Thursday, March 3, 2011

Only in Quebec is a STOP sign a Language Issue.

I thought that the once simmering "STOP sign" controversy was long over, until reading some recent posts on French language militant websites where it appears that the subject has reared its ugly head once again.

You'd think that with the province drowning in debt, the health care system on the verge of a collapse, the dropout rate among francophone teens an utter disgrace, one wouldn't have the time or energy to debate such a mundane subject as STOP signs, but such is not the case.

This is Quebec.

In another century, this cartoon by Montreal Gazette cartoonist Aislin, said it all, the sad pettiness and vindictiveness that characterized the issue.

When the Parti Quebecois first came to power, it became public policy to sanitize all road signs and slowly over the years, English slowly disappeared from road signs across the province, in all but a few officially bilingual towns.

And so Quebec's distinctive and beloved bilingual STOP/ARRÊT sign went the way of the dinosaur, replaced by the unilingual ARRÊT.

The inconvenient fact that the word 'ARRÊT' is not really proper French to describe the act of coming to a stop at an intersection was of no matter. The word ARRÊT' can be best used to describe a stop as in a "Bus Stop" In fact the proper French word for coming to a halt at an intersection is.......wait for it.....STOP or STOPPEZ.

In France 'STOP' is what is written on their stop signs, believe it or not.

In fact most countries in the world, especially in Europe, employ STOP and nothing else on their signs.  For an interesting picture gallery go here.

That being said and Quebec being what it is, the idea of 'STOP' on signs no longer sat right and so the grammatically incorrect ARRÊT was decreed politically correct.

Last summer, I filed what I thought was an amusing post about Stop signs for further reference, believing it to be an atypical rant, something that perhaps didn't deserve to be critiqued on its own.

But last week another Stop sign complainer graced the pages of another militant French language website, so I decided to take a closer look at the complainers, where sadly I found, a particular twisted state of mind, one that still exists in Quebec, to what extent, I cannot really say.
 In Dorval near the Airport

If you live in the greater Montreal area, you may have noticed these last years that "STOP" signs have slowly begun replacing the now familiar ARRÊT or ARRÊT/STOP signs.

Apparently the powers that be, have now decided that Quebec has matured to the point where STOP can be employed alone, rehabilitated like a political prisoner who spent a decade in the Gulag.

But of course this doesn't sit well with some language militants who are outraged that such an affront to the French language is going unchallenged and so they have taken up the good fight to keep French pure and to police words like STOP from entering the common French lexicon.

You'll remember that during the francization campaign to remove English from road signs, the common ARRÊT/STOP sign was particularly galling to French militants because it reflected a bilingual society, nothing less than an anathema to them. And so the innocent STOP/ARRÊT sign was treated to a cruel onslaught of vandalization.

Here's an interesting exchange on the Mouvement Montréal français website LINK
I'm surprised that nobody is talking about it, but have you noticed that the city of Granby has retained its stop signs that say: "Stop" while the rest of the province, we see "ARRÊT". Is this city exempt from the Bill 101?.... 
....I can't accept to live in English in Granby while the rest of the province lives in French"

"I spoke with Mr. André Jean, Public Works of the City of Granby, today and he replied that the word "Stop"is legal and comes from Old French (?) that the word is in the French dictionary and that the word is accepted OQLF and MTQ. It is the word "ARRÊT" that is not the correct French term and the government accepts these signs since 1978. They are accepted by the road signs manual of Quebec accepted as well as everywhere in the world, even in Germany, he told me. I asked him for a copy of the report and  will check it out...."

"The word 'STOP' is French and has been for a hundred years! I agree that the word STOP on a sign gives the impression of English monolingualism. On the other hand the word ARRÊT is less acceptable because in general French, this term refers to a bus stop! I do not understand why our signs don't display 'ARRÊTEZ' or something similar in Quebec. Can someone give me an opinion on this?
Hmmm. a whole big discussion. Here is another reader exclaiming outrage last week in another post vigile.net
"The real significance of these 'Stop' signs is that it is an act of defiance towards Quebec. In Quebec the stop signs that say 'ARRÊT' are a symbol of the survival of French in North America. Remember that Quebec is the only "state" in the Francophone world that writes ARRÊT on its signs. This is a legitimate way to tell the world that we exist. These signs are somehow inscribed in the cultural heritage of Quebec.
Westmount with STOP signs reject Quebec, flouting Bill 101, ignoring the minority, helping to create and maintain the two solitudes in Montreal." LINK
Can you believe all of this over stop signs?
Incidentally, this writer of the above post must never have been west of Decarie Boulevard in Montreal. Had he visited Hampstead, Côte St. Luc and practically every other west island community, he'd have found the same STOP signs widely in use.

