Allophone (Quebec)

In Quebec, an allophone is a resident, usually an immigrant, whose mother tongue or home language is neither French nor English. The term can also be sometimes used in other parts of Canada. The term parallels Anglophone (English-speaker), and Francophone, which designate people whose mother tongues are English and French, respectively. Native speakers of aboriginal languages are generally not treated as allophones.

The word "allophone" (from Greek ἀλλόφωνος allóphōnos "speaking a foreign tongue") is formed from the Greek roots ἄλλος (állos), meaning "other", and φωνή (phōnḗ), meaning "sound" or "voice". The term became popularized during the Quiet Revolution as French Canadian society in Quebec sought to integrate immigrants, most of whom had traditionally integrated into the English-speaking community. As integrating immigrants was deemed essential to assure the survival of French-speaking Quebec in light of plummeting birth rates, demographers devised this category to monitor the integration of immigrants into French- and English-speaking communities. Because allophones often adopt English, French or both languages at home or learn one language before another, they can be grouped into English or French communities based on home language or first official language learned.

Allophones constitute an increasing share of the Quebec population and are the main source of population increase in the province, reflecting both increased levels of immigration, declining birthrates among established anglophone and francophone populations, and a shift in immigration from English-speaking countries to Asia and the Americas. In 1971, allophones accounted for 6.6% of the population; by 2001, the numbers had increased to 10.0%. Speakers of Arabic, Spanish and Haitian Creole experienced the greatest growth from 1996 to 2001.

...
Wikipedia