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French in Quebec
French declines in Quebec
Le Devoir, a Quebec media outlet, published this letter from a francophone reader, on January 2008:
For a few years, I have read, I hear and I feel that a decline of the French language is inevitable within the current Canadian institutions: many immigrants are moving to Quebec, but where they are really moving to is Canada.
English suits them better and, with French classes being now cut, all they do is mangle the language of Molière when ... they can't help using it. Many manage to avoid French school over generations (see private schools, English-speaking cégep) and continue to grow up to become Canadians first (Anglos, if you want): they gorge themselves on anglophone media, music and attitudes.
What enables me to make such statements? Simply put, my experience. I was born in Bas-de-Rivière, lived there 16 years, then I went to Quebec to study at the Cégep and the University for seven years. Until then, I had lived all my life in French; even foreign students and teachers had to speak French to become integrated, or else they would end up alone.
Yet at the Laval University Hospital (CHUL), I had my first experience of working in English, in the lab of a researcher who had recently arrived and spoke only English. Since I can speak English, I accepted this situation. However he soon had to speak French for survival, and his three daughters are now little Québécoises like any others: demographic pressure had been at work.
Things changed when I arrived in Montreal: first I worked for a Lachine company, then with the McGill university. Needless to say, virtually everything that happened there was conducted in English, even when no more than one English-speaker was present. Why? Because, at every given moment, everyone on the staff included a number of immigrants for which English was easier...
However, I started to ask myself serious questions when I had to see a doctor at the Jewish Hospital. On several instances, the staff could not utter a word of French, or even give me forms and regulations in French, except sometimes in bad French!
After six years of this, I began inverting word order («bleue porte», for example) or answering a spontaneous “What?” when asked a question. I reacted in a Draconian way to this change and I tried to reject English. Since then, I have practically stopped listening to English-speaking music or movies and I am less keen to learn new English words. Survival was somehow at stake.
Finally, we moved (with the family now) to Gatineau and have been there two years. Here, I sense a demographic crush: unilingual English-speakers are served in English by mechanics and grocers, without an "au revoir", why, the checkout clerk even treats them to a heartfelt “Have a good day!” and a broad smile.
Also, when riding the bus to Ottawa General Hospital where I work, I sometimes hear French-speaking people meet their anglophone friends (always in Gatineau) and greet them in English. As soon as the river is crossed, another country begins for me: 99% English-speaking commercials, unilingual drivers, businesses serving their customers in English only. What can French-Ontarians do about it? Some whinge a little against it but a majority of them folds, and… does so with pleasure!
More often than not, I can make out three French words in between two English sentences, or else someone speaks English and receives an answer in French. One might call it symbiosis, but English-language dominance is felt all the same.
We surrender. French fanatics declare that English is more useful than French in Quebec. In the following decades even Spanish will be more important than French in Quebec. I will not speak French anymore because inmigrants speak English and companies use English only. French loses. Are you happy now? I don't but who cares, I'm a French loser.
Speaking of Languages: The Decline of French
(The Brussels Journal)
The 12th Summit of the International Organization of Francophonie wrapped up on Sunday in the capital city of Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province. During the three-day event, leaders from 55 member countries (including Belgium, Switzerland and Canada – though in these countries French is only spoken by a minority of the population) and 13 observer nations held talks on wide-ranging issues. The financial crisis stole the limelight. The 70 nations and regional governments also pledged to help cut global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050. They said they would draft a “concerted francophone position” for upcoming climate change conferences in Poznan in December and Copenhagen in 2009. However, while the French-speaking politicians talk about (financial) bubbles and (greenhouse) gases, their language is dying, both globally and within France itself.
I have discovered an informative new English-language website for anyone interested in the French language. Called The World-Wide Decline of French, and administered by a gentleman named Unfrench, it chronicles the decline of the French language and the ineffectiveness of costly and conscientious programs initiated by the French government in its misbegotten effort to rescue and promote the language of Molière.
How can Third World countries that speak a rather limited French, and that have more urgent economic problems to worry about, save the language? How can schools teach French if the overwhelming number of students demand Arabic or Spanish or Chinese? Above all, how can French compete with English?
