I am not sure how many of you know about how things are here in Quebec. Without expressing my own opinion on things, I will just use this post to let you all know the situation and see what you all think.
Firstly, French is the first language here in Quebec. Right now they want to make it a priority to make sure that it is the only language. Therefore, information pamphlets for citizens who reside throughout Quebec will be available in French only.
There is a grocer here in Quebec called "Metro", which is the same name as our underground subway. The underground subway has the French accent over the "e", but the grocer does not. There have been complaints about this and so the Office de la Langue Francaise (the French language office) wants the grocer to put an accent on the "e". The OLF (Office de la Langue Francaise) says that without the "e" the store has an English name. Making the changes and adding the accent over the "e" will cost the grocer $20 million dollars.
I am an anglophone, so English is my mother tongue...however, I am bilingual and speak fluent French. There are some anglophones here (especially the elderly) that don't speak or comprehend much French.
I will keep this short but just wanted to share this with you all to see what you all think. It has been pretty well known that the Parti Quebecois would like to separate this province from the rest of Canada, making Quebec a country. There are still many here (including some francophones) that don't like the idea and enjoy being Canadian. I have heard that Vermont (U.S.) was talking about wanting to do the same thing; to separate from the rest of the U.S. and become a country. Not sure if this is still the case or not.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for listening, and please feel free to share your own thoughts by clicking on the "comments" button at the end of my post.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
6 comments:
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It sounds like that party is more concerned about the French language than ruining businesses. When will people get over the need to separate themselves instead of joining together!
ReplyDeleteYes, I've heard about this. A similar situation happens in Spain regarding the region of Catalonia (Barcelona is the capital) where they speak catalan instead of castilian and they want the independence too. It's a serious issue for every Spanish government.
ReplyDeleteTwenty million dollars for the letter "e", I am sure the Metro owner is not thrilled! Here in ON, I have been taught French since the sixth grade, nowadays it starts right in Kindergarten. I can speak French well, my children speak it very well. I love Quebec, it's an incredibility beautiful Province, and hope we all stay together! Diane
ReplyDeleteHi Diane,
DeleteThanks for your comment. I agree. I think there is much more strength in unity to be found than in division.
Hi Jane, JM and Diane,
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your comments. JM, I wasn't aware of the situation in Spain, thanks for sharing that.
Jane, agreed.
During my career I spent a fair bit of time in Quebec, both urban and rural. I found it to be a very pleasant place. I also visited during the FLQ uprising and found it scary, yet very depressing. After that, i got to meet a fair number of Quebecois, not all anglophone, that packed up and left due to the political/economic instability.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear that the tendency is still there. With the European Union coming into play, it demonstrates that countries banding together for mutual benefits in trade and commerce is the way of the future. Canada and the US are bonding closer ties. It seems that getting smaller, and isolated is running counter current to the world. FWIW.