Folklore Traditions and Paleontology

Folklore Traditions and Paleontology The scientific process frames information using empirical reason, a system that extracts valuable and seemingly unbiased facts of nature while often affording less room for sources of knowledge that defy its exacting methodology. As a result, information coming from oral histories, myth and ritual is not always regarded as valuable, or at least not as valuable as that which can be tested in a laboratory setting. Even so, traditions of folklore and so-called pure science have interacted across time, and the focus of this paper will be to question in what ways folklore has informed research in the field of paleontology. How did traditions of myth affect early impressions of dinosaur fossils, has folklore ever aided paleontologists work, and how have dinosaurs shaped myth itself these are all questions I intend to answer, focusing mostly on fossils and folklore indigenous to North America and East Asia. Like any other field, science reflects the changing perspectives of people through different time periods. By examining the role folklore plays in paleontology, I am also interested in tracking larger themes of skepticism toward non-Western sources, conflicts between scientific and cultural beliefs, and how scientists understanding of what constitutes valid information changes. It would be shortsighted to state the case simply as one pitting European viewpoints against those of Native American and Asian cultures. Beginning with Georges Cuvier and the theory of extinction, then later with Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution, Western ideas themselves have long had to contend with the Christian narrative of intelligent design. As scientist and historian Adrienne Mayor points out, even some Western folklore owe their beginnings to dinosaur fossils. I will be drawing much of my material from Mayors 2013 book Fossil Legends and the First Americans which discusses the additional obst acles encountered in accessing and publishing information from indigenous sources. All of this is to show how multiple perspectives often shape scientific studies and how the cut and dry methodology we often associate with Western research is often more nuanced than it appears. Dinosaur fossil finds have occurred as long as people have walked the Earth, and it is not surprising to see how myths from around the world take shape from encounters with dinosaur remains. Robert Plot in 1677 was likely the first to put a fossil discovery in scientific terms, though not without mythical overtones. Part of a femur later described as belonging to Megalosaurus was called Scrotus Humanum by Robert Plot who included it in his book The Natural History of Oxfordshire. Coming long before dinosaurs were understood with any accuracy, Plot discusses multiple sources for the bone, which he does recognize as a thigh bone. He starts by suggesting it belonged to a Roman war elephant, then compares it to myths of giants, both in the Bible and in more modern history. Goliath features as evidence in Plots analysis along with a giant believed to have been in the Tartar army that invaded Eastern Europe in 1575: a Man of ordinary stature might go upright between his legs when he did st ride (Plot). He concludes that the bone is very likely a man or womans, one whose kind was perhaps wiped out by the Flood because the skeletons of modern humans have not shrunken by any remarkable degree. Apart from Robert Plots biblical references, his other observations are a blend of history and hearsay. Biblical references themselves are myths of their own kind, not so much in the sense of being fantastical, but insofar as they are stories used to explain reality. Taken in that light, they are equivalent to the myths about dinosaurs arising in Native American and Chinese folklore traditions. Given his time and place, myths naturally informed his judgement, even in a scientific study. The other notable feature of Plots observation is the idea that a catastrophe, such as the biblical Flood, was responsible for the disappearance of whatever could have had such a huge femur. Georges Cuvier, who made a huge contribution to the study of paleontology about a century after Plot, also appealed to the idea of catastrophes wiping out species, a view known as catastrophism. He used catastrophism to reason the phenomenon of extinction, an idea that at first conflicted with Cuviers own sense of the world as created perfectly by God. Why would a species go extinct if it was part of the divine creation, or why would God make it go extinct? The discovery of dinosaurs and the resulting theories about life did much in reshaping Western notions of natural history. Though some beliefs were upset by these large fossils, others were stabilized and encouraged. Cuvier, presumably after reconciling with the reality of extinction, developed his views on catastrophism largely with the help of Native American sources. Having never traveled to North America, he relied on interpretations of indigenous folklore, journals and actual fossil specimens sent by natural scientists (Mayor). Mayor discusses how Cuvier had amassed a considerable trove of material, among which were fragments of mastodon tusks recovered from a branch of the Susquehanna River; as it so happened, the Delaware and Lenape name for that section of the river is chemung, which translates to place of the horns (Mayor). Though it is not clear to what extent paleontologists have been led to excavation sites by the help of indigenous folklore, or in this case a simple translation and interpretation, it seems fairly likely that corroborations such as these proved helpful in some regard. Of course, what proved doubly helpful to Cuviers burgeoning theories was the existing Native American tales about the fossils they had found, which came to his