The only factors that propel a language from mere street talk to the level of a great cultural asset are the men of genius who write great literature, the poets who open new avenues of expression, leading to a higher level of consciousness, the artists, musicians, essayists, playwrights, actors, journalists, commentators, teachers, scholars, etc... all of whom use, manipulate and enrich the language with individuality, and at the same time with national pride.
Such men are inspired and inspire others. But how to bring about a return to cultural excellence in this time of spiritual impoverishment? How to generate inspiration? Lawrence Auster, who was responsible for my discovering the site, has some suggestions:
To paraphase Obama's "spreading the wealth," what they're doing now is trying to save French by "spreading the French," instead of by elevating it. Meaning, improve the quality of French among the French people. Teach great literature. Instill love of France and French culture, so that the French have something worth talking about again. Make Muslims unwelcome and start pushing them out, thus re-invigorating French identity. Dismantle the EU and the entire managerial, liberal, egalitarian, and Eurabian agenda and consciousness, which kill the mind, turn language into a PC tool to conceal instead of a tool to communicate truth. Bring back belief in truth, so that there will be things worth saying again, worth using language well for. Focus schools on 17th century French literature with its clarté. Make clarté, love of truth, love of France, love of the historic West, and, even better, belief in Christianity, which is all about TRUTH, the center of French culture.
“Clarté” means “clarity”. French was always said to be the language of “clarté”. There is also the implication of light because a language that is clear sheds light on a problem. The old saying went "ce qui n'est pas clair n'est pas français" (what is not clear is not French).
Once French nation and culture and its Western identity have been saved and revived, and once the French used by the French people has been improved and purified, then start to make French attractive again to other Westerners. Forget about trying to make it attractive to Third Worlders. As you suggested from the articles at that site, such efforts do not avail. Accept the fact that France cannot have an empire again, that trying to have a Muslim empire only Islamizes France, but see that French can still be saved, because the greatness and beauty of French can still have a great appeal to fellow white Westerners. Thus encourage French as a universal second language in the West alongside English. It won't be as widespread as English, of course, but the unique beauty of French and the "high" of speaking it gives French an appeal that English can't match.
What do you think?
I responded that I agreed completely with his ideas but didn’t think it would happen. However, I added that my more fatalistic view is not to be taken as a prediction. One never knows how things will evolve. After all the Renaissance was ushered in by disastrous events. That could happen again.
I would add a couple of ideas to what Larry Auster said. First, start teaching LATIN again, and even Greek, if you can find students willing to make the effort. Second, STOP teaching French children the “global” method of reading. This language-destroying method has had a demonstrably disastrous effect on the way the formerly well-educated French spell, conjugate verbs, and express themselves. This applies to the teaching of foreign languages as well. Third, STOP teaching French to foreigners via the “global” (or “audio-visual-lingual”) method. This method can lead to chaos. Language study for older students has to be structured and grammar has to be taught systematically, whether the students like it or not. Then it is easy to make the transition to structured speech, and eventually to everyday speech. (Note: the final step to authentic everyday speech at normal speed is never easy.) Foreigners are not learning French any better than the French are learning their own language.
If anyone has other suggestions, please let us know.
Of course, the very young learn languages quickly, and grammar can be put off, but not eliminated. The illustration of Jemima Puddle-Duck in French (Jemima Cane-de-flaque) is from Barnes and Noble. Such a translation can be used for both French children and those learning French.
Remember when Winnie The Pooh came out in Latin (Winnie Ille Pooh)? It was a huge success and it sold out immediately. Everyone thought that a new era in the teaching of Latin had arrived. But today, the downward spiral of education having taken its toll, Latin is rarely taught, although it hasn't entirely disappeared. Winnie Ille Pooh may be a good example of making Latin “fun”, but it also shows that making something “fun” does not save it. Quite the contrary.
A return to the teaching of the classics is one very good way of re-stimulating interest in the languages of Europe, including German and Castilian Spanish, which is very difficult – has anyone tackled Don Quijote in Spanish? The original version used to be read in American universities, but that would be very rare today. However a solid background in Latin would facilitate access to the great literatures of Western Europe. (Note: I do not know Latin. I studied it too late in life to retain it. I did go a bit further in Greek, but I would need supervision and grammar review if I were to go back to reading Homer. Not being classically trained is a major handicap, IMHO.)
