What is it about?
Canadian cities are welcoming a growing number of immigrants who do not always have a good command of the official languages. To facilitate the inclusion of these newcomers, some cities are implementing multilingual policies that place a strong emphasis on translation and interpretation. This article compares the translation policies and practices of more than twenty major Canadian urban centers.
Featured Image
Photo by Jezael Melgoza on Unsplash
Why is it important?
To date, the translation policies and practices of Canadian municipalities have attracted only limited attention. Yet major urban centers play a leading role in welcoming newcomers. By providing them with resources in their own language as well as interpretation services, Canadian cities facilitate their integration.
Perspectives
Although Canada is an officially bilingual country, the reality in major urban centers—which are home to a growing number of immigrants—is multilingual. To address this reality, Canadian municipalities have developed multilingual policies that place a strong emphasis on translation. In this sense, these cities serve as true testing grounds where a post-bilingual identity is taking shape.
Sathya Rao
University of Alberta
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Towards a descriptive framework of municipal translation policies in the Canadian context, Babel Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation / Revista Internacional de Traducción, April 2026, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/babel.25237.rao.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