attention through the work of Rembrandt Peale. Peale published a large amount of Native folklore, including the legend that the colossal creatures to whom the fossils belonged had once roamed the Earth, but were destroyed by a lighting bolt of the good Spirit in a brief but cataclysmic moment. Similar lore about the grandfather buffalo existed, no doubt because Natives had encountered the giant skeletons of Pleistocene bison which were widespread (Mayor). All this information reached Cuvier, who cited Peale in his own work and used Native myths of violent catastrophes to bolster his theories behind their extinction (Mayor). Again, though it is difficult to tell how much Native lore impacted Cuviers views, the very fact that he referenced their myths is what a skeptical scientist might deem an ad hoc hypothesis, convenient for how it upholds the perspective he already finds compelling. While Mayor shows how myths were useful to Cuviers understanding of North American natural history, along with that of other figures like Thomas Jefferson, Phil Senter in a 2013 article discusses how myths have also been used more recently to debunk scientific theories. Senters piece titled Dinosaurs and pterosaurs in Greek and Roman art and literature? An investigation of young-earth creationist claimsfocuses on how fossil observations made during the ancient Greco-Roman civilizations have been re-interpreted by modern Christians looking to debunk the theory of evolution. Illustrations that Senter describes as reflecting encounters with Mesozoic reptile skeletons are claimed instead to be those of mammals and reptiles common today in an attempt to cast doubt on the separation of humans and such animals by millions of years (Senter). As this case clearly shows, mythology is a tool that can also be used to discredit science. Though this may, for some, be more incentive to steer clear from incorporating folklore into scientific narratives, Senter proves that it can be redeemed with a little research. If not to improve the general understanding of a subject by expanding the context in which it is studied, then folklore approached through science presents a way to overturn misconceptions at odds with commonly accepted scientific theories. Folklore in paleontology, or what Mayor calls fossil legends, can also work the other way around, aiding our understanding of myth creation itself. For instance, the Western myth of griffins is possibly the result of traders along the silk route in Central Asia encountering skulls belonging to Protoceratops (Mayor Heaney). Instead of myths informing the study of dinosaurs and the history of paleontology, as is the case with Native American folklore and fossils discovered in North America, this is an example of how paleontology can contribute to the study of myth and ancient cultural exchange. Though this particular connection between griffins and dinosaurs is disputed by some archeologists, it does not detract from the reality that mythology and science taken together can add the multiple fields of study, such as anthropology and history in general (Tartaron). Another example of fossils informing cultural myths can be found in the popular beliefs of dragons in China. According to pa leontologist Dong Zhiming in his 1992 book Dinosaur Faunas of China, dinosaur remains from the Jurassic to Cretaceous Periods continue to be regarded as belonging to mythical dragons (Zhiming). In some parts of China, fossil remains are still extracted, crushed into powder, and consumed with the belief that they contain magical healing properties (AMNH). Similar beliefs were present in Lakota Native American culture. Beginning around the time of Cope and Marshs infamous Bone Wars, contact between indigenous figures and paleontologists was renewed. James Cook, a hunter who was friendly with the Lakota Sioux and who was shown a giant jawbone fossil by a man named Afraid of His Horses, introduced Othniel Marsh to famous Lakota Chief Red Cloud and persuaded the Sioux that Marsh was interested in bones, not gold. Marsh became good friends with Red Cloud, and incorporated the Lakota view that large fossils belong to extinct Thunder Beasts in his naming of Brontosaurus: Thunder Reptile (Mayor). Mayor also discusses Cooks ranch in Nebraska where Native Americans and paleontologists regularly interacted, but from which there is a frustrating lack of evidence directly linking Native folklore and knowledge to major excavation sites. In spite of that, the friendship of Marsh and Red Cloud is also testament to the role Native Americans personally helped in paleontological efforts. Though their myths did not accord with the scientists views, which by this time had outgrown Cuviers speculations, they show a clear awareness of fossils. Without getting into larger questions of discovery and what defines a paleontologist, I cannot help but underscore, as Mayor does in her book, the highly contrasting views that many Western scientists showed toward indigenous history. George Rogers Clark of the Lewis and Clark exhibition once wrote, I see no reason why [indigenous tradition] should not be received as good History, at least as good as a great part of ours, but the same broadmindedness was not forthcoming in other authorities. George Gaylord Simpson, professor at Columbia and Curator at the American Museum of Natural History, could not have been more dismissive of Native American claims to fossil discovery: Indians certainly found and occasionally collected fossil bonesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ but these discoveries are no real part of paleontological history (Mayor). This quote is one of Simpsons many showing his blatant disregard for work done outside the framework of traditional scientific methodology. It is not an overstatem ent to suggest that he was simply racist. Yet this is equally a part of the