Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Please support ONLY French in Quebec and increase bilingualism in rest of Canada. Let Quebec be unique and charming.
Why not take it a step further and have Quebec leave the Canadian collective and become its own country,that way it could really be just like another France in N.America, very distinct and precious for those visiting Americans..
No it wasn't. Hochelaga was St. Lawrence Iroquoian, who disappeared, probably exterminated by the Mohawks, before Europeans settled the area. When the French settled, the Mohawks considered Montreal to be within their territory, but they did not live anywhere near it, they lived mostly in upstate New York and had no settlements in what is today the Greater Montreal area. The modern Mohawk reserves around Montreal were given to them by their British military allies in the late 18th century and were the first time they settled so far north of their traditional territories. But I mean, point taken, I'm not trying to de-legitimize indigenous cultures, but it's important to correct historical inaccuracies when they are spotted.
For one thing, it suppresses the local indigenous language. Believe or not, if a shop in Gatineau posted a sign in French and Algonquin (the local dialect of Ojubwe), it would contravene the French Language Charter. Ta.
Actually, the law specifically exempts aboriginal communities and provides protection for their languages.
Gatineau is not an aboriginal community though. Few aboriginals live here and of those who do, few are speakers of aboriginal languages.
As for the sign in French and Algonquin, that would be totally legal in Gatineau (or Quebec City or La Pocatière), just as long as French was on there too and predominant. (Even that last predominance thingy is frequently fudged upon.)
Secondly, the English language threat is caused by the Quebec government itself. It forces sly students across the province to learn English as a second language, and then tells them not to use it. It's a classic case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing, with two policies contradicting and undermining one another. Before telling people not to use English, how about starting with not forcing them to learn English? Many jurisdictions another round the world give schools the freedom to teach and students the freedom to be tested in the second language of their choice. Even some Canadian provinces do this. Why could Quebec not do the same instead of causing and then trying to fix it's own problems?
.
You seem a bit confused here.
There are few places in the world where students have as many opportunities to use the second teaching as there are in Quebec. You can go from kindergarten to PhD or MD in English in Quebec.
If you travelled a bit or read up on the rest of the world you'd realize this pretty quickly.
If you want English, go to England. If you want French, go to France.
As a Franco-Ontarian myself, I believe that the only languages that ought to be promoted are a sign language, the local indigenous language, and a international auxiliary language (e.g. Esperanto). All other languages ought to be left to the whims of the market. I don't see why English ought to be given some special status outside of England or French outside of Northern France.
If we were in the 1500s or the 1600s I would agree with you.
With the possible exceptions of the Cree and the Inuit, today very few of the aboriginals themselves would even want what are supposed to be ''their'' languages to dominate where they live as they themselves aren't sufficiently fluent in them - sometimes not knowing them at all - and are much more comfortable in English (or in some cases French).
It's always odd (but unfortunately not uncommon) to have Franco-Ontarians more concerned about the status of English in Quebec than about the status of their own language in their own province.
I know what I am talking about as I was a member of the Franco-Ontarian community for over 25 years of my life, including most of my formative years.
It's always odd (but unfortunately not uncommon) to have Franco-Ontarians more concerned about the status of English in Quebec than about the status of their own language in their own province.
I know what I am talking about as I was a member of the Franco-Ontarian community for over 25 years of my life, including most of my formative years.
I'd wager it's empathizing with another linguistic minority, it's why I care so much about French language rights in other provinces as an English speaking Quebecker. I know you've concluded they shouldn't because the situations are different, but it is what it is.
I'd wager it's empathizing with another linguistic minority, it's why I care so much about French language rights in other provinces as an English speaking Quebecker. I know you've concluded they shouldn't because the situations are different, but it is what it is.
It could be that, but I tend to see it as media conditioning and societal osmosis.
It's seen as a truism in Anglo-Canada that Franco-Ontarians and other minority francophone communities are way better treated than anglophones in Quebec.
This sentiment is so dominant that it simply ends up rubbing off on a lot of francophones like our new poster here.
How do you explain the former? Because anglophones and their media have constantly portrayed him as a dick and his cause as unreasonable.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
