French in Canada
Au Canada, la majorité domine de plus en plus outrageusement tandis que la minorité est de plus en plus insidieusement marginalisée.
It's strange to read this regarding the future of "la belle langue française". If you change Canada and put France, one would think this text had been written by Breton, Alsatian. Corsican, Occitan or Catalan extremists.
The number of native English speakers is now 44% and it decreased too. This due to the fact that there were lage numbers of immigrants whose languages are neitehr French nor English. Now these happened in English speaking part of Canada.
French remains stable in Quebec and the number of speakers in NB is increasing despite that the percentage is shrinking. Besides with the modern means of communication the threat of their assimilation is far less likely than before.
In many towns of Northern Ontario, the dominant language is French and English is rare since anglophone avoid inhabiiting those areas climatic reasons. The suburb of Vanier in Ottawa used to be dominated by Anglophones but now it is thoroughly French. Those areas are adjacent to Quebec the cultural stronghold. So there is a very little chance that they will get anglicized. In addition Schools with French as medium of instructions are ever present.
I really cannot accept Josh Lalonde's explanation that those 100 francophones in NB died from 2001-2006. I agree with Joan that they might have migrated somewhere else. What about the English spakeing community in NB? I'm sure that within that same period, death among them also occured.
But in English-speaking zones, French is a compulsory subject at school, or they have to choose a Foreign language?
Yeah, I realized after I posted that there were other factors too, like migration, etc. but I didn't get around to posting again.
Guest, the percentage of native English speakers is not 44%, it is 59%. These are StatsCan figures easily accessible on the Internet. Please do some research before making your bold assertions. I don't know about Quebec, but the census numbers clearly show that the French population in New Brunswick is not increasing. And I don't know why modern means of communication would reduce the threat of assimilation; if anything, I think they would increase it. There are some towns in northern Ontario that are historically French, but I don't know how much French is still spoken there. Sudbury is one of those towns, and it now has a 28.2% native-French percentage (much better than southern Ontario, but English is certainly not "rare" at 62.3%).
Yukon 86.2% English
Nunavut 26% English, 1.5% French
NWT 77.2% English
Obviously the issue is not climate, since the three territories, with harsher climates, have many more anglophones than francophones.
Also, I live in Ottawa and have friends who've lived in Vanier. It is not "thoroughly French". You have your history reversed. It was once more French than it is now. There is certainly a French presence, but you will not have trouble finding someone to speak English to. There are many English-language schools in the area, etc. And while Vanier is near the Quebec border, it is separated by a river; the nearest crossings are a ferry outside Ottawa to the east or the bridges in the downtown (probably a 1/2 hour to forty-five minute drive either way). To say that Quebec is "infiltrating" Ontario in Vanier is foolish; the Parliament buildings and Ottawa's downtown are right across the bridge from Quebec, so why aren't they "thoroughly French"? Furthermore, the areas of Quebec adjacent to Ottawa are certainly not a "cultural stronghold". Many of the municipalities in the area are primarily English-speaking or have English-speaking minorities; these are receeding, however, like the French ones in Ontario.
To address Me!'s post: I can't speak for the rest of Canada, but in Ontario, some French is cumpulsory. It is generally very basic, however, many students choose to take more advanced French as well. As I mentioned there is the immersion program that starts kids learning French as early as 4, generally with good results. Some other provinces might have cumpulsory French, but I don't know enough to say for sure. in Ontario, foreign languages are not cumpulsory, but are an option in grades 10-12. Spanish and Japanese are the only ones that I remember being offered in Ottawa, but there may be more. I've heard that there's a school in Alberta that has a Japanese immersion program. There is also the 'Heritage Languages' program here, where Saturday courses in non-official languages are offered for high school credit.
It's true that French descent people living fran away from Quebec no longer speak French at home. But they still speak it fluently because they consider it as their ancestral language. Many Americans who are descendants of the Huguenots celebrate their church service in French. They too speak English at home and on everyday basis but they also speak French and consider it as their ancestral language. Among them is Jacqueline Bouvier.