Incidentally, a public works employee told me one of the reasons for using the 'STOP' sign is because they are cheaper and available in bulk from suppliers across North America. Hmm....

The stop sign debate even crosses over to the native communities in Quebec where natives, like all  Quebeckers, are divided along linguistic lines.

Stop signs on reservations reflect this French/English divide wherein  bands that speak English display bilingual stop signs with English while those bands that speak French display bilingual stop signs with French.
Some signs are even tri-lingual.

At any rate I don't think the OQLF or Transports Quebec will have much influence on what the natives display on their resevations!

My least favourite Stop sign is one that remains in the parking garage of the Westmount Square parking complex. Not only is it insulting, but completely stupid, no doubt the product of a nincompoop employee making a bad decision.

On the other hand my favourite stop sign is this one that appeared last Spring as the Canadiens were making a heroic playoff run.


Ah, Quebec! always interesting.





56 comments:

  1. What is the point?

    Quebec may use the french language just like in Arabic country the use Arabs.

    Can they?

    Would like only one language on earth? Diversity is nice. All north america speak english, let Quebec speaks french.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Erm, Stop is a universal word. Everybody else (no matter the language) uses Stop (including France as mentioned in the post). What makes Quebec so special?

      Delete
    2. France uses STOP because they anglicise everything! They're getting assimilated big times! Having been there 3 times lately, I know what I'm talking about. I'm francophone and I couldn't even order a proper meal at a restaurant because I was using the real french terms! I had to tell them "chicken" instead of "poulet" and what not. I was just blown away. Still a nice country though. So as the other anonymous write posted above, Quebec is officially a francophone provice so let us write how we want. Plus if people aren't smart enough to realize that the big red octogon on a street corner with white writing means to stop the vehicle, then I don't think that person should be driving. I actually think it shouldn't say anything. Just a big red octogon - everyone know what it means. I guess anglos can't figure-it out!

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    3. In Re: "I had to tell them "chicken" instead of "poulet"

      Hello,
      You are one of the numerous unfortunate victim of the treacherous "Syndrome De La Tartine"
      Lemme explain....
      As a Canadian, even if French is your first language, your level of English is order of magnitude better than 99% of the French (France) population. You do not need, or feel the need to prove anything to anyone.
      Alas, in France, you'll find a lot of people -trying- to show off their "Ingliche", even if sometimes they should stick to
      French.
      It's called "Le Syndrome de la Tartine: La culture, c'est comme la confiture, moins tu en as, plus tu l'etales"
      I am French myself, I have been in the USA for the past 15 years and I have also worked in QC (Lévis).
      I would NOT have a English contest, even with a 15 yrs old kid in QC, I would be put to shame.
      As for my "French" when I go to QC, I just simply adapt, or ask (politely) my interlocutor to repeat. In QC, Canadian don't have an accent: I'm the one with the accent.
      When I go back to the old country and see, or hear, a dingbat asking if I want "chicken fingers" I reply in full literal translation: "Oui, je prendrais des doigts de poulet, avec un habillement de soupe de chat sur le coté"
      En principe, ca les calmes un peu. ;-)


      Delete
    4. Mexico will never be North America, not matter how much they want to be. Get over it. Mexico is Central America.

      Delete
    5. Actually, there is no such thing as Central America geographically - it's a political construct. There is only North and South America. This is obvious if you think about it - much of the SW US used to be part of Mexico - borders change over time with wars, etc. The continents a bit more slowly

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America#Different_definitions

      Delete
  2. > Would like only one language on earth? Diversity is nice. All north america speak english, let Quebec speaks french.

    What could possibly be more diverse than a multilingual sign?

    > At any rate I don't think the OQLF or Transports Quebec will have much influence on what the natives display on their resevations!

    Not sure the Charter applies there.

    > […] natives, like all Quebeckers, are divided along linguistic lines.

    Careful! Some of us make it a point not to be!

    I can’t help but be reminded of an amusing Bowser & Blue sketch from at least the early 90’s in which they quipped that vandalized signs that read “ARRÊT IOI” were more French (and extremely Québécois) almost despite themselves. When you think about it, B&B said, (and especially from an anglo's perspective), those signs now read “arrête, ayoye!”

