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Something like 17% of Ottawa's population is francophone, and given that the police service has some level of bilingualism requirement, it wouldn't be surprising if anywhere between a fifth and a quarter of the force was francophone.
The current chief of police, Charles Bordeleau, happens to be a francophone Ottawan. I believe he might be the first native French speaker to hold that job.
You may find this amusing but Ottawa, like many other cities I don't need to name, has a history of a heavy Irish presence in its police department.
The Irish cop has been a cliche in Northern US cities for over a 100 years.
Both my wife and I would be considered "superbilingual" Canadians. This is quite typical of people who've grown up as minorities but haven't lost their native language.
EUropeans leave Anglo countries far behind in multilingualism. Especially the Scandinavians and Dutch. To be honest I expected the standard of English to be higher in Quebec than it is. I guess I was comparing it to Europe. We have just been in New Caledonia and the standard of English there is way behind that of France. I think in Europe these days kids start learning English in kindergarten and have daily lessons. They certainly do in Sicily, where we have family.
EUropeans leave Anglo countries far behind in multilingualism. Especially the Scandinavians and Dutch. To be honest I expected the standard of English to be higher in Quebec than it is. I guess I was comparing it to Europe. We have just been in New Caledonia and the standard of English there is way behind that of France. I think in Europe these days kids start learning English in kindergarten and have daily lessons. They certainly do in Sicily, where we have family.
English in kindergarten in continental Europe? I think that would be quite rare. Even in the super-English-friendly Nordics I think they only start English in grades 3 or 4...
Unless you are talking about a private school. That I would believe.
Here in Quebec English starts in Grade 1 and that's pretty early by most standards.
Both my wife and I would be considered "superbilingual" Canadians.
Due to my exposure to Quebecois I can easily tell English is not your main language. Mostly because you overuse ''that''.
Unlike english, french is teeming with adverbs and pronouns , my guess is you substitute ''that'' for words like ''que'' or ''qui''.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarisaAnna
To be honest I expected the standard of English to be higher in Quebec than it is.
I dont remember off hand but there are numbers out there on the level of english proficiency for Quebecers, something impressive like 40% or more but those are self-reported.
Of course this is merely anecdotal but from my time over there I'd say the % of frenchies who can hold a lengthy conversation beyond the mondane is more like 10% if that.
English in kindergarten in continental Europe? I think that would be quite rare. Even in the super-English-friendly Nordics I think they only start English in grades 3 or 4...
Unless you are talking about a private school. That I would believe.
Here in Quebec English starts in Grade 1 and that's pretty early by most standards.
Public school in Eastern Sicily. My grandson in Sydney is studying French in kindy but it is a private school and it is unusual. Our country suffers from an acute shortage of language teachers. That is in some ways surprising considering that we are even more multicultural than Canada.
Public school in Eastern Sicily. My grandson in Sydney is studying French in kindy but it is a private school and it is unusual. Our country suffers from an acute shortage of language teachers. That is in some ways surprising considering that we are even more multicultural than Canada.
Australians often say that but is it really true? I am familiar with both countries and Anglo-Canada is fairly similar to Oz in this respect.
English in kindergarten in continental Europe? I think that would be quite rare. Even in the super-English-friendly Nordics I think they only start English in grades 3 or 4...
Unless you are talking about a private school. That I would believe.
Here in Quebec English starts in Grade 1 and that's pretty early by most standards.
Students study English for twelve years?
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