[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[viper37]

With all the ™Speak White™ (these days cyber-) jihad on French, it's hardly accepting the language.   

Please, you'd be the first to tell a  quebecois to speak proper French if you ever met one, so I don't think you're the best to speak on the matter

You are the one who should stay quiet (calado serias poeta)    the Anglo-Azorean-Brazilian-Lisboete pidgin "speaker" who claims to speak proper Portuguese.

Point proven, thank you

Foreigners always seem to know what "proper" French is, or at least Americans worry they won't be able to understand Québécois because they learn from French teacher.

I, on the other hand, have no clue what "proper" Portuguese or "proper" Spanish would sound.  I'm able to register the difference between a actor who speaks European Spanish vs American Spanish (female vs male va for FC6), but still unable to differentiate a Columbian from a Venezuelan or a Dominican.  And Portuguese, I don't think I would know the difference between a Brazilian and a European speaker.

But with French speakers, it's like they know before we open our mouth that they won't understand us because they've been trained by a Parisian. 😂

[crazy canuck]

Many thanks for the explanation Viper.

[Valmy]

But with French speakers, it's like they know before we open our mouth that they won't understand us because they've been trained by a Parisian. 😂

My teacher was from Nantes

[Duque de Bragança]

With all the ™Speak White™ (these days cyber-) jihad on French, it's hardly accepting the language.   

Please, you'd be the first to tell a  quebecois to speak proper French if you ever met one, so I don't think you're the best to speak on the matter

You are the one who should stay quiet (calado serias poeta)    the Anglo-Azorean-Brazilian-Lisboete pidgin "speaker" who claims to speak proper Portuguese.

Point proven, thank you

Indeed. Your double standards were once again shown. Glass houses et tout le tralala 

I mean, Portuguese syntax, itself not that difficult, eludes you. I know you are not a Portuguese citizen, but that's no excuse cf. Jorge Jesus. 

[Duque de Bragança]

With all the ™Speak White™ (these days cyber-) jihad on French, it's hardly accepting the language.   

Please, you'd be the first to tell a  quebecois to speak proper French if you ever met one, so I don't think you're the best to speak on the matter

You are the one who should stay quiet (calado serias poeta)    the Anglo Canadian-Azorean-Brazilian-Lisboete pidgin "speaker" who claims to speak proper Portuguese.

[/quote]

Point proven, thank you

Foreigners always seem to know what "proper" French is, or at least Americans worry they won't be able to understand Québécois because they learn from French teacher.

I, on the other hand, have no clue what "proper" Portuguese or "proper" Spanish would sound.  I'm able to register the difference between a actor who speaks European Spanish vs American Spanish (female vs male va for FC6), but still unable to differentiate a Columbian from a Venezuelan or a Dominican.  And Portuguese, I don't think I would know the difference between a Brazilian and a European speaker.

First replace European speaker for Portuguese by non-Brazilian Lusophone; other Portuguese dialects are much closer to the "standard".

As for differences, Brazilians being Americans and very influenced by English, have merged Tu e vous (as você), while some Brazil dialects useTu in the third person ; even HVC would bat an aye that one. 

Stress is the same, but closed vowels are the difference ; that makes (standard) Portuguese closer to French (désolé Viper). It went as far as the Lisboete bourgeoise, as the Milanese, trying to mimick the French r, with disastrous results, sounding more like a very guttural or uvular r faubourien. Awful, but not standard Portuguese though, despite media influence.



Brazilians are also more informal in general, so lots of tenses and pronouns in standard Portuguese are too complex for them. During religious offices, with the stilted Portuguese in use, they must be really lost.
OTOH, Brazilians use fluently the Futur du subjonctif and imparfait du subjonctif, as in standard Portuguese. 

But with French speakers, it's like they know before we open our mouth that they won't understand us because they've been trained by a Parisian. 😂

Not understanding is a bit of an exaggeration. Sociolect, not just dialect plays a part. Add idiolect for Hilário. 

Plus, were the people in question trained by a Tourangeau, the result would be the same. By the way, don't say there, in Tours, the standard is from Paris, or they will get triggered. 

As for the "European" Spanish and Portuguese strawman, even in the original countries there is a quite a bit of dialectal variation. Try understand the "Castilian" of Andalusia, for instance. 

In fact, more than in Brazil, as for Portuguese. Brazilian dialects come from southern Portuguese dialects, cf. gerund being still a key figure of the singing Alentejano dialect despite not being standard or even being considered awful for Lisboetes, much easier on the ears than most Brazilian Portuguese dialects, but I digress.
Cristiano Ronaldo got quite mocked with his Madeira dialect; his mother still speaks the dialect, unlike him, for instance.

Lastly, no such a thing as the Académie in Portugal. Spain has one, but has to coordinate with other comparable American (Hispano-American) institutions.

As for Spanish or Castilian, there are some pronouns or lack of them which are dead giveways, among other phonetic differences (s vs c/z) but I leave that to the hispanophones or castilianophones (is that a word?).
Can't speak for syntax variations ; Brazilians hate syntax and even the São Paulo or even Rio de Janeiro (closer to Lisboete) dialects are purely suggestions, at best.

