Discover Resources in More Than 30 Languages at EPL

Edmonton prides itself on being a multicultural city with a diverse population and cultural heritage.  

Immigrants make up 32.5% of Edmonton’s total population (26% when including the surrounding metropolitan area) with non-permanent residents making up another 2.4% of the city’s population. Edmonton has a higher proportion of immigrants than Canada as a whole, with only 23% of Canada’s population being made up of immigrants. Of the top 5 metropolitan centres with the highest proportion of immigrants, Edmonton comes in at number 5 with the top 4 spots being taken by Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Abbotsford-Mission. It’s also one of the most religiously diverse cities in the entire country. 

The many events hosted by Edmonton throughout the year are proof of the unique celebrated cultures of its varied inhabitants. One example is the much-loved Heritage Festival in August, which highlights the city’s love for diversity. These events often focus on food, art, and dance, but Edmonton's multiculturalism goes much deeper—just listen and you'll see. 

Languages Spoken Across Edmonton

Other than English (the mother tongue of nearly two-thirds of the city) and French (the mother tongue of 1.6 % of Edmontonians), there are many different languages you might hear on the streets of our fair city. 

Around 30.1% of the city’s population calls a non-official language their mother tongue. Indigenous speakers make up 0.2% of the population, and 5.5% of people in Edmonton have more than one mother tongue. 

These are the top 5 non-official languages most spoken by Edmontonians, along with the number of people who speak the language at home (Edmonton (City), 2021).

(2021 Census, Statistics Canada) 

 If you are a native speaker of one of these languages or a new language learner, the Edmonton Public Library has something for you. 

Explore EPL’s Global Language Offerings

 EPL offers resources in more than 30 languages from around the world, including books in Tagalog, Panjabi, German and Ukrainian. 

 EPL has a variety of items available, ranging from translations of a beloved favourite to an original text in a language other than English. 

Our world languages collections are perfect for bilingual members and new language learners alike. Browse and add something new to your shelf today. 

How to Access EPL's Multilingual Resources

EPL’s World Languages Collection 

To see the books, movies, music and more in world languages available directly from EPL, visit our World Languages page. Simply click on your desired language to see items available in that language. 

Newspapers, Magazines, and Publications in World Languages 

If you love newspapers, magazines, and other publications, check out PressReader! It offers titles from 155 countries in 64 different languages, so there’s something for everyone. Access to more than 2,000 newspapers and over 1,000 magazines from around the world is available for free with your library card. 

 To find publications in your language, visit the PressReader website and scroll to the publication section in the middle of the homepage, just below the "Featured" section. From there, simply select a country, region, or language from the navigation on the right side of the page and choose the title you would like to read.  

Struggling to navigate Press Reader? Just change the display language by clicking on the three-dot menu icon in the upper left-hand corner and selecting your desired language in the interface language section of the menu. 

But that is not all! EPL also offers a Chinese magazine resource, with plenty of publications to choose from. 

EPL Programs in World Languages 

In addition to online resources and physical items you can borrow from our collection, EPL also offers programs in several different languages. Check our What’s On information for classes offered in French and other languages.   

 Learn World Languages 

If you are looking to learn a new language, EPL has plenty of resources to choose from! 

There’s Mango Language Learning, which offers 48 language options for English speakers as well as English language courses for speakers of 15 other languages. 

Pronunciator is another language resource that features live tutors, movies, music with lyrics, pronunciation analysis, quizzes, a customizable interface and more to help you learn any of the 315 languages/dialects they offer.  

Pronunciator also has created another language learning platform called Bluebird Languages that offers interactive audio lessons to help you learn one of 164 languages with lessons spoken in 146 different languages. 

There’s also Muzzy: Language Learning for Kids, which helps children from preschool to elementary age learn a variety of languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian. 

Want to improve your English? EPL has several in-person English classes at different branches throughout the city. Check out our in-person classes and events to see what is offered at your local branch!  

EPL also offers a number of online resources for English Language Learners including Clear Pronunciation and Clear Pronunciation 2 which are programs designed to help you practice and improve your English pronunciation and speaking. The Road to IELTS – General Edition and Road to IELTS – Academic Edition are also available for free through EPL if you are preparing to take the IELTS exam. 

Discover EPL's World Language Collection!