As for German, it was quickly phased out (again, not entirely) after 1968. Nobody was willing to make the effort. Dumbing down the mind, and jacking up the grades became the unexpressed and inexpressible goals of education.
Finally, what would happen if we suddenly began making intellectual demands on hedonistic young people, or people from different cultures who simply do not have the background to do rigorous work? Would there be violence? Is dumbing down a defense against revolution? Would it be better to just close the schools? I have often thought so, but people turn in disgust from such suggestions. They say "education is our future." That’s what we all fear, isn’t it?
The French president: "Arabic is the language of future"
The French government is strongly advocating the teaching of Arabic language and civilization in French schools. Not surprising, considering the number of Arabs and Muslims in France, and the unctuous deference with which they are treated by officials, beginning notably with Nicolas Sarkozy, who cannot praise enough the splendor of Arabic contributions to the world.
The French National Assembly was the scene of a meeting earlier this month of the first Conference on the Teaching of Arabic Language and Culture, attended by a variety of interested parties. There was much wearisome blather about the need for "dialogue."
In his message to the participants, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Arabic the "language of the future, of science and of modernity," and expressed the hope that "more French people share in the language that expresses great civilizational and spiritual values."
"We must invest in the Arabic language (because) to teach it symbolizes a moment of exchange, of openness and of tolerance, (and it) brings with it one of the oldest and most prestigious civilizations of the world. It is in France that we have the greatest number of persons of Arabic and Muslim origin. Islam is the second religion of France," Sarkozy reminded his listeners.
He proceeded to enumerate the various "advances in terms of diversity," the increase in Muslim sections of cemeteries, the training of imams and chaplains and the appointments of ministers of diverse backgrounds.
"France is a friend of Arabic countries. We are not seeking a clash between the East and West," he affirmed, emphasizing the strong presence of Arab leaders at the founding summit of the Union for the Mediterranean, last July 13. "The Mediterranean is where our common hopes were founded. Our common sea is where the principal challenges come together: durable development, security, education and peace," added the French president.
Francophones in Montreal: less than 50% of total population.
Jason Magder,
The Gazette
Published: Tuesday, December 04
The latest census figures are bad news for French both within Canada and Quebec, says a French-language rights group.
Jean Dorion, the president of Socié¨ St. Jean Baptiste said he is disheartened that French speakers in this province are losing ground both to immigrants and English speakers, in figures released this morning by
Statistics Canada.
In Montreal, for example, the number of francophones fell to below half of the overall population.
"We're not going in the right direction," Dorion said. "The numbers seem to confirm some trends we have seen in daily life in Montreal, where more English is being spoken. In the workforce in particular, we have seen a lot of young people who were obliged to go to school in French are attending CEGEP in English."
Dorion said while most of the decline of the French language in Quebec is due to immigration, he said the Quebec government can have a policy of opening its doors to immigrants while increasing the French profile. He
said Quebec should make it compulsory for those attending French high school to attend a French CEGEP.
"Immigration could play in the favour of the French language," Dorion said.
"But the legislation in place doesn't help."
Dorion said he's also concerned with the census figures that show that French-speakers have once again declined in comparison to the overall Canadian population. That decline has been steady since the 1950s. However,
Dorion said the numbers released today are particularly alarming.
"The decrease is constant," he said.
"When I was a child, the first time I took note of Census, francophones made up 32 per cent of the Canadian population, now it's 22.1 per cent. That means the political weight of francophones will eventually become insignificant. We will soon fall below 20 per cent, that's a psychological barrier."
Why bother with French at all? French phoneticians normally say: ''You foreigners will never be able to master French pronunciation. We will always be able to tell that you're not French, just by hearing you speak''.
When it comes to English, or Spanish, or even Italian, you can master them to perfection.
The 12th Summit of the International Organization of Francophonie wrapped up on Sunday in the capital city of Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province. During the three-day event, leaders from 55 member countries (including Belgium, Switzerland and Canada – though in these countries French is only spoken by a minority of the population) and 13 observer nations held talks on wide-ranging issues. The financial crisis stole the limelight. The 70 nations and regional governments also pledged to help cut global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050. They said they would draft a “concerted francophone position” for upcoming climate change conferences in Poznan in December and Copenhagen in 2009. However, while the French-speaking politicians talk about (financial) bubbles and (greenhouse) gases, their language is dying, both globally and within France itself.