    Still I think you hit the nail on the head in suggesting that a bilingual and functioning… anything… is at best inconvenient and at most kryptonite not for the French language, but for the rabid supremacist element imbued with its inferiority-triumphalist-impunity complex that wields disproportionate power in this province.

    But I digress.

    Everybody knows that a better tack would be for every jurisdiction in the world to just quit printing the word altogether. The red octagon has become synonymous with “stop” for much of the world, just as a green circle is synonymous with “go”. That would certainly make the stop sign market competitive!

    More seriously though, it’s inconceivable that we wouldn’t go this route. Quebec generally does pretty will with iconified/pictographic signage, so it stands to reason that we – and the rest of the world – should eventually consider this THE genuinely universal substitute.

    Then perhaps we might see our current crop of discredited political symbols where they (and their misguided brethren the world over) belong – in museums, being tended to by those most genuinely qualified for such work – the curators.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Don't forget when they got rid of Construction to Travaux. Quebec loves spending taxes to do wasteful things in the name of the French Language.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Ah, Quebec! always interesting. " NOT!!!

    There is nothing interesting about Kebec any longer.

    Quebec is though, a bigoted,Intolerant, racist, xenophobic province, run by anti-English language, anti-anything but French bigots. Quebec is run by language Nazis. This is what Quebec has become over the last 5 decades. It is not interesting at all. It has become a backwater, cesspool of slime, sleaze, corruption, a welfare province subsidized by the rest of the country while it continues to ban our language and culture.

    Quebec has become a disgrace to the rest of the country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Amen!!!! I am originally from France, i do speak English without a Fench accent, I am perfectly bi-lingual".. Wow, we're all impressed by your level of bilingualism. All of us here envy you, Mr Wonderful. Really, your intellect is unbelievably superior to anyone of us, no doubt. Which brings me to a very simple question: Why haven't you left already what seems to you a backward place? Just curious...

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  5. I always admire your articles, but you shouldn't bother any longer with unilingual kébékuà...It's like casting pearls before swine. Let them drawn in their own mud. There is not even point in mentioning them anymore.
    Instead, talk about English and Allophones and their contribution to Canada.

    WESTALLOPHONE++

    ReplyDelete
  6. @anon 11:40 AM

    Is there anything positive in or about Quebec?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Depends. Any redneck scholar from the rest of the country might well find the province a disappointment, I'm afraid...

      Delete
  7. "Is there anything positive in or about Quebec?"

    The women, the culture, the language, the Habs, the multiculturalism of Montreal, Quebec city and its beautiful historical sites, Peel pub, Schwartz smoke meat, Mister Steers, the drinking age, the heart and roots of Canada, the maple syrup, the beautiful scenery of the Eastern Townships... basically anything that doesn't involve politics or economics.

    ReplyDelete
  8. @ Jason the Anglo

    Quebec is a beautiful place, but the its politics drive people away and in turn, despite the province. If it weren't for its hateful and vengeful attitude towards other minorities, Quebec would be the economic center of Canada instead of Ontario (well, Toronto). I was lucky to not have been affected by Bill 101, but almost 300 000 people have left as well as numerous business headquarters.

    On the bright side, it would seem that, at least for now, Alberta's economy (namely Calgary and Edmonton) are catching up with Toronto economically and might soon surpass it. Toronto should now compete with the Western provinces and quite frankly, disregard Montreal. Matter of the fact is that until the political climate in Quebec cools down, Montreal's future seems darker and darker. Given that STOP signs are still an issue, is just.........[insert foul word here].

    ReplyDelete
  9. "Quebec is a beautiful place..."

    Is akin to saying feces is a beautiful thing. Yeah, Quebec is real beautiful alright, with stories like this:

    http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110303/mtl_cats_110303/20110303/?hub=MontrealHome

    Someone should do mankind a big favor and detonate a 100 MT nuclear bomb over Quebec. Disgusting, sub-human culture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whoa (Arret?)! You have some serious issues but with therapy and the proper medication you might be able to regain your self-esteem and lead a normal life. Bonne chance!

      Delete
  10. Quebec is really becoming a non-entity to the ROC (and specifically the West) whom donate to Quebec on a daily basis through transfers. This, to a province, which continually belittles those that pay for the party (cheap daycare, cheap tuitions etc etc).

