I wonder if anyone had a similar experience with English proficiency test
For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
31–40 of 87 posts
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's perfectly normal for people in a small enclave nestled in the heart of the giant Anglo-saxon hegemon to feel insecure about the long-term survival of their unique language and culture and want to take extra steps to preserve it. I'm completely sympathetic with them refusing to provide services in a foreign language when that language is a serious threat to their existence as a cultural group. Look what h…
In Quebec City they are loudly proud of how many Anglos they have driven away. They pretty much purged the city of anything non-French in the two last decades and are displaying it as a success story. For me, displacing large communities based on their mother tongue is nothing to be proud of. Be it either way.
Citation needed? I'll concede that I haven't lived there so I could be wrong, but I've been to Quebec city twice, including once with people who spoke no French at all, and never felt any hostility. Again, I'm not disputing that it could be different for the local Anglo minority, but I'd need to see some sources before I believe that you're not exaggerating.
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
There already is a recurring pattern. Not exactly like this situation, but a pattern of discriminating against anything that is not French. It's getting completely out of hands. Soon, "non historic anglos" (ie immigrants) won't be allowed to get their hydro bill, correspondence from the government or any service in English. We moved out of Quebec mostly for the politics 5 years ago and I'm so glad I did. We're never…
I think it's perfectly normal for people in a small enclave nestled in the heart of the giant Anglo-saxon hegemon to feel insecure about the long-term survival of their unique language and culture and want to take extra steps to preserve it. I'm completely sympathetic with them refusing to provide services in a foreign language when that language is a serious threat to their existence as a cultural group. Look what h…
Quebecers never chose to become part of Canada or any English-speaking society; they were conquered by military force.
You could say the same thing for the indigenous people of Quebec. Why is there no protection for their languages? For example, the Malecite–Passamaquoddy language may have as few as 600 native speakers remaining [1]. This is a much more urgent situation than French, which has 76.8 million native speakers worldwide.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malecite-Passamaquoddy_languag...
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#34Quebec language rules and the minions that enforce them can be quite pathetic. Just a couple of months ago, the debate be was about the right of shop-keepers being able to greet their customers in both English and French, or only in French. Totally ridiculous. I am also a native French speaker from Europe, and left Montreal because of the backward mentality. I totally respect Quebec’s need to protect their heritage,…
> they took perfectly good French and turned it into something that is often unrecognizable.
As I understand it, you’ve got that switched. International French, the French of metropolitan France, is the one that had changed dramatically.
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's perfectly normal for people in a small enclave nestled in the heart of the giant Anglo-saxon hegemon to feel insecure about the long-term survival of their unique language and culture and want to take extra steps to preserve it. I'm completely sympathetic with them refusing to provide services in a foreign language when that language is a serious threat to their existence as a cultural group. Look what h…
Quebecers never chose to become part of Canada or any English-speaking society; they were conquered by military force. You could say the same thing for the indigenous people of Quebec. Why is there no protection for their languages? For example, the Malecite–Passamaquoddy language may have as few as 600 native speakers remaining [1]. This is a much more urgent situation than French, which has 76.8 million native spea…
Yes you could say the same thing about them, and I would be completely sympathetic to indigenous people in Quebec promoting the use of their own languages in their own territories, and discouraging the use of French. Unfortunately some of the groups have so few members (like the 600 you point out) that it would be difficult for them to be viable as a modern civilization using only their native language, but if they are somehow able to do so, that's great and I hope they succeed.
I explicitly mentioned in my comment that the destruction of indigenous cultures throughout the Americas was a regrettable thing, which is why Quebecers would like to avoid it happening to themselves.
I'm not blindly arguing here that French is the greatest language ever and nationalist Quebecers are correct on all political matters. I think French people were colonialists and their treatment of Native Americans in Quebec was terrible. But that doesn't change that now, however unsavory the circumstances of its birth, the Quebec culture doesn't deserve to be wiped out.
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Anglophones built Quebec alongside Francophones. We've as much right to this province as francophones. Also, here's a hot-tip: telling people they don't belong somewhere and that they should go live elsewhere is usually a really great heuristic of when you're extremely wrong.
Well, the post you're replying to puts things in a way I'm not comfortable with. But inside it is something very correct: French is the official language of Québec. If you want to live there and not do business with people in French, that is your problem. I wouldn't say you don't belong there. By all means belong there. But the official language is French today, regardless of who built the province. If you want the p…
> You have a right to live in Québec. But for the moment, not a right to demand that businesses or government agencies communicate with you in English.
Just wow how utterly pissant.
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#37Quebec language rules and the minions that enforce them can be quite pathetic. Just a couple of months ago, the debate be was about the right of shop-keepers being able to greet their customers in both English and French, or only in French. Totally ridiculous. I am also a native French speaker from Europe, and left Montreal because of the backward mentality. I totally respect Quebec’s need to protect their heritage,…
Why did the language laws make you leave Montreal? It's an island of bilingualism and many people here get by with no French. Unless you own a business or are dealing with an immigration issue, this is the one place in Quebec where the language laws have the least effect.
And I respectfully disagree that the French here is "hilarious to listen to", and I am not Quebecois.
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#38Quebec language rules and the minions that enforce them can be quite pathetic. Just a couple of months ago, the debate be was about the right of shop-keepers being able to greet their customers in both English and French, or only in French. Totally ridiculous. I am also a native French speaker from Europe, and left Montreal because of the backward mentality. I totally respect Quebec’s need to protect their heritage,…
> they took perfectly good French and turned it into something that is often unrecognizable.
This kind of talk, is one of the reasons French are hated in Quebec.
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's perfectly normal for people in a small enclave nestled in the heart of the giant Anglo-saxon hegemon to feel insecure about the long-term survival of their unique language and culture and want to take extra steps to preserve it. I'm completely sympathetic with them refusing to provide services in a foreign language when that language is a serious threat to their existence as a cultural group. Look what h…
In Quebec City they are loudly proud of how many Anglos they have driven away. They pretty much purged the city of anything non-French in the two last decades and are displaying it as a success story. For me, displacing large communities based on their mother tongue is nothing to be proud of. Be it either way.
That's just a plain lie.
Sure, as for literally any other subject, you may find people with extreme views on the topic, but that's what they are: extreme. That doesn't make it the general consensus.
Please stop spreading lies like this.
Re: For Quebec, a French Woman May Not Be French Enough
#40Quebec language rules and the minions that enforce them can be quite pathetic. Just a couple of months ago, the debate be was about the right of shop-keepers being able to greet their customers in both English and French, or only in French. Totally ridiculous. I am also a native French speaker from Europe, and left Montreal because of the backward mentality. I totally respect Quebec’s need to protect their heritage,…
Why would you get to decide which French is the good French? Formal register Quebec French is totally fine. Of course, on the street you can hear pretty deformed French, but guess what: in France too. That's just how language registers work.