The towns of Northern Ontario that are peopled by French are predominantly French speaking since there are few English speaking people are willing to reside in those places. Their language and culture will only be threaten if they are outnumbered by anglophones. So what's the point that they soon become English speakers if they are in majority and there are schools in which the medium of instruction is French?
As for NB, the French language is well established in Northern and Eastern part of the province. Schools where French is the Medium of instruction is not uncommon. In fact many Micmac indians prefer to go to schools where the medium of instruction is French rather than in English run schools. Again Quebec is right next door so that it will serve as their inspiration to adhere to the French language.
Labrador is becoming French speaker since there are quite few English speakers are willing to settle there. More and more francophones are moving there and soon they will engulf the angolophone. The same process that occured in Gaspésie peninsula when it was completely gallicized.
As a french man in France, You must except one thing. You are no longer french and do not share our values or culture any more... Create your own language because you are no longer apart of us...
Yves, are you joking? I think you meant "accept", but still I have never heard such an opinion.
What??? Is this a joke of some kind? Are you trying to tell me French is speaken in Canada and not American?
<< As a french man in France, You must except one thing. You are no longer french and do not share our values or culture any more... Create your own language because you are no longer apart of us... >>
I don't believe that you're a Frenchman. You're either Sam/Franco disguising. You better throw this message to hispanic americans since they hated Spain so much.
Attention! This thread is being filled by the hispanic francophobes! Beware! Because they can gain inforamtion on what you're browsing. They are experts in hacking. They could see what the sites and even what you're typing. They appear on their screen.
">>>Au Canada, la majorité domine de plus en plus outrageusement tandis que la minorité est de plus en plus insidieusement marginalisée. <<<
It's strange to read this regarding the future of "la belle langue française". If you change Canada and put France, one would think this text had been written by Breton, Alsatian. Corsican, Occitan or Catalan extremists. "
That's very true: why are so many French on the side of the Franco-Canadians and their fight for French language preservation, while they aprove the decline of German in Alsace, Breton in Bretagne etc.? That seems hypocritical.
France is one of the last states that have not ratified the European Charta of Regional or Minority Languages .
Here some details in the beautyful French language:
Après s'être fait longtemps tirer l'oreille, la France accepte de signer la Charte le 7 mai 1999, le gouvernement retenant 39 engagements pour sa ratification, prévue en l'an 2000. Mais le conseil constitutionnel, saisi par le Président de la République, déclare le 16 juin 1999 la Charte anticonstitutionelle pour les raisons suivantes: "Considérant qu'il résulte de ces dispositions combinées que la Charte européenne des langues régionales ou minoritaires, en ce qu'elle confère des droits spécifiques à des "groupes" de locuteurs de langues régionales ou minoritaires, à l'intérieur de "territoires" dans lesquels ces langues sont pratiquées, porte atteinte aux principes constitutionnels d'indivisibilité de la République, d'égalité devant la loi et d'unicité du peuple français ; ".
Wikipedia:
Récemment, la France a durci sa législation contre les langues régionales.
L'article 2 de la Constitution de la cinquième République française a été modifié en 1992 (lors d'un congrès réuni afin d'amender la constitution pour la rendre compatible avec le traité de Maastricht. La mention « La langue de la République est le français » y a été alors ajoutée.
La loi n° 94-665 du 4 août 1994 relative à l'emploi de la langue française dite « loi Toubon » qui affirme le caractère obligatoire de l'enseignement en français et étend l'obligation d'employer le français dans les contrats privés, les messages transmis par les médias, les communications scientifiques, etc. Cette loi prévoit des dispositions particulières pour les langues régionales, mais rend de fait illégal tout enseignement monolingue hormis en français et s'interdit de financer les enseignements dans une autre langue, y compris celles traditionnellement parlées sur son territoire.
