French versus English -Volume 23

SAQ accused of colonialism

Michel Phaneuf, a big shot Quebec wine connoisseur who writes an annual guide to the wines offered at the SAQ, the Quebec liquor monopoly, has taken the organization to task for partnering with an American wine expert, James Suckling, in a promotion.
Obviously annoyed he offered this pearl; 

"The SAQ does not need to do this. It is a form of colonialism. Like an American opinion is better than another. It seems to me that Quebec, with all its talent, editors, critics and sommeliers need not rely on the opinion of a Californian columnist"

Colonialism? Actually, it sounds more like sour grapes to me!

OQLF to attack English Store names

Louise Marchand-very professional

Last week I caught some heat for calling the new director of the l'Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) ugly, so from now on I shall refer to her as the 'very professional' Louise Marchand.  She happens, by the way, to be in a bit of a snit over the fact that in the Saint-Roch district of Quebec City, horrors of horrors, she spotted an Urban Outfitters store alongside  Mountain Equipment Co-op, not far from City Café.

And so the 'very professional' director of the OQLF has set herself a goal of francizing the names of stores such as American Apparel, Old Navy and Feetfirst to reflect the fact that they are operating in Quebec. LINK{FR}

Unfortunately for her, international law protects the intellectual property of company names and so her hands are somewhat tied. No doubt we will see another SECOND CUP imbroglio wherein the company was forced to add the word "Les cafés" before its name to satisfy the language hounds. How would I describe this state of affairs.....'very professional.'

The OQLF has found itself tongue-tied in the affair of SKI IN/SKI OUT  hotels a new type of lodging that allows skiers to, as you might have guessed it, ski right up to the door of their lodging. 
These type of hotels are sprouting up along the hills of many Quebec ski resorts and the appellation seems to have stuck.
As of yet their are no suggestions for French alternatives. LINK

Interviewed in a Quebec City newspaper Madame Marchand warned Quebeckers that it's their responsibility to protect the French language and as such, when speaking with anglos or ethnics, they should stick to speaking French only.... How 'very professional' of her!

I received an email from Steve asking what the annual budget of the OQLF is...
The answer..... a little more than $20 million.

Student complains about English course material

 "The case has not made much noise, but nevertheless reveals a disturbing trend. On February 4, in Le Devoir we learned that a student at the University of Montreal believed herself to be a victim of language discrimination. Enrolled in a Religious Studies, Marie-Noelle Smith had to retire from the very first course because 80% of reading material was in English. "Does it mean that higher education is accessible only to a bilingual elite in Quebec? "She asked anxiously.  
The Ombudsman of the university responded that French is fine, but it must first seek "the highest standards of quality ."  Le Devoir

French dictionary makes a stink

A Montreal Gazette writer humorously noted that a French dictionary was placed in the Foreign language section of a Montreal bookstore.
It was funny until Josee Legault, the Montreal Gazette resident separatist made a big deal about it and sent the story viral.
Always ready to find something to feed her persecution complex she played up the story as something significant instead of something just plain dumb.
Read Andy Riga's story

Anglos ask for English health services in Trois-Rivieres

The small but not insignificant anglo community of the Three-Rivers Trois-Rivieres region has been politely militating for English services in the health care field.
As of now no English services are available anywhere in the region and anglos say that being hospitalized without being able to communicate represents a hardship, especially to the elderly. Bilingual hospital employees are few and far between in the region. LINK

English cegep demand up again this year

Last year saw a 20% rise in the demand for places in Montreal area English cegeps. The increased demand put pressure on students to produce higher marks to earn entry and many were disappointed. The schools increased enrollment after securing a promise from the education department for increased funding.
To date, the money has not been paid and schools are facing another crisis as enrollment is up considerably again this year.

"Dawson College allowed 300 additional students, while John Abbott admitted an extra 175 students, and Vanier added 204.

But none of the schools has actually received any of the new money yet, and the long-term plans for the provincial funding are still up in the air.

Meanwhile, demand to register for the Quebec junior colleges increased for the third year in a row this year, with parents lining up Tuesday at CEGEPs like Dawson College in Montreal on the last day to register students for next fall.

Some CEGEPs have been forced to reject thousands of students in recent years because of an inability to accommodate the demand." LINK CBC news

Renowned Montreal lawyer warns of lawsuit if  Bill 101 applied to cegep

“If an eventual Parti Québécois government decides to extend Bill 101 to CEGEPs, a prominent Montreal lawyer predicts it would be quickly challenged in court.

“I would join in any challenge and I would perhaps personally challenge it, as well,” said Julius Grey.

“I consider academic freedom to be a fundamental issue. And I don’t think a society should play around with higher education and with restricting what people may do.” LINK

In an interview, ex-separatist Premier Lucien Bouchard advised against applying the English restrictions of Bill 101 to cegeps;

“I think we have reached a linguistic balance in Quebec. It's fragile, it's not a perfect balance. But at the risk of losing it, we must accept to live with it. ” LINK{FR}

Rural Anglophones a vanishing breed

“Quietly, without fanfare, English-speakers are disappearing from regions where the roots of both language communities run deep....”

“...150 years ago, the Eastern Townships had more English-speaking residents than Montreal, points out Ronald Rudin, a history professor at Concordia University who spoke at a conference there last week on the inclusion of anglophones in Quebec history. In 1861, anglophones formed one-quarter of the population in the Gaspe, 39 per cent in Quebec City and 64 per cent in the Ottawa Valley...”

Read an outstanding article by Marian Scott about Quebec's vanishing Anglo rural  population.

Rural anglophones a vanishing breed in Quebec

More blowback about grade 6 bilingualism

More progressive thinking on the subject;

"It isn't true that all humans can learn two languages perfectly. Only 10 to 20% can do so without it interfering with their culture. The rest learn their own language poorly or the other imposed language. That's time and money lost.
Everybody says, even today, after 150 years of public education, 35% of people are illiterate to the point of being unable to cope ... and 30% of students are dropping out of high school ..

Where does this madness of trying to impose a second language come from? Speaking  English in Quebec is only required by about 15 to 20% of people. If Bill 101 was implemented, it would be even less.- Onil Perrier

"The teaching of English in the first year in Quebec schools would be a disaster," says French linguist Claude Hagege.

"In another language environment, the teaching of English in the first year would be questionable. But in Quebec, such a reform would have serious consequences with only six million francophones in a sea of 300 million anglophones. The natural evolution is  towards English. French may disappear at any time if English is not severely and strictly forbidden by law. "

"Quebec Francophones must stop believing that in the holy name of globalization, they can thrive and prosper by becoming bilingual. This is a dangerous slippery slope, the consequences will be disastrous for the survival and future of an entire people. React while there is still time!" 

Claude Verreault, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Translation
  University of Laval,

"As we saw in the case of bridging schools and as we see now, the decision to require all sixth graders to be subjected to half a year of intensive English, is the Liberal party dream to bilingualize Quebec from one horizon to another, regardless of need and cost." -Yves Rancourt

"No need to look at the numbers to understand that Quebecers are among the most bilingual in the world. Bilingualism is symptomatic of a language imbalance, it is the first phase of a process by which a foreign language is to supplant a local language. Bilingualism in Quebec is one way: Francophones in Montreal or Gatineau speak English to be understood by English speakers, who have no need at all to learn French to be understood. That's the magic of bilingualism." -Daniel Sénéchal