page_title: Languages of Canada
section_title: Sign languages
hierarchical_section_title: Languages of Canada / Non-official languages that are unique to Canada / Sign languages
caption_attribution_description: English: Map showing the extinct and extant signed languages of the United States and Canada at their maximum attested historical ranges, purposefully excluding the dominating languages ASL and LSQ. Other potential languages such as Navajo Sign Language which may be dialects of Plains Sign Talk have been included under the PST umbrella. &#160;&#160; Plains Sign Talk &#160;&#160; Inuiuuk (ᐃᓄᐃᐆᒃ) &#160;&#160; Hawai'i Sign Language &#160;&#160; Maritime Sign Language Extinct Languages &#160;&#160; Plateau Sign Language &#160;&#160; Martha's Vineyard Sign Language &#160;&#160; Henniker Sign Language &#160;&#160; Sandy River Valley Sign Language
context_page_description: A multitude of languages are used in Canada. According to the 2016 census, English and French are the mother tongues of 56.0% and 21.4% of Canadians respectively. In total 86.2% of Canadians have working knowledge of English while 29.8% have a working knowledge of French. Under the Official Languages Act of 1969, both English and French have official federal status throughout Canada, in respect of all government services, including the courts, and all federal legislation is enacted bilingually. New Brunswick is the only Canadian province that has both English and French as its official languages to the same extent, with constitutional entrenchment. Quebec's official language is French, although, in that province, the Constitution requires that all legislation be enacted in both French and English, and court proceedings may be conducted in either language. Similar constitutional protections are in place in Manitoba.
context_section_description: Alongside the numerous and varied oral languages, Canada also boasts several sign languages. Currently, Canada is home to some five or more sign languages (that number rising with the probability that Plains Sign Talk is actually a language family with several languages under its umbrella), belonging to four distinct language families, those being: French Sign Language language family, BANZSL family and two isolates (Inuiuuk and Plains Sign Talk).
  As with all sign languages around the world that developed naturally, these are natural, human languages distinct from any oral language. As such, American Sign Language (unlike Signed English) is no more a derivation of English than Russian is, all being distinct languages from one another. Some languages present here were trade pidgins which were used first as a system of communication across national and linguistic boundaries of First Nations, however, they have since developed into mature languages as children learned them as a first language.
  The sign languages of Canada share extremely limited rights within the country in large due to the general population's misinformation on the subject. Ontario is the only province or territory to formally make legal any sign language, enabling the use of American Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) and "First Nation Sign Language" (which could refer to Plains Sign Talk or any other language) in only the domains of education, legislation and judiciary proceedings. The only other language afforded any other rights is Inuiuuk which sees interpretation in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. There have been efforts to make LSQ an official language of Quebec, but all efforts have failed.
caption: Attested historical ranges of sign languages of the US and Canada excluding ASL and LSQ.
            Plains Sign Talk   Inuiuuk (ᐃᓄᐃᐆᒃ)   Hawai'i Sign Language   Maritime Sign Language       Plateau Sign Language   Martha's Vineyard Sign Language   Henniker Sign Language   Sandy River Valley Sign Language
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