Ethno-Racial Inequality in the City of Toronto: An Analysis of the ...

majority of people speak English. The highest percentage and largest numerical concentration of non-English speakers is among the Chinese: 22.8 percent do not speak English. The estimated 48,525Chinese who do not speak English constitute about 30 percent all non-English speakers in the City. Theproportions are also high for the Vietnamese and Koreans, 18.2 and 16.1 percent respectively,corresponding to 4,560 and 3,495 individuals.The next largest concentration of people who do not speak English, who account for 29.2 percent ofall non-English speakers or 42,345 persons, is in the Southern European category. The highestconcentrations are among the Italians and Portuguese, with 12.1 and 20.4 percent non-English speakersrespectively, corresponding to 19,710 and 16,040 individuals. These numbers are significant because theItalian and Portuguese groups actually include very few recent immigrants: just 0.5 percent of Italians and6.7 percent of the Portuguese had been in Canada for less than ten years in 1996, when the Census wasconducted. These numbers are subject to some error, and people can change: even after ten years inCanada individuals can still learn to speak English, and perhaps some people with modest, but serviceableEnglish say they do not speak the language; but these are likely to be outnumbered by people who reportthey speak English but have difficulty when more complex language skills are needed. So there will be acontinuing need for medical and other services in Italian and Portuguese. Significant proportions of anumber of the smaller Baltic and Southern European groups also do not speak English.Eleven percent of Latin Americans, an estimated 7,330 people, do not speak English. Among allArabs and West Asians, 9.4 percent, representing 6,520 persons, do not speak English; with the 17.7percent non-English-speaking Afghans standing out. About seven percent of the South Asians, 14,010persons, do not speak English. Concentrations of non-English speakers are found for particular groupswithin regions. For example, although less than 2 percent of the entire “African, Black, Caribbean” groupdo not speak English, the rate is 15.0 percent for Ghanaians, 5.6 percent for Ethiopians, and 1.5 percent ofSomalis.Though groups with more recent immigration from non-English-speaking nations have more non-English speakers, almost every immigrant in every ethno-racial group in Toronto learns English.Learning the language is intimately connected to economic and social integration. There are socialniches, however, which dramatically lessen the incentive to learn English, even if the long term cost ofliving without English is high. In Toronto it is possible to find work and conduct everyday transactionswithout knowing English. Thus the Jewish, Polish and Ukrainian communities include some elderlyindividuals, especially women, who have spent decades in Canada without learning English or whoseEnglish is limited. More recently, this phenomenon affects the Italian, Portuguese, Vietnamese andEthno-Racial Inequality in Toronto: Analysis of the 1996 Census 31