Quebec says French citizen not proficient in French

[Subduction Zone]

As an English speaking Canadian, I personally take no offense to it whatever.

Isn't it a bit one sided though? In the areas of Canada that are mostly English speakers I assume that there are not laws on not having French signs. And the English speakers in Montreal appear to resent it a bit.

 

[Wu Wei]

@Estro Felino Parisian French and French Canadian are not exactly the same thing.

However I will I once worked with a Norwegian nurse who spoke Norwegian, Swedish, German, Spanish, French, and Italian who told me the French Canadians in Quebec were much friendlier and much more forgiving in their understanding of her French than the Parisians. Although she did also say outside of Paris the people were not much different than in Quebec, but the language was still a bit different.

Canadian French vs. French: 7 Important Differences You Need to Know

 

[Wu Wei]

Kind of.
Btw we were wondering @Subduction Zone and I whether the rule of compulsory signage en français in Québec is considered inappropriate by English-speaking Canadians

I'm an American who was in Quebec a few months ago and I was not offended by it either, actually, I didn't even notice. It is a nice city, and the people were great.

 

[Vinayaka]

Isn't it a bit one sided though? In the areas of Canada that are mostly English speakers I assume that there are not laws on not having French signs. And the English speakers in Montreal appear to resent it a bit.

I think if you lived there and were totally Anglophone, it might get to you after awhile. But I've only been there twice in my life. Francophones who come west have similar issues. We are officially a bilingual country and I personally respect that. Any country where there is a dominant majority, and a very sizable minority has similar problems. I grew up out here in Alberta surrounded by some French hate. It included silly things like hockey teams. My father was an exception as he worked alongside Quebecois in WW2.

 

[Subduction Zone]

I think if you lived there and were totally Anglophone, it might get to you after awhile. But I've only been there twice in my life. Francophones who come west have similar issues. We are officially a bilingual country and I personally respect that. Any country where there is a dominant majority, and a very sizable minority has similar problems. I grew up out here in Alberta surrounded by some French hate. It included silly things like hockey teams. My father was an exception as he worked alongside Quebecois in WW2.

And I have no problem with people loving their own language. But my question was on regulations. In Montreal there can be bans on signs in English, or as shown in the second article that I linked companies with English names could be required to have a logo of some sort in French. I do not think that a French company has to do the same in English speaking parts of Canada. Of course the French speakers in France can be a bit crazy too with attempts to keep foreign words out of their language. It is a bit of a self perpetuating xenophobia that I do not think is good for anyone. I would not be offended if I went to a restaurant here and saw a menu that was all in Spanish, or even a language that I could not speak at all. If I wanted to eat there I would ask for help. Of course that sort of menu could cost them quite a bit of trade since not everyone is willing to go the extra mile. I know, Canada has a tough time making sure that the French speakers feel like they are part of the same country, but the French speakers do not make it very easy at times.

 

[Twilight Hue]

This one is worthy of a "flying fickle finger of fate" award. More than worthy.

Canada's Quebec province has denied immigrant status to a French citizen because she was unable to demonstrate adequate French-language proficiency.

Quebec bars French citizen on language grounds

"If someone who is French and born in France, going to a French-speaking university and doing everything in French and they are still denying this, it's nonsense,"

Despite passing a French test to prove her language ability earlier this year, she received a rejection letter stating that she had not completed her education entirely in French - including her thesis.

Quebec has some weird folks and a Pat LaFontaine tunnel.

 

[Vinayaka]

And I have no problem with people loving their own language. But my question was on regulations. In Montreal there can be bans on signs in English, or as shown in the second article that I linked companies with English names could be required to have a logo of some sort in French. I do not think that a French company has to do the same in English speaking parts of Canada. Of course the French speakers in France can be a bit crazy too with attempts to keep foreign words out of their language. It is a bit of a self perpetuating xenophobia that I do not think is good for anyone. I would not be offended if I went to a restaurant here and saw a menu that was all in Spanish, or even a language that I could not speak at all. If I wanted to eat there I would ask for help. Of course that sort of menu could cost them quite a bit of trade since not everyone is willing to go the extra mile. I know, Canada has a tough time making sure that the French speakers feel like they are part of the same country, but the French speakers do not make it very easy at times.

Seems to ebb and flow like some pendulum. The rise of the Bloc again indicates Quebec nationalism is on the rise again, at the moment. If history repeats itself, it'll be on the wane again in a few years. I admit to not being as familiar with it as I should be. 2000 miles is a long ways.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

But I mean...les Québecois have the right to get angry when a guy from Manitoba moves to Montreal but refuses to learn French...
Don't you think so?

I don't think they actually have that as a right.

 

[Wu Wei]

But I mean...les Québecois have the right to get angry when a guy from Manitoba moves to Montreal but refuses to learn French...
Don't you think so?

Nope, they also speak English in Montreal. Even if you go to college at McGill University in Montreal, the classes are not in French, they are in English

 

[fantome profane]

Nope, they also speak English in Montreal. Even if you go to college at McGill University in Montreal, the classes are not in French, they are in English

Montreal is a big cosmopolitan city. It is a bit of an Anglo island in a sea of French..

 

[Wu Wei]

Montreal is a big cosmopolitan city. It is a bit of an Anglo island in a sea of French..

I actually had a young college aged guy run up to me, when I was in Montreal, and ask me if I spoke French...in French..... I don't, so I said no, and he turned and ran up the street. I heard a lot of French there, but I got by fine with English....well not completely...Chinese worked better in Chinatown than english, but even there, English would work just fine.

 

[sun rise]

A long time ago a friend went to Quebec and had a hard time with people who would not speak English. But since he looked Mexican, he tried Spanish. Voila. Then it was OK to speak English because it was apparently a 2nd language for both people.

 

[Estro Felino]

@Estro Felino Parisian French and French Canadian are not exactly the same thing.

However I will I once worked with a Norwegian nurse who spoke Norwegian, Swedish, German, Spanish, French, and Italian who told me the French Canadians in Quebec were much friendlier and much more forgiving in their understanding of her French than the Parisians. Although she did also say outside of Paris the people were not much different that in Quebec, but the language was still a bit different.

Canadian French vs. French: 7 Important Differences You Need to Know

Nope, they also speak English in Montreal. Even if you go to college at McGill University in Montreal, the classes are not in French, they are in English

I have been to France twice....
And yes, the French are pretty hostile to the usage of English terms...
I think it is also due to the fact that in French all words are oxytone, meaning, stressed in the last syllable...

Whereas we Italians have a more versatile language and we don't mind using English terms.