    Time for a reality check. Why should AB, SK, and BC donate to programs in Quebec they don't feel are affordable in their own provinces through fiscal prudance which has never been an issue in Quebec when one looks at the Quebec debt.

    Time to rid Canada of the "Cancer" that is Quebec.

    Let the separatists have their hollow win, support their cause of an Independent Nation (third world status) of Quebec.

    And to Jason! I am sure there are postives in Quebec but not likely worth the 10 Billion or so a year to accomodate all the beauty in la belle province. As one westerner recently told me. Its a great place, very beautiful, nice parks, nice buildings restored--amazing what Western money can do, isn't it?

    Time for Quebec to end "our" misery and leave this great country we have and would be a better country without the bigots and backsliders in Quebec. And, this includes, the lacklustre anglos in Quebec who lay down like lap dogs when their rights are infringed upon, rather than striking back.

    Simply put. f'k off. We don't need you , your joual(nothing pretty about the mongrolized french in Quebec) and your bigotry.

    BTW- there is only on province in Canada who have laws of language restricting commercial signage and education. Where might that be?

    Quebec is a cess pool. (organized crime, crooked politicians, debt, labor unions, bigotted laws etc etc)

    Just leave, please..

    And that goes for the editor of this blog who in fact is a Quebecois, himself. Yeh, buddy, you are part of the problem accepting all the welfare from the ROC. How does it feel to be a common beggar on the street as all common residents of Quebec. You have a guitar case to deposite your coins, where you troll in Ottawa.

    I doubt this one will get posted.

    EOS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This post was disgusting and ignorant. Why wouldn't Quebec have laws protecting it's language? Your post made absolutely no logical sense. You are bigoted and ignorant not the french who are just trying to protect their language and culture. Quebec is a french nation that has been conquered through war. Quebec should be free and Canada should be helping in that goal...it's the least Canada and the english should do. They owe it to Quebec. Quebed is a french nation and you can not understand why it has it's own laws protecting itself? It is surrounding by a sea of english. I was born and raised in the US by the way but my family lives in Quebec and my parents were born and raised in Quebec......and we are dam proud to be french...not Canadian. We are not Canadians, we are Quebecois.

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    2. Quebec is NOT a French country dummy, it is a piece of land the French stole from the Natives, and then the English ripped it from them, but in the end, it is just a colonial war between to invaders who wanted the other's share!!! Some win...some loose...get the fuck over IT!!!!!

      Delete
  11. @ anglo M
    @ Jason
    @ all Quebecois

    You are all party of the problem. You live there and are recipients of the welfare from the ROC. So, get off your asses you welfare bums "que vous etes".

    Vous etes pleine de merde avec votre commentaire sur cette blogue. Desole, ma francais es tres limitee.

    Have a good night at the soup kitchen that is Quebec where you all eat.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Montreal's future seems darker and darker. Given that STOP signs are still an issue, is just.........[insert foul word here]."

    Montreal should declare independance from the rest of Quebec in an attempt to try and save itself. If not, the stop signs will do exactly that and prevent any further investment in Montreal. Good thing for the ROC... We will take the dollars...Thanks...

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  13. "The women,"

    Yes, pick up a rolex and get a GF in Quebec. They have a nose for l'argent. n'est pas. Highest rate of unwed mothers in Canada, highest divorce rate in Canada...etc etc. Do they shave their armpits these days :)

    "the culture,"

    What culture...the one which the people advocate language laws which discriminate againts minorities such as the majority language of Canada.


    " the language,"

    You must be referring to the Joual..very distinctive :)


    "the Habs,"

    Losers

    "the multiculturalism of Montreal,"

    Intersting, if so multicultural, why so much emphasis on "reasonable accomodations". Yes, very open this Quebec society.

    Anything more you want to discuss?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quebec is a french nation so the language SHOULD be french NOT english. French is the official language, so of course all signs should be in french only...what in the world is the problem???

      Delete
    2. Quebec is not a nation ,its not even a Provance that can pay its own way ....its a welfare state ....

      Delete
  14. "the heart and roots of Canada"

    Spare us this ridiculous heart of Canada theme. Think about: FLQ. SSJB. Jeunes Patriotes etc. After which tell me about the heart of Canada. What are they infusing your maple syrup with...must be really good to make you this delusional.