Le Conseil de l'Europe a adopté en 1992 la Charte européenne des langues régionales ou minoritaires qui consacre « le droit imprescriptible de pratiquer une langue régionale dans la vie privée et publique ». En 1999, la France la signe, comme tous les pays de l'Union européenne, mais sans la ratifier, à cause de son aspect anticonstitutionnel. La ratification lie juridiquement l'État contractant, la signature est une simple reconnaissance des objectifs généraux de la charte ; il n'y a donc aucune évolution de la situation des langues minoritaires en France, si ce n'est un vieillissement des locuteurs qui devrait amener les plus fragiles d'entre elles à « mourir » avant la fin du XXIe siècle, après une existence pour certaines plus que millénaire. La France est l'un des rares États d'Europe à ne pas avoir ratifié cette charte.
Atención al "Guest" que ve hispanos por todas partes, de persona a persona: sufres paranoia aguda, amigo, deja que te examine un profesional.
"">>>Au Canada, la majorité domine de plus en plus outrageusement tandis que la minorité est de plus en plus insidieusement marginalisée. <<<
It's strange to read this regarding the future of "la belle langue française". If you change Canada and put France, one would think this text had been written by Breton, Alsatian. Corsican, Occitan or Catalan extremists. "
That's very true: why are so many French on the side of the Franco-Canadians and their fight for French language preservation, while they aprove the decline of German in Alsace, Breton in Bretagne etc.? That seems hypocritical. "
— BULLSHIT, hypocritical bullshit and lies.
* Has there ever been in France someone like Lord Durham, Governor General of British North America, whose explicite goal was to "encourage the extinction of the French language and culture through intermingling with the more numerous English"?
* Did ethnical cleansing of minorities take place in France like it did in Italy until the early 50's? (Vallée d'Aoste, Sud-Tyrol)
* In Louisiana, all parish schools that taught in French were forbidden by law during WW-1: did anything similar ever happen in France?
* In Spain, during Franco's dictature, the Basque and Catalan languages were harshly repressed — not in France. Now they are more alive than ever in Spain — not in France... Because local speakers aren't much interested.
* It's sad that Breton and Occitan are slowly declining. This process started long ago. Even before those regions came under French rule, local parliaments and courts switched to French. And after all, Breton is still more widely spoken than Gaelic in Ireland.
* Franco-Provençal dialects were eradicated from Western Switzerland — by the Swiss themselves! They just dropped the dialect, without any incentive to do so from any government whatsoever.
* and so on.
"In Spain, during Franco's dictature, the Basque and Catalan languages were harshly repressed — not in France. Now they are more alive than ever in Spain — not in France... Because local speakers aren't much interested. "
Are you joking? Catalan and Basque were represed in France too , and to a greater degree than during the Francoist Era. The difference is that while Franco's regime lasted 40 years, France banned regional languages for centuries and centuries through a powerful and centralized State, and they still do that . The end result is that people now are not interested in those languages in France because they forgot them. Perhaps in 1950 those who wanted to learn Basque could do that in France and not in Spain, since France was after all a democratic country and in that time some things were not allowed anymore , but they had to pay it since they did and do not teach Basque or Catalan in public schools. That is what prevented Catalan or Basque from being more widespread in France . Of course Francoism also banned magazines and books in Catalan, but the French simply had not the need to do that since other languages appart from French were almost completely died, and in Spain they were quite alive despite the repression. It is a joke to even mention that these languages were repressed in Spain if you are a French. A big one. Anyway I do not blame the French, they are free to do whatever they want, but I will not accept lies
"Catalan and Basque were represed in France too , and to a greater degree than during the Francoist Era."
LOL
"France banned regional languages for centuries and centuries through a powerful and centralized State, and they still do that"
ROFL
"It is a joke to even mention that these languages were repressed in Spain if you are a French."
LMAO
Poor boy, if you believe in such sick lies there's nothing I can do for you.
Do they teach Catalan , Basque, Corsican or Breton in PUBLIC French Schools and High Schools? Please answer Yes or Not.
Do they teach Catalan and Basque in PUBLIC Spanish Schools? Please answer Yes or Not.
Thank you, but I do not need your help . You need help to avoid being a compulsive liar. I wonder if you are the disgusting person who says Josh is a "hispanic" and other nonsenses.