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Language Use in the NWT

Mother Tongue versus Home LanguageChart
Northwest Territories, Census Years 1996-86

	Census Year	Mother Tongue		Home Language		Home Language/ Mother Tongue %
		Single Response	Multiple Response	Single Response	Multiple Response
English	1996 1991 1986	35,835 31,140 28,010	990 1,125 1,770	43,360 37,190 31,870	1,510 2,325 3,755	121.8 122.5 119.6
French	1996 1991 1986	1,355 1,380 1, 290	130 160 270	550 610 570	120 140 365	45.1 48.7 59.9
Inuktitut	1996 1991 1986	18,500 16,515 14, 535	540 575 730	14,905 13,540 12,155	970 1,395 1,850	83.4 87.4 91.7
South Slave	1996 1991 1986	2,085 2,255 2,285	70 95 220	1,190 1,280 1,305	85 190 505	59.2 62.6 72.3
Dogrib	1996 1991 1986	2,005 2,100 1,885	40 110 180	1,355 1,625 1,515	125 330 480	72.4 88.5 96.6
Chipewyan	1996 1991 1986	515 545 480	35 60 65	210 230 270	30 80 115	43.6 51.2 70.6
North Slave	1996 1991 1986	255 35 -	20 - -	125 15 -	35 - -	58.2 42.9 -
Gwich'in	1996 1991 1986	250 295 165	10 10 70	40 25 45	- 10 90	15.4 11.5 57.4
Cree	1996 1991 1986	185 195 155	35 50 55	30 20 30	10 25 50	18.2 18.4 38.1

Figure¹

(Source: NWT Bureau of Statistics)

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1 Mothertongue refers to the first language learned in childhood and still understood. Home language refers to the language spoken at home. If more than one language was learned at the same time and was used equally often, people were asked to report each language. This resulted in multiple responses.

2 To be included in the tables, a mother tongue had to be reported for at least 100 persons resident in the NWT at the time of the 1996 Census.

3 Figures for Inuvialuktun and Inuinnaqtun are included in the Inuktitut figures. These overall figures reflect a much healthier picture for Inuktitut than is the reality for Inuvialuktun and Inuinnaqtun.

Mother Tongue and Home Language, by Age ²

Northwest Territories, Census Years 1996

	All Ages	0-9 years	10-19 years	20-29 years	30-39 years	40-49 years	50-59 years	60 years and over
Total	64,125	14,850	11,450	10,935	11,675	8,110	4,065	3,030
English Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	35,835 43,365 121.0	8,795 9,550 108.6	6,410 7,170 111.9	6,175 7,450 120.6	7,125 8,985 126.1	4,720 6,220 131.8	1,850 2,640 142,7	760 1,350 177.6
French Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	1,355 550 40.6	95 80 84.2	85 60 70.6	180 70 38.9	420 150 35.7	315 105 33.3	165 50 30.3	95 40 42.1
Inuktitut Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	18,495 4,900 80.6	4,970 4,335 87.2	3,900 3,325 85.3	3,300 2,520 76.4	2,535 1,735 68.4	1,640 1,175 71.6	1,125 925 82.2	1,020 890 87.3
South Slave Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	2, 085 1, 195 57.3	215 145 67.4	260 175 67.3	340 185 54.4	370 145 39.2	350 135 38.6	220 140 63.6	320 270 84.4
Dogrib Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	2,005 1,355 67.6	305 230 75.4	400 275 68.8	415 265 63.9	340 175 51.5	215 105 48.8	120 100 83.3	215 210 97.7
Chipewyan Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	515 210 40.8	25 10 40.0	40 30 75.0	60 30 50.0	90 20 22.2	90 10 11.1	65 30 46.2	150 75 50.0
North Slave (Hare) Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	255 120 47.1	20 20 100.0	25 20 80.0	25 10 40.0	50 - -	45 20 44.4	35 10 28.6	55 40 72.7
Gwich'in Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	245 40 16.3	10 -	10 -	10 20 200.0	20 -	35 -	65 -	115 30 26.1
Cree Mother Tongue Home Language % Home/Mother	180 30 16.7	10 -	10 -	10 -	35 -	45 -	35 -	45 10 22.2

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1² Total and percentages are calculated for single responses only. As a result percentages for Home Language/ Mother Tongue may not equal those reported in Table 1.

2 To be included in the tables, a mother tongue has to be reported for at least 100 persons resident in the NWT at the time of the 1996 Census. Source: NWT Bureau of Statistics

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