    On the subject, Ontario has great Maple Syrup as well...as does Vermont and Maine in the US. Not just a Quebec thing. Good that I won't have to suffer a total lack of product after the boycott when (and if) Quebec gets enough guts to prendre la porte. I doubt that will ever happen!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sans doutte (doux?), that new OQLF fascist leader is uglier than the two bulldogs my brother has owned (and will be adopting another later this spring). In all fairness, bulldogs are wonderful, friendly dogs with an excellent disposition.

    Obviously, this provincially-minded (pardon the pun) ugly (and not just her looks) fascist moron has forgotten what happens when you speak French to American tourists. English made a comeback mostly because it repelled tourists in the 1980s and I heard reactions by celebrities appearing on American talk shows. In the Dominican Republic, they can't learn new languages fast enough to go with their official Spanish. They learned English, French and German because the tourist industry speaks the language of the tourists. Tourist revenues there are a major part of their life's blood collectively.

    Somehow, French speakers in Quebec and France and perhaps some other nations (in Europe) where French is spoken, only there is the language so incorporated with culture. Being a descendant of eastern European Jews, for some reason, when my grandparents came to North America (Montreal and Sherbrooke, really), they somehow forgot to pass Yiddish down beyond their children to their grandchildren. My father spoke fluent Yiddish, my mother proficiently. Very few of my contemporaries speak it. I see it becoming a catalogued, extinct language by the end of the 21st Century, if not sooner.

    It was a bastardized language that was used only by Ashkenazi Jews (Eastern & Central Europe), a derivative of mostly German and other European languages, while Sephardic Jews (Mediterranean) did not speak the language.

    It has no official language status in Israel, of all places for it not to. When Hebrew was resurrected in 1948 when Israel gained political independence, the language had to be updated for it was NOT a spoken language for over 2000 years! It only existed in the scriptures and was recited in prayer. I guess Israelis didn't want Arabic to be the official language even though many Israelis speak it. Considering they're surrounded by Arab-speaking nations, they didn't have much choice, and Arabic is not banned in Israel in any way, shape or form.

    I guess this is why Israel, with a population smaller than Quebec, has a thriving economy with the highest per-capita post-secondary educated workforce in the world, and Quebec has a 30-odd percent dropout rate and other unenviable characteristics.

    Shalom halechem (peace and prosperity).

    ReplyDelete
  16. ""The women,"

    Yes, pick up a rolex and get a GF in Quebec. They have a nose for l'argent. n'est pas. Highest rate of unwed mothers in Canada, highest divorce rate in Canada...etc etc. Do they shave their armpits these days :)

    "the culture,"

    What culture...the one which the people advocate language laws which discriminate againts minorities such as the majority language of Canada.


    " the language,"

    You must be referring to the Joual..very distinctive :)


    "the Habs,"

    Losers

    "the multiculturalism of Montreal,"

    Intersting, if so multicultural, why so much emphasis on "reasonable accomodations". Yes, very open this Quebec society.

    Anything more you want to discuss? "

    You haven't proven anything despite how satisfied your post made you feel. You just gave your personal opinion on shit based on stereotypes and expect it to be accepted as fact. Yeah ok. Way to be like the seppies you hate on, you hypocritical douchebag.

    "On the subject, Ontario has great Maple Syrup as well"

    Im about 99.9% percent sure that I didn't say Quebec is the sole supplier of maple syrup for the world. Nice insinuation though retard.

    "Spare us this ridiculous heart of Canada theme. Think about: FLQ. SSJB. Jeunes Patriotes etc. After which tell me about the heart of Canada. What are they infusing your maple syrup with...must be really good to make you this delusional."

    Canada was founded from Quebec onward. Shut your whiny mouth and accept fact. I didn't say heart and roots in a political sense you stupid turd. I specifically wrote "anything that doesn't involve politics or economics" in my post so that idiots like you guys wouldn't rant for nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Posted this accidentally in the previous topic

    Those crossed out Stop signs. I remember in Park Extension, in the late 80s and early 90s someone or some group use to cross out most of the ARRETs on the stop sign. One time I also remember someone used a black Marker and re bilingualized the unilingual Parking restrictions signs. They did quite a few streets. I was suprised, the signs almost looked official. It did give me a thrill because I was use to seeing the stop crossed out when you went East of St Laurent back then, or morphed STOP into 101. Only time I saw those morphed stop signs in the west was in Cote Des Neiges near the university of Montreal campus.