history of fossil discoveries, and it is worth discussing to see how much naturalists and paleontologists across time may have deliberately limited their own knowledge by abandoning non-conforming sources of information. Many of paleontologys major steps forward were, and still are, occasioned by untraditional methods of accessing information. Folklore is hard pressed on its own to describe where fossil remains may be found, but the example of Marsh, as well as his nemesis Edward Drinker Cope, proves that it was at the very least a tool of communication between Western scientists and Native guides. Cope was not as intrepid as Othniel Marsh, but he did travel to the Badlands in South Dakota where he arranged to have a Sioux scout lead him to where the remains of Thunder Birds and Water Monsters could be found. At one spot, he recovered the skull of a duck-billed dinosaur as well as fossils from 21 other dinosaur species (Mayor). By accepting folklore as a means of communication, Cope and Marsh were able to receive help in finding these bones, not to mention persuade understandably hostile Natives that they were not interested in appropriating their land. Suffice it to say that someone who disregarded the possibility that Natives had any knowledge of fossils would not have been so lucky as to be led to major excavation sites , or at least not on friendly terms. As the Sioux tradition regards monsters from the ancient past as having been killed by divine lightning, they avoid touching the bones lest they incur a similar fate. This type of special, even sacred approach to the unknown is paralleled by the Chinese belief in the magical properties of dinosaur (dragon) bones. It is the argument of a less enlightened scientist to denigrate these cultural understandings of the deep past simply because they lack the same framework as Western scientific inquiry. Even within the sterile and precise parameters of paleontology, is there not some deep-seated awe of dinosaurs and the world they occupied? Is this not comparable to that of people who relate to it in terms of myth and lore? Yet another larger point to be gleaned from this comparative study of folklore and paleontology is how certainty can exist in multiple forms. The legend of Thunder Birds is as real to Native Americans as the efforts of geologic dating and excavation are to Western minds. To prioritize one over the other is to overlook the unique and intrinsic value of each as a system of knowledge in itself. The absurdity of disregarding non-Western fossil legends is increased all the more when one finds how the Greeks and Romans, the forbears of all Western civilization, also drew upon mythology in their own discoveries of fossils. In another book by Adrienne Mayor, The First Fossil Hunters, she discusses how the Greeks also drew upon the oral culture of Homer and Hesiod. Much like Robert Plots speculations, Greek myths of monsters, giants, and titans were well known and held a place closer to reality than any modern reader of the classics might understand (Mayor). As such, giant bones found around the Mediterranean Sea also came with convenient explanations. Or like the example of dragon myths in China, it is even more likely that their myths themselves came from fossil discoveries. Interestingly enough, the Greeks also were of the opinion that lightning smote the oversized monsters of the past; the modern consensus in the scientific community about the actual demise of the dinosaurs b y asteroid collision is not very far off from this common myth. Yet again, the distinction between relied-upon science and the myths of world cultures come to remarkably similar conclusions despite accessing different knowledge sources in the process. Coming, at last, back to the question of whether folklore has played a role in paleontology, the answer is yes. This role, however, is marked by a departure from traditional scientific method what folklore adds to science instead comes via interpersonal relations, interpretive meanings and subjective experiences. In the case of Marsh, Cope and the Sioux, folklore itself may not have lead the naturalists to their excavation sites, but a respect for the tradition as it was, clearly did play a role. The overriding evidence presented in this paper shows that myths work indirectly, and indeed interdependently with paleontology. The examples of Chinese dragon lore and Western myths of griffins shows that working backward through paleontology can also explain myths. Incorporating myth and legend into the study of dinosaurs and their fossil remains creates a more interdisciplinary, and therefore deeper, study of dinosaurs and their histories. In the more nuanced paleontological discussions going on today about dinosaur appearance and primitive characteristics, it becomes clear how much scientists own subjectivity was formerly at play in the depiction of dinosaurs. Without evidence of feathers, for instance, scaly reptilian images become the norm, images that might have simply made the most sense to scientists rather than being empirically proven. Myth functions in much the same way. Robert Plot and Georges Cuvier, by making conclusions using biblical myth as well as Native American folklore, in Cuviers case, are excellent examples of how folklore influenced the early study of dinosaurs. Indeed, the founding fathers of paleontology are still extolled in spite of their now-ridiculous sounding evidence, which shows the racism lurking behind other naturalists work when they discredited on sight the knowledge of indigenous peoples. What I have especially tried to show is how folklore and fossil legends represent unique and equally valuable sources of information. Though their content might not be directly relatable to the study of a particular fossil in a specific period, there is ample evidence to show that having at least a respect for other traditions experiences with fossils can prove beneficial in unseen ways. We should never forget how ridiculous some formerly common beliefs about dinosaurs seem to us now, such as naked and sometimes anthropomorphic renderings made in the recent and distant past. Myth and folklore surround us and inform our thinking in more ways that we are aware of. Acknowledging this and respecting those traditions for what they are can only further our understanding. Works Cited AMNH. Natural History of Dragons. AMNH. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2017. . Asia-Pacific | Dinosaur Bones used as Medicine. BBC News. BBC, 06 July 2007. Web. 23 Mar. 2017. . Mayor, Adrienne. The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman times. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2000. Print. Mayor, Adrienne. Fossil Legends of the First Americans. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2013. Print. Mayor, A., Heaney, M. (1993). Griffins and Arimaspeans. Folklore, 104(1-2), 40-66. Plot, Robert. The Natural History of Oxford-shire. Newport Pagnell: Minet, 1677. Print. Senter, Phil. Dinosaurs in Greco-Roman Art? Palaeontologia Electronica. N.p., 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2017. . Tartaron, T. F. (2014). Cross-Cultural Interaction in the Greek World: Culture Contact Issues and Theories. In Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (pp. 1804-1821). Springer New York. Zhiming, Dong. Dinosaurian Faunas of China. Chinese Ocean Press, 14 Mar. 2017. Web. 22 Mar. 2017. .

1984 fifty years on – in what respects has the fictitious future vision of George Orwell “come true”?

George Orwell wrote his famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four between the years 1945 and 1948. Although the title is ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four', the novel wasn't meant to be a detailed description of the exact year of 1984 but a critical, futuristic novel. In Orwell's criticism of a perfect society, his novel became known as one of the greatest anti-utopian novels of all time. Although the novel starts out as a story of a neurotic man, it quickly turns into a protest against a totalitarian government. The novel seems to be a satire at the start, similar to novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, but quickly the reader will discover that it is not wholly satire. Nineteen Eighty-Four is not only criticism of what Orwell saw happening in his country with the coming of English Socialism, but a warning of the consequences of contemporary government actions and what they were threatening to cause. Perhaps the novel seems so bleak because it was written in the conditions and environment in which Orwell lived in 1948, straight after the Second World War. Perhaps people would be more comfortable with the novel if they could forget the thought of the possibility of the prediction becoming real. In year 1984 it seemed to be a huge trend to discuss which aspects of the novel had come true, although the title of the novel was only acquired by switching the last two numbers of the publishing year the other way round. The most obvious feature in the novel that existed -and still exists for example in Cuba – is the totalitarian government. Although Stalin's Soviet Union and Hitler's Nazi Germany obviously gave the model for Oceania, Orwell and no-one else in the end of the 1940s knew what exactly was happening inside these states. For example the truth of Stalin's government came up only after 1952 when the head of the country died. KGB could be linked to the Thought Police in the sense of â€Å"vaporising† people who were against the leader mysteriously during the night. In this sense, Orwell interpreted in his novel quite well the secret actions inside the totalitarian government. Also Orwell's view of television seems to have partly â€Å"come true†. The television was a quite new invention in the end of the 1940s when Nineteen Eighty-Four was published, and therefore Orwell developed the idea of an unswitchable TV, telescreen, for his novel. Although the modern TV's can be switched off and the Party members can't observe us through them, Orwell wouldn't probably have been surprised by the fact that in 1984 the average American household spent over 7 hours in front of the television every evening. The number is even greater for those families who happen to have a cable TV. As Winston in the beginning of the novel is a middle-aged man living alone, and working only because everyone has to, his position resembles the one of a modern, marginalised man. He can't remember his childhood or even his mother clearly. It is possible to see here one Orwell's insight more, even though it is quite unlikely that he actually predicted in 1948 that marginalisation would become a problem fifty years later. The theme of Newspeak and the destruction of language was also one aspect of the future that George Orwell saw in advance. Although the governments of today are not trying to eliminate more and more words from our vocabularies in order to eliminate our ability to unite or conspire against them, the language is changing. Words that sound as if they were the purest Newspeak already exist, for example the word ‘infomercial' (information + commercial) could be straight form Oceania. Also new words come to existence at the same time when old words almost disappear. The disappearing, or forgotten words are usually names of old objects that are not used anymore. New technology in turn brings new products that need new names. No other work of the 20th century has inspired people with such love of liberty and hatred of tyranny. Because of the many predictions of the future that Orwell made over fifty years ago and which later on have actually â€Å"come true†, Nineteen Eighty-Four remains one of the great novels of the previous century.

