse , no more advertising in some other countries language, thx again....

[Nighthawk]

I'm not familiar with four-en language. If you mean foreign, as it's spelt in English, that's different. It is unfortunate you are not happy there are people in Canada that speak a language other than English or French. Many do speak English, or French if you're in Quebec, and marketing to them in their native language is a way for companies to better connect with the growing Asian community in Canada. 

If you're in the lower mainland, and live in an area with a high concentration of people from Asia, I wouldn't be surprised if there are the occasional pamphlets in either Mandarin or Hindi/Punjabi. There are huge Asian communities there, especially in Richmond and Surrey.

[xl]

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@Nighthawk wrote:

If you're in the lower mainland, and live in an area with a high concentration of people from Asia, I wouldn't be surprised if there are the occasional pamphlets in either Mandarin or Hindi/Punjabi. There are huge Asian communities there, especially in Richmond and Surrey.

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Yes, I have seen Chinese brochures on the West Coast for services (Optik?).  I think it's important for companies to reach out to ethnic minorities.  If Telus doesn't..... someone else will promote to these minorities to increase market share.

If you can't read the foreign brochures, just put it down and move on.

[NFtoBC · Accepted solution]

There is no national language in Canada. The federal government recognizes two as official languages, and will provide services to Canadians in either English or French (though not anywhere instantly). The only officially bilingual province is New Brunswick. I believe federally registered companies (eg. banks and telcos) are also required / expected to provide service in either official language. Outside Quebec, I understand businesses are free to communicate with their clientele in any language they choose, and are wise to do so.

If you are receiving addressed mail, you can ask for your language preference. If it is generic mail (i.e. flyers) you will likely see languages suiting the census demographics of the neighbourhood.

[v9]

@Danno - Welcome to the forum: I understand your frustration, when you receive written mail or see adds on the Street-TV-Radio-Ethnics groups News papers on different languages. But is worst in workplaces, where you heard, your co-workers spoken other languages and nothing you can do about.

Reading the Xl-comment it comes to my mind a language issue, that the City of Richmond is facing right now, regarding to certain-Chinese-Japanese-Corean,.etc. Restaurants, who refuse to keep their Signs in English too, even though there's a by-law legislation they don't comply with it. 

Unfortunately, we've to accept this country it's been Settlement by immigrants and the rising of other languages is un-avoidable. Here are some latest statistics from: http://www.indexmundi.com/canada/demographics_profile.html . To better understand this issue. Current Canada Population (34,834,841)

Ethnics groups. Canadian(32.2%) - English(19.8%) - French(15.5%) - Scottish (14.4%) - Irish(13.8%) - German(9.8%) - Italian(4.5%) - Chinese(4.5%) - North American Indian(4.2%) - Other(50.9%)

Languages: English(Official-58%) - French(Official-22%) - Punjabi(1.4%) - Italian(1.3%) - Spanish(1.3%) - German(1.3%) - Cantonese(1.2%) This Census was taken on July-2014-According with <Index.mundy> Hope this data be useful. Bye <v9>