    ReplyDelete
  18. English speaking Quebecers are a unique breed, openly hated by the Quebecois for the language they speak, and resented by Ontarians and Westerners for being victims of Quebecois apartheid.

    Just look at the horribly divisive mess the nationalist Quebecois have created in this apathetic wanker country of Canada. (Yelling now) It is not an exaggeration to say Quebec is destroying Canada, day by day, and few people are paying attention or give a shit. We are being played for fools. We are being mocked and used. We are suckers for tolerating the corrosive effects of the never ending Quebecois propaganda machine, which spews lies and relies on the creation of perceived enemies.

    FU to the selfish, self absorbed Quebecois who care NOTHING for Canada, and bicker over STOP signs. FU to the unsupportive asshole westerners who add insult to injury by kicking English speaking Quebecers when they’re down. FU to all people who say Quebec is nothing more than a cesspool. Quebec is a fantastic province is many ways, and would be a great place to live if the seppy douche bags would die. They are destructive fuckers worthy of Canadian’s unapologetic disdain. If Canadians let the seppies shred our country by allowing the Quebecois to reorder Quebec into a xenophobic, Franco-supremacist, bankrupt socialist state we dishonor our ancestors and history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. another completely ignorant hate filled post. If you were Quebecois, you would understand and def. not feel this way. It is just pure ignorance. Also Quebecois don't feel a connection to Canada because it is not their country. They are the occupiers, the conquerers...why would Quebec feel affection for that? The people of Quebec are just trying to save, and protect themselves and all canadians should be supporting that in any way they can.

      Delete
  19. Another pointless bashing article about a non-issue to stroke up angryphones and francophobes.

    1. Do you know what is the definition of the word Stop is in french? C'est un signal d'arrêt. What's the problem, then? The word arrêt is accepted by everybody, and the meaning is cristal clear. And nobody thinks "arrêt" refers exclusively to a bus stop, thats just laughable.

    2. The big controversy consists on an email exchange in Granby and a post on a web site? Thank god this site is here to bring us relevant news and cutting edge reporting.

    ReplyDelete
  20. @EyeWitness

    Take your pills and go to bed.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sorry Press 9, it will take more than meds and sleep to make me passive, and mute about the seppies’ malicious, backward agenda. I couldn't care less for your thin skinned, prudish sensibilities, or your timid inability to cope with someone else’s strong feelings of displeasure regarding these issues. Your condescending and dismissive comments are ignorant, meaningless and futile. You sound like a juvenile, sanctimonious twit.

    ReplyDelete
  22. @ Press 9,

    "Take your pills and go to bed."

    Wow! Is that ever an intelligent, well thought out response to EyeWitness' post. You must have a genius IQ...

    ReplyDelete
  23. "Take your pills and go to bed."

    Wow! Is that ever an intelligent, well thought out response to EyeWitness' post. You must have a genius IQ... "

    It's the main weapon in the seperatist arsenal. The ever dreaded empty insult.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Your insults are full of s**t and are since 400 years. So live and let live little twart.

    ReplyDelete
  25. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  26. Jason is a young punk who is far from "la toison d'or" he doesn't even have a thinking cap. Relax kid, you have so much to learn before the big sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  27. "Jason is a young punk who is far from "la toison d'or" he doesn't even have a thinking cap. Relax kid, you have so much to learn before the big sleep"

    Lol I absolutely LOVE how you counter my "empty insult" crack with an empty insult. Brilliant! You guys just make it too easy for me.

    ReplyDelete
  28. You are blocking opinions who are against yours:
    YOu are chicken shit, NAZI partisans of the English Separation, as you are not flexible TYRANS>

    ReplyDelete
  29. You think your insults are full !

    ReplyDelete
  30. "You are blocking opinions who are against yours"

    This blog is full of comments that disagree with the editor. Don't lie. The editor even wrote an article about which kind of comments would be blocked, so people have been warned.

    "YOu are chicken shit"

    Empty insult

    "NAZI partisans of the English Separation"

    No such thing as English separation. Stop inventing things. And NAZI, really? Yeah a country that highly values multiculturalism is NAZI-esque. If you think multiculturalist Canada is NAZI-esque I can't imagine what you must think of a province that proudly asserts it doesn't believe in multiculturalism. Get a clue, moron.

    "as you are not flexible TYRANS"

    Huh?

    "You think your insults are full !"