Finding the Best Rubric Samples for Essay Questions

Finding the Best Rubric Samples for Essay Questions The Debate Over Rubric Samples for Essay Questions Informative essay writing is an art that each and every student should master. When you're writing an English essay, you have zero opportunity to confirm your paper by another individual. You're able to make use of these examples to find a clearer idea of what a high-scoring essay appears like and what graders are interested in on the Writing section. In your essay, you ought to use a wide selection of vocabulary (and utilize it correctly). Being aware of what graders are seeking and reviewing TOEFL Writing samples can go a very long way towards aiding you to get a high score on this section. Learn all the ideas you need to understand as a way to ace TOEFL Writing! It may also be beneficial to review other TOEFL writing samples to receive a better idea about what a wonderful TOEFL essay appears like. You'll know that you have to work on your thesis abilities. The very first element of the essay we'll analyze is the way that it succeeds in identifying and examining the sections of the argument that relate to the undertaking. The items covered below this criterion are definitely the most important in regards to writing a strong essay. However, the utility of the five paragraph form is that it is a tried-and-true method to continue to keep your essay organized. When there are a couple minor errors within this excerpt (prehistorical should be prehistoric, absolutely free thinking needs to be free-thinking), they don't significantly alter the significance of the author's words and therefore do not detract from the general effectiveness of the author's language. For instance, the on-line learners reads a passage, highlights all the important details, and then produces a summary. You can have a look at my tips on building specific rubric-based skills in my personal article about how to compose a DBQ. To assist you compose the best rubrics, here are a number of strategies to get you started. To begin with, utilize the perfect-scoring sample GRE essays within this guide as models of feasible techniques to do the essay tasks. Your exam is broken up into portions. BUN tests should be done a specific way. It won't be any different than every other blood test you've received. The Battle Over Rubric Samples for Essay Questions and How to Win It As soon as it's extremely important to make certain your essay has a very clear perspective, strong important reasoning, and support for your position, that's not sufficient to secure you a top score. Rubrics are used for a couple of diverse explanations. You will likely have to customize these rubrics to fulfill your aims and standards, but these should offer you a good place to begin. Rubrics give the teacher a chance to assess the students understanding of a scientific topic by levels of performance on particular criteria. List the most relevant goals of the assignment. Though your facts do need to be correct, you receive a bit more leeway with your interpretations of the way the author's persuasive techniques might influence the audience. Most student work will probably fit into more than 1 category for unique criteria. The procedure for writing comments also keeps your attention centered on the response. In order in order to spell out why the author is persuasive, you have to be in a position to spell out the structure of the argument. You will be able to take notes as you listen to it though. Take advantage of these papers to refresh your memory of the standards by which you're grading and to guarantee fairness over the time period spent grading. You'll probably wind up with responses which are throughout the spectrum that are virtually impossible to grade. Grading samples carefullywill help you to get a sense ofyour own blind spots so that you know what skills to concentrate on in your prep. If online learners have the ability to memorize the critical ideas, then they'll not have any trouble passing the test. Teachers have a crystal clear means of assessing students' work and students know just what sorts of things are likely to earn them with the grade they want. To begin with, some students will waste time attempting to determine which questions to reply.

