where do native montreal anglophones work? (daycare, homes, school)
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From my research on this site, 15-20% of the population of Montreal are anglophone. However when people describe working conditions in Montreal, it seems if you are not fluent in French you are not getting a job.
Where do all these native Anglophones work, how do they support families if there are no jobs open to them? Homes on the West Island (where a lot of anglophones live) seem pretty nice.
I understand most of the jobs will be in French, but wondering how could there not be any decent jobs for people who speak english as their first language if there is a good sized population of them living there. Are they all working low-paying, dead-end jobs?
Hi there. I am a Montreal anglophone and proud to be so. What you need to understand is that the official language in Quebec and in the workplace is French. Even though we form a large minority, we still accept the reality that the official language of this province and of the workplace is French. As such, we speak French in the workplace. There are some notable examples where one can get by as a unilingual anglo. For example: teacher in an English daycare, school or university. There are some businesses located in english-speaking areas where most employees are english and as such will speak english in the workplace. However, these situations are the exception rather than the rule.
The reality is that if you do not speak French, you have absolutely no future in this province and should not move here. Anglophones need to be bilingual if they want to get a good job and have a good chance at upward mobility. Sorry for my bluntness but that's just the way it is. Imagine if you were moving to Germany without speaking German. You might be able to get a job as a waiter. Quebec is no different.
Thanks for the reply. I am not saying that I would move if I do not know french. I am not one of these people who want to move to Quebec without learning any french, I understand how it works. I really like the language.
I consider someone who calls themself an anglophone to speak english as a first and primary language. I understand that living in Quebec that they would need to know some french, but what about those that do not speak french as well as they do english? There has to be some of them out there.
From what I see on this board is that if you are not 100% fluent in French, you are not getting a job. But if that were the case, there would be no "anglophones", just francophones and people who are perfectly bilingual.
I am wondering about the folks who speak english first, french second but are not perfectly bilingual. How do they get by? Where do they work?
Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm not from Quebec), but I believe there are very few native Montrealers who cannot speak French at all. Even the anglophones speak French as a second language. Anglophone refers to mother tongue and the language they speak at home -- it doesn't mean English is the only language they can speak.
In my two responses I specifically mentioned anglophones being ABLE to speak french. I just said not being able to speak french as well as they do english. That is, it is apparent that you are not a native speaker.
It would be like a German coming to Canada, and speaking english with a german accent and not speaking exactly right all the time.
So I guess I will not get an answer to my question until someone reads my entire question. If that happens, please respond.
I live in southwestern Quebec about 2 hours from Montreal and go to that city fairly often. This wide 200-250 km area contains much of Quebec's native English-speaking population. I generally speak pretty much only French when out and about and I frequently hear people with anglo accents speaking French when being served in shops, restaurants, etc. in this part of Quebec.
I live in southwestern Quebec about 2 hours from Montreal
Sounds like the Huntingdon area..
I think a lot of outsiders dont understand that being immersed in French as much as we are here in Quebec you almost have to work at not being bi lingual if you are an anglo.
Sounds like the Huntingdon area..
I think a lot of outsiders dont understand that being immersed in French as much as we are here in Quebec you almost have to work at not being bi lingual if you are an anglo.
Every native English-speaker from Quebec is ABLE to speak French. The only anglophones who don't speak a word French are those who are really old and retired and little kids who haven't had the chance to learn yet. EVERYONE who is a native English-speaker who is originally from Quebec speaks French even if it is broken French and when they go to work they need to get by in their broken French all day long. When you do that for long enough, the broken French turns into good French, even though they may have an accent that persists. I really hope that's clear.
By the way, even if an anglophone is perfectly bilingual, he is still considered an anglophone because that is his native language. You can be bilingual, but not "a bilingual'.
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