I have discovered an informative new English-language website for anyone interested in the French language. Called The World-Wide Decline of French, and administered by a gentleman named Unfrench, it chronicles the decline of the French language and the ineffectiveness of costly and conscientious programs initiated by the French government in its misbegotten effort to rescue and promote the language of Molière.
How can Third World countries that speak a rather limited French, and that have more urgent economic problems to worry about, save the language? How can schools teach French if the overwhelming number of students demand Arabic or Spanish or Chinese? Above all, how can French compete with English?
The only factors that propel a language from mere street talk to the level of a great cultural asset are the men of genius who write great literature, the poets who open new avenues of expression, leading to a higher level of consciousness, the artists, musicians, essayists, playwrights, actors, journalists, commentators, teachers, scholars, etc... all of whom use, manipulate and enrich the language with individuality, and at the same time with national pride.
Such men are inspired and inspire others. But how to bring about a return to cultural excellence in this time of spiritual impoverishment? How to generate inspiration? Lawrence Auster, who was responsible for my discovering the site, has some suggestions:
To paraphase Obama's "spreading the wealth," what they're doing now is trying to save French by "spreading the French," instead of by elevating it. Meaning, improve the quality of French among the French people. Teach great literature. Instill love of France and French culture, so that the French have something worth talking about again. Make Muslims unwelcome and start pushing them out, thus re-invigorating French identity. Dismantle the EU and the entire managerial, liberal, egalitarian, and Eurabian agenda and consciousness, which kill the mind, turn language into a PC tool to conceal instead of a tool to communicate truth. Bring back belief in truth, so that there will be things worth saying again, worth using language well for. Focus schools on 17th century French literature with its clarté. Make clarté, love of truth, love of France, love of the historic West, and, even better, belief in Christianity, which is all about TRUTH, the center of French culture.
“Clarté” means “clarity”. French was always said to be the language of “clarté”. There is also the implication of light because a language that is clear sheds light on a problem. The old saying went "ce qui n'est pas clair n'est pas français" (what is not clear is not French).
Once French nation and culture and its Western identity have been saved and revived, and once the French used by the French people has been improved and purified, then start to make French attractive again to other Westerners. Forget about trying to make it attractive to Third Worlders. As you suggested from the articles at that site, such efforts do not avail. Accept the fact that France cannot have an empire again, that trying to have a Muslim empire only Islamizes France, but see that French can still be saved, because the greatness and beauty of French can still have a great appeal to fellow white Westerners. Thus encourage French as a universal second language in the West alongside English. It won't be as widespread as English, of course, but the unique beauty of French and the "high" of speaking it gives French an appeal that English can't match.
What do you think?
I responded that I agreed completely with his ideas but didn’t think it would happen. However, I added that my more fatalistic view is not to be taken as a prediction. One never knows how things will evolve. After all the Renaissance was ushered in by disastrous events. That could happen again.
I would add a couple of ideas to what Larry Auster said. First, start teaching LATIN again, and even Greek, if you can find students willing to make the effort. Second, STOP teaching French children the “global” method of reading. This language-destroying method has had a demonstrably disastrous effect on the way the formerly well-educated French spell, conjugate verbs, and express themselves. This applies to the teaching of foreign languages as well. Third, STOP teaching French to foreigners via the “global” (or “audio-visual-lingual”) method. This method can lead to chaos. Language study for older students has to be structured and grammar has to be taught systematically, whether the students like it or not. Then it is easy to make the transition to structured speech, and eventually to everyday speech. (Note: the final step to authentic everyday speech at normal speed is never easy.) Foreigners are not learning French any better than the French are learning their own language.
If anyone has other suggestions, please let us know.
Of course, the very young learn languages quickly, and grammar can be put off, but not eliminated. The illustration of Jemima Puddle-Duck in French (Jemima Cane-de-flaque) is from Barnes and Noble. Such a translation can be used for both French children and those learning French.