What Languages Do Canadians Speak

While many Canadians are definitely bilingual, they are not necessarily speaking English and French. Statistics Canada reports that more than 200 languages that were not English, French or an Aboriginal language, were reported as a language spoken most often at home, or as a mother tongue. About two-thirds of the respondents who spoke one of these languages also spoke either English or French. Census Questions on Languages in Canada Data on languages collected in the Census of Canada are used to implement and administer both federal and provincial acts, such as the federal Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the New Brunswick Official Languages Act. Language statistics are also used by both public and private organizations which deal with issues such as health care, human resources, education, and community services. In the 2011 Census of Canada questionnaire, four questions on languages were asked. Question 7: Can this person speak English or French well enough to conduct a conversation?Question 8(a): What language does this person speak most often at home?Question 8(b): Does this person speak any other languages on a regular basis at home?Question 9: What is the language that this person first learned at home in childhood and still understands? For further details on the questions, the changes between the 2006 Census and the 2011 Census and the methodology used, see Languages Reference Guide, 2011 Census from Statistics Canada. Languages Spoken at Home in Canada In the 2011 Census of Canada, the Canadian population of nearly 33.5 million reported more than 200 languages as their language spoken at home or their mother tongue. About a fifth of Canadians, or nearly 6.8 million people, reported having a mother tongue other than English or French, Canadas two official languages. About 17.5 percent or 5.8 million people reported that they spoke at least two languages at home. Only 6.2 percent of Canadians spoke a language other than English or French as their only language at home. Official Languages in Canada Canada has two official languages at the federal level of government: English and French. [In the 2011 Census, about 17.5 percent, or 5.8 million, reported that they were bilingual in English and French, in that they could conduct a conversation in both English and French.] Thats a small increase of 350,000 over the 2006 Census of Canada, which Statistics Canada attributes to an increase in the number of Quebecers who reported being able to conduct a conversation in English and French. In provinces other than Quebec, the rate of English-French bilingualism dipped slightly. About 58 percent of the population reported that their mother tongue was English. English was also the language most often spoken at home by 66 percent of the population. About 22 percent of the population reported that their mother tongue was French, and French was the language most often spoken at home by 21 percent. About 20.6 percent reported a language other than English or French as their mother tongue. They also reported that they spoke English or French at home. Diversity of Languages in Canada In the 2011 Census, eighty percent of those who reported that they speak a language other than English, French or an Aboriginal language, most often at home live in one of the six largest major census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in Canada. Toronto: About 1.8 million people in Toronto reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home. Thats about 32.2 percent of the citys population and around 2.5 times as many as in Vancouver who reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home. The most common languages were Cantonese, Punjabi, Urdu, and Tamil.Montreal: In Montreal, about 626,000 reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home. Nearly a third spoke Arabic (17 percent) and Spanish (15 percent).Vancouver: In Vancouver, 712,000 reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home. Punjabi led the list at 18 percent, followed by Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tagalog. The total accounts for 64.4 percent of the total population speaking one of these five languages most often at home.Calgary: In Calgary, 228,000 people reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home. Punjabi (27,000 people), Tagalog (nearly 24,000), and non-specific Chinese dialects at nearly 21,000 were the language s most often reported.Edmonton: In Edmonton, 166,000 reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home, with Punjabi, Tagalog, Spanish and Cantonese accounting for about 47 percent of these people, a percentage quite similar to Calgary.Ottawa and Gatineau: About 87 percent of the people in this census metropolitan area who reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home lived in Ottawa and Arabic, Chinese (non-specified dialect), Spanish and Mandarin were the leading immigrant home languages. In Gatineau, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and non-specified Chinese dialects were the leading home languages. Aboriginal Languages in Canada Aboriginal languages are diverse in Canada, but they are fairly thinly spread, with 213,500 people reporting having one of 60 Aboriginal languages as a mother tongue and 213,400 reporting that they speak an Aboriginal language most often or regularly at home. Three Aboriginal languages - the Cree languages, Inuktitut and Ojibway - made up almost two-thirds of the responses from those reporting having an Aboriginal language as their mother tongue on the 2011 Census of Canada.