Are Quebeckers Being Brainwashed?- Part Three

Nothing but nothing demonstrates the principle of the 'Big Lie' as does the case of the hullabaloo created by French language militants over their monstrously dishonest claim that access to English cegep by francophones and allophones should be limited because it represents a danger to the preservation of the French language.

Adolph Hitler described the use of the Big Lie in his book Mein Kampf and used the device to blame the Jews for Germany's economic woes in the 1930's, when he became leader of the country.

"....that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously." Adolf Hitler-Mein Kampf

And so the principle remains valid ninety years after Hitler wrote his book.
Tell a monstrously big lie, repeat it often enough and people are apt to believe it.

In a closed society like Germany or Quebec where language is a barrier to outside ideas, it is much easier to sell the 'big lie' and unfortunately sovereignists have resorted to this method of distortion because everything else they've tried has failed.

I have previously written on the utter stupidity of the notion that francophones who attend English cegeps are destined to abandon their language and culture and magically turn into anglophones
Read my previous posts on the subject;
English Cegep Study - A Case of Weird Science
More Language Nonsense from Pierre Curzi  

A recent article caught my attention because it confirms what I've been saying all along about this nonsense and amazingly that confirmation comes from the unlikeliest of sources:

"Pierre Curzi, PQ MNA for the South Shore riding of Chambly and sponsor of the Bill 101 proposal, says attending English CEGEP will lead French-speakers and allophones, after 12 years of obligatory primary and secondary schooling in French, to "anglicize."

But a study on linguistic transfers by allophones, conducted by the Conseil supérieur de la language française, says attending English CEGEPs has hardly any impact on linguistic transfers."  LINK

Yup, this is the opinion of the Conseil supérieur de la language française, a quasi-government body charged with advising the government on policy regarding the French language!
In December 2009 the president of this organization Conrad Ouellon, wrote a letter to La Presse denouncing the notion that English cegep contributes to the anglicization of Francophones;       

"Based on a rough analysis of  its own researchers, attendance in English cegep has virtually no effect on language shifts, he said, allophones anglotropes opt for English in the same proportion, whether or not they attended English cegep. In short, the study found that about 40% of "children of Bill 101 adopting English anyway.  LINK{FR}

"Two conclusions emerge from the data," Béland wrote. "First, among young francotropes and anglotropes, attendance in CEGEP had practically no impact on linguistic transfers. Secondly, these results confirm what previous studies revealed, that the origin of allophones is the principle determinant of linguistic transfers.    LINK

WOW!
Of course Pierre Curzi, chief spielmeister of the cegep big lie, never mentions Mr. Ouellon and Conseil supérieur de la language française's position when he hammers home his theme over and over again that English cegep is a threat.

Now it is painfully obvious that the position of CSLF conflicts rather badly with Mr. Curzi's narrative and represents quite a problem for PQ militants who want to debate the question of limiting access to these cegeps at the Parti Québécois convention to be held in Montreal next month where they'll be asked to sanction a proposal to extend Bill 101 to English cegeps.

So what's to be done to keep this big lie going?

Well after a great deal of pressure was brought to bear, the Conseil supérieur de la language française  has 'agreed' to revisit the matter and has in essence, renounced its previous position.


POOF!!  As if it was never there.

In an article in Le Devoir that borders on the absurd, you can just see the facts being re-engineered to suit the narrative woven by Pierre Curzi. If you read French, try not to laugh as you read how the Conseil tap dances to back away from the very well researched report that it produced. 
And so Mr. Ouellon has changed his tune rather abruptly! 

"In drafting our next position, the CSLF will be "more nuanced" and take into accountall relevant studies. "We will take into consideration all available data. And that's what is new, it will leads us to take a more formal, more reasoned conclusion, because it will consider a range of factors,"said Conrad Ouellon. LINK{FR}

Haha!!!!! Sounds like poor Mr. Ouellon is reading a prepared ransom note! ...
"I am being treated fairly......and don't call the police!" 

And so the Conseil will undertake a new revised study, politically revisioned, to be published after the PQ convention. The liars have won.

By the way you can read the entire original report written by Paul Béland for the CSLF, in French by downloading the PDF . I've downloaded my own copy, it's quite well done and convincing. I'm sure it will soon be disappeared a la Jimmy Hoffa!


Are Quebeckers being brainwashed? 
What can I say......wash, rinse, repeat..