Sorry, I Don't Speak French!
A few weeks ago, I was reading the weekly edition of the Hour while doing my laundry and I came across a review for Graham Fraser’s new book, Sorry, I Don’t Speak French. Since loyal followers of my blog already know that language is a topic near and dear to my heart, it should come as no surprise that I absolutely HAD to pick it up. And I’m certainly happy I did. Well, perhaps “happy” isn’t accurate. Y’see, when I was reading through the book’s introduction it started to become painfully clear that, in many ways, this was the book I had wanted to write, myself! I’m not sure how many times I stopped reading, mid-paragraph and thought, “Hey! He’s absolutely right!” but it felt like I was doing it constantly.So what does he say in the book? Well, for those who have no interest in reading it, I’ll point out a couple of the higher points. He deals primarily with Federal language policy and the repercussions of bilingualism in the Federal government, trying to debunk the commonly held misconception that Trudeau dreamt of a country where everyone was fully bilingual. According to Fraser, this was never the case. Trudeau apparently wanted 2 things out of the Official Languages Act: first, that people should have the right to speak to their own government in the language of their choice and second, to give the youth of the nation the option to learn the other official language. That’s a pretty far cry from what I was always taught growing up.
Graham also points out that the Federal government has dropped the ball in terms of improving relations between francophones and anglophones since the 1995 Referendum, whether it be through caps to funding of immersion programs to the sponsorship scandal. Instead of building bridges between the two cultural groups, we’ve isolated them. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being in this province, it’s that one shouldn’t back a Québécois into a corner. They’ll react VERY strongly, whether it be rational or not. The next few years will be interesting, particularly if the PQ wins the next election. After all, they’ve promised yet another Referendum should they take power and that’s really not something I look forward to, especially with a front row seat here in Montreal.
Though no one can offer outright solutions to the language issue, I think that the suggestions Fraser has made through the course of the book have merit. I would go into more detail, but he writes far more eloquently than I do, so I highly suggest my Canadian readers go out and read the book. It would be a shame if his work goes unnoticed as this issue will eventually dictate the future of our nation. Go out and read the book. For those who are interested, check out this link to an interview with the author. Til next time…
posted by Al B Here @ 2:25 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
If the frogs want to leave this country be my guest!
And that's precisely the kind of attitude that does more harm than good. We should be working together to communicate and improve the country, not resort to name calling. For the record, "frogs" is usually a term reseved for the French from France and they were quite happy to leave the country when they lost the Seven Years War to the British.
If Quebec wants sovereignty maybe it should offer to pay its share of the national debt, compensate Canada for federally-owned assets wthin the province, stop accepting equalization payments, and offer to compensate its anglophone citizens who wish to remain in Canada. That would show english Canada how much francophones value their "separate" identity.
All excellent points, Morgan. I do recall that one of the PQ leadership candidates, as part of his platform, had suggested a nominal fee (tax) that would be set aside to specifically pay back Quebec's portion of the national debt. To be honest, I have no idea if the guy won or not.
The economic viability of Quebec leaving is quite a different thing than recognizing the reason that they would want to leave in the first place. That's where communication comes in. I'm sure that there's something that can be worked out to help the Quebecois feel like part of the country, rather than unwanted houseguests.
How are the Quebecois made to feel like they are "unwanted houseguests?" In english Canada, it's not illegal to have signs in french. French is an official language. Do the Quebecois not realize that it costs money to offer bilingual services in Leyland, Saskatchewan, or Kamloops, British Columbia? Quebec, a have-not province, has been subsidized for years. All Canadians have suffered the economic effects of uncertainty in financial markets due to repeated sovereignty votes. I could go on.
That's the thing. The level of bilingual service decreases considerably the further one gets from Quebec... of course, I can only go by anecdotal evidence.
They feel unwelcome because they are obligated to speak english the moment that they leave the province. If a Quebecois comes to London, for instance, they're going to have to speak english in order to get any sort of service, even if it's at a gas station or a McDonald's. If you were to come to Montreal, you could get by pretty nicely using only english or even some badly broken french (as was the case when OJ tried to get directions to Old Montreal). Mind you, you'd probably get a lot more attention by at least *trying* to use french.