Remember when Winnie The Pooh came out in Latin (Winnie Ille Pooh)? It was a huge success and it sold out immediately. Everyone thought that a new era in the teaching of Latin had arrived. But today, the downward spiral of education having taken its toll, Latin is rarely taught, although it hasn't entirely disappeared. Winnie Ille Pooh may be a good example of making Latin “fun”, but it also shows that making something “fun” does not save it. Quite the contrary.
A return to the teaching of the classics is one very good way of re-stimulating interest in the languages of Europe, including German and Castilian Spanish, which is very difficult – has anyone tackled Don Quijote in Spanish? The original version used to be read in American universities, but that would be very rare today. However a solid background in Latin would facilitate access to the great literatures of Western Europe. (Note: I do not know Latin. I studied it too late in life to retain it. I did go a bit further in Greek, but I would need supervision and grammar review if I were to go back to reading Homer. Not being classically trained is a major handicap, IMHO.)
As for German, it was quickly phased out (again, not entirely) after 1968. Nobody was willing to make the effort. Dumbing down the mind, and jacking up the grades became the unexpressed and inexpressible goals of education.
Finally, what would happen if we suddenly began making intellectual demands on hedonistic young people, or people from different cultures who simply do not have the background to do rigorous work? Would there be violence? Is dumbing down a defense against revolution? Would it be better to just close the schools? I have often thought so, but people turn in disgust from such suggestions. They say "education is our future." That’s what we all fear, isn’t it?
Quebec Opposition Leader Mario Dumont accused the Liberal government of political interference for hiding a demographic study that predicts francophones will eventually be outnumbered in Montreal.
The Liberal minority government deliberately delayed the report's release in order to advance its new immigration policy, Dumont charged on Thursday, an accusation that Liberal Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre flatly denied.
"This is something for which the government will have to answer," Dumont said on Thursday. "In my mind it is completely unacceptable."
The 2006 report, written by demographer Marc Termote, suggests the use of French is overall on the decline in Montreal and by 2021 francophones will be outnumbered by allophones and others who do not claim French as their mother tongues.
French is also experiencing a downward trend outside Montreal but at slower rates, Termote found.
He concluded the overall decline of French can be explained in part by low birth rates among francophones, and immigration patterns in which newcomers choose English as their primary language.
He told Montreal newspaper La Presse that the government delayed publishing the report because of its politically-charged conclusion.
St-Pierre responded Thursday by saying she respected Termote, calling him a "great researcher."
"But Mr. Termote should stick to research," she said.
St-Pierre said the study is part of a larger picture of Quebec's linguistic situation, which will be published soon.
Opposition wants to know why
But Dumont demanded an explanation from the Liberal minority government, especially given recent changes to the province's immigration targets, which were raised 20 per cent in the fall, from 45,000 to 55,000 people per year.
That new immigration policy is full of "lies" and "little secrets" in light of Termote's conclusions, Dumont said.
Parti Québécois MNA Daniel Turp said the study's shelving looks like a coverup. "It seems that it's the [Liberal] ministers who are blocking the publication of the study," he said in French on Thursday.
Report echoes reasonable accommodation debate
In the fall, opposition party l'Action démocratique du Québec had asked that immigration targets be frozen at 45,000 per year to allow the province time to review programs and policies designed to "integrate" newcomers to the province, especially language training.
How immigrants integrate into Quebec society has been a focal point of public debate for over a year, following a controversial move by the town of Hérouxville, which adopted a code of conduct for foreigners that included a ban on stoning women.
Montreal has long been seen as the province's Achilles heel for French given the high rate of immigration to the island.
The PQ did not support a freeze on immigration targets, preferring to stress the importance of policies and rules to stop the general erosion of French in Quebec.
Could anyone explain the characteristics of the French spoken in Quebec? I once heard that it keeps features of the language spoken in the 18th century. Also, some words are different from Standard French.
Merci!!!
Tout ca, c'est de la merde et du racisme. Tabarnak de cave.
J.C. : « Could anyone explain the characteristics of the French spoken in Quebec? ».
La phonologie vocalique est différente.
Exemples : Fr [i] → Qb [ɪ] (souvent) — Fr [a] → Qb [ɒ] (parfois) — tendance à la diphtongaison de certaines monophtongues — affrication conditionnelle de [t] & d] etc.
Il existe bien sûr plusieurs phonologies au sein du français d'Amérique du Nord.
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