[Duque de Bragança]

But with French speakers, it's like they know before we open our mouth that they won't understand us because they've been trained by a Parisian. 😂

My teacher was from Nantes

Not a true Breton Valmy, sorry. Nantes was never a Breton-speaking area, despite the claims of Breton regionalists. Part of Brittany, yes but as a marche.

It's not like Breton nationalists did not try to eliminate the romanced-based dialect of Brittany called gallo, anyways.

[Valmy]

I was just pointing out I was not trained by a Parisian

Teaching Americans how to speak French was hard enough, she never bothered to teach us any Breton 

[viper37]

As for Spanish or Castilian, there are some pronouns or lack of them which are dead giveways, among other phonetic differences (s vs c/z) but I leave that to the hispanophones or castilianophones (is that a word?).
Can't speak for syntax variations ; Brazilians hate syntax and even the São Paulo or even Rio de Janeiro (closer to Lisboete) dialects are purely suggestions, at best.
[/quote]

a lot more details than I'm likely to remember, but I'll try to keep it in mind 
Thanks!

[viper37]

But with French speakers, it's like they know before we open our mouth that they won't understand us because they've been trained by a Parisian. 😂

My teacher was from Nantes

Many Quebecers go to work in the US*, but almost never as French teachers 


We must not be refined enough. 



*maybe not anymore

[PRC]

Danielle Smith weighs in on judicial appointments...

I don't think Beeb comes around anymore but Beeb, if you're lurking, would love to see your input on this!

https://globalnews.ca/news/11650810/danielle-smith-alberta-judges/

Danielle Smith says Alberta will withhold funding for judges without more input on selection
By Lisa Johnson  The Canadian Press
Posted February 3, 2026 12:39 pm

Premier Danielle Smith says her government will withhold funding to support new judicial appointments in Alberta if the federal government doesn't give the province a say on who is picked.

In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney made public Tuesday, Smith says the appointment process for judges needs reform.

Her letter comes a week after Alberta's judges called on Smith to respect each other's role and independence, after the premier said on her weekly radio show she wishes she could "direct" them.

Smith told Carney she wants the province to be consulted on future appointments to Alberta's Court of King's Bench, the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Smith proposes a committee that includes Alberta appointees to help assess and recommend King's Bench and Court of Appeal candidates to justice ministers and recommend candidates for the Supreme Court of Canada to be agreed on by ministers and submitted to the prime minister.

Smith says the collaboration would help ensure the appointments "appropriately reflect Alberta's distinct legal traditions," and strengthen public confidence in the administration of justice.

"Alberta's government will not agree to provide the necessary funding to support any new judicial positions in the province until such engagement and collaboration are provided," Smith wrote in the letter, dated Jan. 23.

"Providing Alberta with a formal and meaningful role in the appointment process would strengthen public confidence in the administration of justice, promote national unity within Alberta and help ensure judicial decision-making reflects the values and expectations of Albertans."

She also calls on Carney to relax bilingualism requirements for federal appointees, saying imposing bilingualism on Supreme Court of Canada judges further entrenches both barriers and Western alienation.

She points to the United States and Australia, where states can appoint state-level superior court judges.

"In this respect, Canada remains an outlier, and a discussion on reform is long overdue."

Shawn King, president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, which speaks for defence lawyers across the province, said if Smith follows through on her ultimatum to withhold funding from courts, the already-stressed justice system will "implode."

"At least in criminal cases, it means that matters are going to be stayed hand over fist, and who's going to be blamed for that?"

King said courts will see more Jordan applications, which are legal motions to dismiss criminal charges due to unreasonable trial delays.

"This is potentially catastrophic," he said.

He added it's currently not unusual to see matters adjourned or rescheduled due to a shortage of judges.

Smith's letter comes after Alberta's three chief justices, in a rare public statement last week, urged respect for the independence of the judicial branch, saying democracy only functions when all three branches of government operate independently.

Smith has recently said she wished she could "direct" judges in regards to bail rules and decisions. In recent months, the premier has repeated criticized what she calls "activist" courts and "unelected" judges.

Smith has said she believes in parliamentary supremacy, and in the fall sitting of the legislature, invoked the Charter's notwithstanding clause four times to shield her government's laws from court challenges.

[Jacob]

She's got the note that to properly undermine the rule of law and democracy, she'll need to first suborn the judiciary.

[crazy canuck]

I don't understand what she is threatening. The Provinces pay for the courthouses and court house staff, not the judicial salaries of federally appointed judges.

[Sophie Scholl]

I'm more than a little concerned that the Alberta secessionists will be the backdoor that Trump would use to "liberate" Canada should he and his handlers choose to do so.

[Jacob]

I'm more than a little concerned that the Alberta secessionists will be the backdoor that Trump would use to "liberate" Canada should he and his handlers choose to do so.

It's clearly the play they're setting up for.

[crazy canuck]

I'm more than a little concerned that the Alberta secessionists will be the backdoor that Trump would use to "liberate" Canada should he and his handlers choose to do so.

It's clearly the play they're setting up for.

Yep