Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How German are German Canadians? During the past centuries many Germans left for the central-west of Canada such as Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Can I still go there and speak German? Do they still cook German style foods? And I know this is a lot to ask but is anyone aware what parts of Germany they tended to migrate from? I know there were Mennonites who migrated, and they have a respectable tradition of guarding their heritage. But what I really would like to know is if they would feel me as a "cpusin" or if they would be just another foreign group of Anglos.
I read that some 750k Canadians are able to speak German in Canada. I'm not sure if that is entirely true, but my SO is German and one day we were hitchhiking and got dropped off at a petrol station en route to Ottawa. I swear, as we walked towards the restaurant door beside the gas bar, a guy stopped us and jumped in to German with her before we said anything to him. Only explanation I can think of for this is that he heard us speaking from way afar and heard her accent.
Ever since I've been travelling to Germany often, I notice more Germans and German traditions/events happening around my neck of the woods. Other than Oktoberfest.
I believe that those who identify as ethnically "Canadian" are descended from the original French settlers from the 1600s. This accounts for the large presence in Quebec. But in Ontario IIRC those descended from the first arrivals of the "Great Migration" to the British Isles to Canada also identify as ethnically Canadian. Oftentimes, they are a mix of the original French and British settlers.
Makes sense though. This is the oldest continuously inhabited community west of Montreal.
You also have a decent number of people down there of French Canadian origin (even though most no longer speak French), at least for the southern part of Ontario.
Most German-Canadians of long establishment have long ago assimilated and no longer speak much German. At least not much more than German-Americans would. Some traditions like Oktoberfest have been maintained as has some cuisine, but for the most part they are fully integrated in Canadian society.
You won't find any towns in Canada that function in German, except maybe for a few Mennonite towns around Elmira in southern Ontario and also in southern Manitoba that function partly in a Germanic dialect. And even in these towns it's a mix of their language (Plattdeutsch?) and English that is used. We have a poster on here called netwit who knows a lot about this and could provide more details.
You also have a decent number of people down there of French Canadian origin (even though most no longer speak French), at least for the southern part of Ontario.
We sure do! Our street names are a testament to that fine heritage, never mind the last names.
??? So, the map shows the only place where the French predominate is
in northeast Alberta,
down near Windsor- Cambridge, ON
and a part of Cape Breton Island. Is this some kind of a joke ?
So, the map shows the only place where the French predominate is
in northeast Alberta,
down near Windsor- Cambridge, ON
and a part of Cape Breton Island. Is this some kind of a joke ?
No, the map is screwed up because of the census questionnaire where lots of Canadians of various origins (including French) checked off Canadian or Canadien. French Canadians predominate all over Quebec except the more northern areas, and in many of the areas of Ontario and New Brunswick that immediately border Quebec.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
