174 RELATION OF ILLITERACY AND SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TO ORIGIN

the population operates against completeness of school attendance. The balance of the
difference is genuinely caused by the superior educational advantages of urban residence.
Rural conditions generally applied would raise the illiteracy of Canada no more than 1 per
cent.’

Sez and Illiteracy —It was found that females were less illiterate than males, because
(1) they were younger; (2) they tended to live in urban communities rather than in rural;
and (3) because they tended to come from literate rather than illiterate countries. The
difference between the sexes in respect to illiteracy is thus not a sex differentiation, but is
due to “the nature of the distribution of the sexes in respect to age, nativity, origin and
rural and urban residence.”
Illiteracy and Inability to Speak English and French—Table 107B shows the percentage
10 years of age and over illiterate for immigrants of specified foreign origins in Canada, and
the corresponding percentages unable to speak English or French. The correlation between
two series may be measured mathematically by the use of the Pearsonian coefficient of
correlation, which in the above case was found to be + +65; == +115. That so large a positive
coefficient was obtained ds more or less ‘conclusive evidence that there is a very definite
relationship between illiteracy and inability to speak either of the native tongues of Canada.
The following further conclusion in respect to the relationship between illiteracy and the
learning of English or French is arrived at: “It would also seem that the persistence of
origin’ characteristics of illiteracy is greater than that of inability to leam English or French.”
For the grounds on which this assertion is based, the reader is referred to Chapter 8 in the
original report.

CABLE 107P-FRENC..
 «._
ORIGINS IN -

CENTAGES ,LLITERATE AND PERCENTAGES UNABLE TO SPEAK ENGLISH OR
as 9 Tr fon BORN OF THE PRINCIPAL NON-BRITISH AND NON-FRENCH

Origin

Percentage
illiterate,
10 years of
age and ove

Percentage
unable to
peak French
or English
10 years
of age
and over

Jorwegisn.
SWisB. ee vss sgn we =
Janish....... FO §i § HERRERA
WOAIBN ceive © caeerrierneanel co eeeseeraiiicresietrar air aarannns
relandie.... I, evenrarereseresarrntaavanrans
Jerman...... wy ewes Sreernesenanens
Yelgian. oooh seein ae reraeerreas
{ebrew...... .... rw wen
ABR. i enirer ieee
D7 77:10) FOP
“innish.......
7arious. ......
Jungarian.....
[apanese.....- we app
tyrian......... «mma s
3erbo-CroatiaNe. ove cerreeren.-ulgArian.
 cy veervesnenanan
Sala. civ rieiraneriecerenns
ithuanian........ccoeeeeenn.
SBI. ¢oureniarnirsriaer +
lishiicpies sevanus vererns vers
OUMATIAIL tsar aernonsrosaronsne
Jhinese....oveieienrrenreraroaaases
sustrian........
Jkrainiah....n..

40
-52
-68
+4
67
-18
«an

.-41
1-15
8-70
1-84
2-68
10-09
+02
.04
+24
7-05
8-00
17.31

.g
“73
40
109
xe
rR
4
.A9.
+48
ng
1-15
=-08
59-46

13-76
42:50
5-32
10-27
18-08
17:19
~.61
1%.47
7-26
4.56
42-60
22-68
392.08

School Attendance and Illiteracy —It was found that “under present conditions in
Canada there is a decided connection between the illiteracy of a community and the
school attendance of children, 7 to 14 years of age.” It was also established that there
was a “less and somewhat uncertain relationship between school attendance and physical
environment which caused school attendance to be necessarily poorer in rural than in