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Old 09-17-2013, 01:50 AM
 
Location: Alberta, Canada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
Really? I would think learning another language you'll never use is a total waste of time and the time wasted could be much better spent on more viable and useful subjects.
I disagree. Learning other languages is only ever a good use of one's time.

I speak English, French, and Russian. I rarely use French here in Alberta, but oddly enough, I have been called upon to use my Russian. True, Ukranian and Russian are different languages, but they are close enough that if my Ukranian-speaking client has trouble with English, I can help him or her out by speaking Russian in our interviews. I will speak English before the court, but if necessary, I can fire Russian back to my client, interpret my client's remarks, and tell the court what my client is saying.

French, I use in Quebec. Yes, it may be Ontario high school French, but it worked in France. In Quebec, I try, and I'm usually understood.

Learning a language is only ever a good thing.
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Old 09-17-2013, 04:19 AM
 
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Learning a language is like learning a musical instrument. As Acajack pointed out, even if you choose to never use it, it has been shown to increase mental abilities - train your brain.

I also found that learning a second language (particularly studying French beyond the intermediate level) helped me with my native language (English). It works both ways of course, as the more literate you are in L1 (first language), the more literate you will be in your L2, L3, etc.

I read the paper last week and a woman from my French class (advanced conversation) was on the front page. I thought she was Chinese (she always spoke Chinese with another student), and that French was her L2. It turns out French is actually her L7(!) and that she grew up in Cambodia during Pol Pot, and never went to school. Through her refugee years, she learned all those languages fluently.

Incredibly well-read and eloquent, even though she had never stepped in a classroom. I really can't help but think all that linguistic development "trained her brain". I should write a book about her one day, how inspirational!
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Old 09-17-2013, 04:22 AM
 
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Oh well, we'll have to agree to disagree! Mind you I think all of those classes are great as well. I wish I had spent more time in home economics, but I never thought I would end up having kids (I was 14 when I decided to stop). Woodworking was great, but girls got harassed beyond the mandatory 8th grade so I didn't continue Which is a shame, because it would have been such a useful skill.
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Old 09-17-2013, 05:08 AM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,042,146 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
While i'll agree that learning a second language is a positive
Damn i just unintentionally deleted my previous post..I was going to edit it to say on the upside my 2 daughters benefited from their French education in school as they are now fluently bilingual and living in Montreal, On the downside they both cant get out of Quebec fast enough.
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Old 09-17-2013, 06:29 AM
 
10,839 posts, read 14,643,028 times
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Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
Damn i just unintentionally deleted my previous post..I was going to edit it to say on the upside my 2 daughters benefited from their French education in school as they are now fluently bilingual and living in Montreal, On the downside they both cant get out of Quebec fast enough.
yeah, by now everyone here gets it that your entire family can't get out of Quebec fast enough
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Old 09-17-2013, 07:48 AM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,042,146 times
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Originally Posted by botticelli View Post
yeah, by now everyone here gets it that your entire family can't get out of Quebec fast enough
I guess its kinda easy to sit there in Toronto and be a Quebec sympathizer to just about everything that troubles the Anglo dempgraphic when you got absolutely no skin in the game. ,Come on up to Quebec and stay a while if you like Quebec so much,you're more than welcome to take my place., walk the walk. eh

Last edited by jambo101; 09-17-2013 at 07:58 AM..
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Old 09-17-2013, 08:03 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli View Post
yeah, by now everyone here gets it that your entire family can't get out of Quebec fast enough
To be fair, it is uncomfortable right now. There is a feeling of being unwanted, for those of us who are Anglophones living in Quebec. My profession would only benefit from a mass Anglophone exodus (less Anglophones, more work for me), but have to admit that jumping ship to francophone New Brunswick has crossed my mind more and more each day. I'm sure it still has turmoil, but it's getting unpleasant these days. Perhaps this will pass over (it usually does), but it's a lingering thought.
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Old 09-17-2013, 08:04 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,776 posts, read 37,717,092 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
I guess its kinda easy to sit there in Toronto and be a Quebec sympathizer to just about everything that troubles the Anglo dempgraphic when you got absolutely no skin in the game. ,Come on up to Quebec and stay a while if you like Quebec so much,you're more than welcome to take my place., walk the walk. eh
Botticelli is not a Quebec booster - he is just able to look at it objectively and with an open mind.

Something that a lot of people seem unable to do.

Quebec has its good and bad points. Just like any other place. But it's hardly the root of all evil like biased people make it out to be.
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Old 09-17-2013, 08:06 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,776 posts, read 37,717,092 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aliss2 View Post
To be fair, it is uncomfortable right now. There is a feeling of being unwanted, for those of us who are Anglophones living in Quebec. My profession would only benefit from a mass Anglophone exodus (less Anglophones, more work for me), but have to admit that jumping ship to francophone New Brunswick has crossed my mind more and more each day. I'm sure it still has turmoil, but it's getting unpleasant these days. Perhaps this will pass over (it usually does), but it's a lingering thought.
Is this discomfort from the news or are people behaving differently in everyday life as well?
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Old 09-17-2013, 08:13 AM
 
3,070 posts, read 5,212,819 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack View Post
Is this discomfort from the news or are people behaving differently in everyday life as well?
Only from the media (TV, newspapers). I'm not sure if you have received them as well, but I've been getting flyers in the mail about the proposed charter and all the reasons behind it. It's like a big elephant in the room, but "in your face". Hard to describe.

People in everyday life do not speak of the topic around me. My particular town is 97% francophone, and separatist beliefs are not hidden here. If this town had a choice tomorrow, it would separate. I'm not sure what my neighbours would think, but a recent poll (unofficial, of course) indicated this charter is in high favour here. It is, of course, merely an impression that I get and I certainly can't confirm with hard evidence, but it is not a secure feeling. I'm not alone in this feeling, I take an advanced conversation class with other immigrants (not new immigrants but long-term non-francophone residents) and they all feel the same way.

Then again, there are plenty of immigrants including Muslim women who agree with this. I don't think you will find any Sikhs in favour of this though.
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