    Yeahhhh... I think someone doesn't quite get the terminology. Either that or once again my "empty insult" crack has been countered by yet another empty insult, which would just be sad...

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  31. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  32. a air canada
    r rue Saint-Hubert
    r rue des Érables
    ê êtes-vous de ce monde, parmi nous?
    t taisez-vous alors ou apprenez notre langue.

    ReplyDelete
  33. "a air canada
    r rue Saint-Hubert
    r rue des Érables"

    Individual clearly lacks comic witt as he/she must result to random words to fill in the holes of an already lame and relatively unfunny wisecrack.

    "ê êtes-vous de ce monde, parmi nous?
    t taisez-vous alors ou apprenez notre langue."

    Demostrates wonderfully how a huge portion of seperatists are the center of their own world, because to these people if you don't speak French then it means you aren't from planet Earth.

    ReplyDelete
  34. You lack of culture, philosophy, finesse. English humour is not French humour. There is more to a language than grammar.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Jason, tais-toi donc, polisson.

    ReplyDelete
  36. "English humour is not French humour"

    I might be mistaken but I'm beginning to think French humour is just empty insults that kinda sound funny.

    "Jason, tais-toi donc, polisson"

    Exhibit a)

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  37. @Mississauga Guy March 4, 2011 3:45 AM

    "When Hebrew was resurrected in 1948 when Israel gained political independence, the language had to be updated for it was NOT a spoken language for over 2000 years! It only existed in the scriptures and was recited in prayer. I guess Israelis didn't want Arabic to be the official language even though many Israelis speak it. Considering they're surrounded by Arab-speaking nations, they didn't have much choice, and Arabic is not banned in Israel in any way, shape or form."

    I suspect one of the main reason why Hebrew was made an official language of Israel is that although it was only spoken in prayer, it's the one language that Jews from all over the world had in common.

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  38. If you were Quebecois, you would feel completely different about this subject. Yes using arret is 'stop' in quebec, and yes a rejection of the english occupation. Quebec is a french nation that has been conquered by the english. It is a symbol of our survival and should be respected as all our language laws.

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    1. Quebec is a mohawk nation!!! Dummy!!!! And by the way whatever pidgin you are all speaking, is not French, it is anything but, and please learn grammer, on ne dit pas c'est qu'est-ce que je te parle, or si je saurais, or si j'aurais su, etc...morons!!!!

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    2. Grammar sorry about the typo...fucko!!!!

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  39. ''Not The One'' made a very good point about the use of the word ''Arrêt''. ''Arrêt'' alone usually refers to complete deacceleration that has to be made while driving like in the reminder phrase ''Tu a un arrêt à faire.'' It only refers to a bus stop when it's accompanied with the word bus in the same phrase. ''Il y a un arrêt d'autobus ici.'' for example.

    I would also like to add that Québec is no different at all from other non-anglophone parts of America for using a word other than ''Stop'' on it's signs. France simply uses ''Stop'' on it's signs because they are part of the European Union and it's a convention established within the European Union to make it more like ''One'' and not feel too much the barriers mostly because the countries are small and it's very easy to drive from a country to another.

    Most of Latin American countries including Lusophone Brasil but excluding Hispanophone México uses the word ''Pare'' on it's signs and México made things even more different than the rest of Latin America for using the word ''Alto'' (Halt) on it's signs.

    The four main languages spoken across America were all brought from Europe so none of them are originally from here which is why they are more fragile and easier to change throughout the history. Hugs part of Canada and the United States were historically Francophone and even Hispanophone (for the United States) and today they are mostly anglophone. A lot of people don't even know than they live in a historically French or Spanish region. Boisé in Idaho is a very good example. (Named Boisé for being a concentration of trees or ''little wood'' at the tip of the desert.) I think it's amazing what Québec have been able to do over the years in a world where many languages dies every week in profit of English and especially considering that Québec is very close of anglophone regions. It should not bee seen as oppression or as something super negative.

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  40. Here in the US, you'll find bilingual road signs even in states whose official language is English (like Texas). That said, I think Louisiana and Maine still have stop signs that say "stop" in mainly French speaking areas. Sometimes you might see them that say "alto", which means "halt" in Spanish. If Texas, whose official language is English, can do both Spanish and English, I don't see why Quebec can't. Hawaii, if I recall correctly, uses Hawaiian as official, but I don't know if they have stop signs in it.

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