While all your arguments are valid, there are some times when it's not about finances. For me, I see it as more of a respect issue. Is there a certain defensiveness from many Quebecois? Yes. Can this be seen as hostile? Yes. But I think it has more to do with a perceived (rightly or wrongly) disrespect from and marginalization of their culture by English Canada. They also have a genuine fear of losing part of their identity. I don't necessarily agree with their point of view, but the view is there just the same. And when we get comments like our anonymous poster, I can see how they could feel that way.
You are well aware of how quickly your French skills can deteriorate when not exercised frequently. Do the Quebecois really expect English Canada to spend the requisite amount of time to be able to communicate seamlessly in French on the off chance that a francophone might venture into their area for a rare visit? That does not mean that English Canada shouldn't make an appropriate attempt. However, how frequently do Quebecois immediately break into English when dealing with anglophone visitors because it's easier than trying to help an anglophone with marginal and rarely used French skills work through a basic dialogue in French? I hear it even happens with bilingual residents in Quebec. Doesn't it Al?
As for any apparent lack of respect coming from English Canada, I think you'd find that those responsible are likely intolerant of more than just the Quebecois. I'd like to think that the intolerant are in the minority. Sadly, it's not against the law to be ignorant. I do believe that there are many English Canadians that are uninformed on the issue. In that particular case, Quebec could do a far better job educating the rest of Canada rather than alienating it.
I find it hard to believe that English Canada has the ability to take away the culture of the Quebecois. That's a bit of insecurity.
Yes, it often happens that bilingual francophones in the service industry will switch to English for ease of communication. Many do this without thinking. I fought this for years in Ottawa, and informed every bilingual francophone that I preferred to practice my French, thank you very much. Don't worry though, as soon as you get off the beaten path in Québec, you won't have that problem. In most of rural Québec, you'll be lucky to get them to say `yes, no, toaster in English. What is different in Québec and the ROC is that in Québec, virtually ALL of the educated class speak some English even though to blue collar class is largely unilingual. In the ROC, we have yet to create a bilingual educated class. However, some inroads are being made. The important thing is to not expect major social change in a generation. Bilingualizing Canada's educated class should be viewed as a 100-year project. We should maybe set it as a goal for our bi-centennial in 2067. Sounds like a great scholarship fund.
Salut à tous,
Et oui j'écris en Français sur un blogue anglais. En gros, cela veut dire que la majorité d'entre-vous ne me lira pas. Cela illustre très bien le fait que si un Canadien français désire exprimer une opinion, il ne peut le faire dans sa langue puisqu'il ne sera pas écouté. Alors il n'y a que les Canadiens français bilingues qui peuvent exprimer leur opinion. Belle démocratie.
Moi je ne suis pas ici pour parler du Québec et du souverainisme. Je suis ici pour vous parler des francophones hors Québec, la loi sur le bilinguisme instauré par Trudeau c'était pour eux.
Pour que les gens de Sainte-Boniface au manitoba parle encore français dans 100 ans. Et oui il y a des francophone hors-Québec mais ils sont oubliés. Il y a même une Université Francophone en alberta: Falculté St-Jean de l'Université d'Alberta. Au Yukon sur une population de 28 000 habitants 1200 avait pour langue maternelle le français en 2001. Ce n'est pas pour les Québecois de passages qu'il faut qu'il y ait des services en Français à Leyland, Saskatchewan, ou Kamloops en Colombie-Britanque. C'est pour les résidents. Ce n'est pas pour les Québecois que l'hôpital Monfort à été créé en Ontario, c'est pour les Franco-Ontariens.
Oui Oui, il serait moins couteux d'abolir le Français et que tout les francophones deviennent bilingue. C'est ce qui a tenté d'être fait avec la déportation des acadiens en 1755. Le Rapport Durham 1839 avait le même but, heuresement un Canadien anglais et Français se sont unis pour empêcher Londre de dicter la conduite des colonies et également préserver le Français. Alors effacer le Français du Canada c'est effacer son histoire et la raison de sa création.
Malheureusement les mesures répétés des différents gouvernements pour assimiler les francophones à porter ses fruits. Les francophones ont été oubligé de se rétracter dans une petit territoire qu'on apelle maintenant Québec puisque le reste de leur pays leur démontre une attitude hostile : "If the frogs want to leave this country be my guest!". Je voudrais que cette personne regarde son arbre généalogique et les noms de famille qui la comporte, je suis sur qu'il y retrouvera le nom d'un Canadien français qui faute de service aura été assimilé.
Le Français n'est pas une question d'identité Québecoise mais c'est une question d'identité Canadienne.
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