[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Grey Fox]

Non French spreaking DoC happens all the time, it's Harper's 4th(out of 5 DoCs). Paul Martin had one. We're only not used to it probably because Jean Chrétien probably never had one.

[Barrister]

Italian is not an official language in Canada. What counts is, does he speak French or not?

No - what counts is that viper either doesn't know what 'unilingual' means, or doesn't know anything about Perischilli besides what the Quebec media has told him.

[Drakken]

Italian is not an official language in Canada. What counts is, does he speak French or not?

No - what counts is that viper either doesn't know what 'unilingual' means, or doesn't know anything about Perischilli besides what the Quebec media has told him.

Well he has a point - in Quebec "unilingual English" coloqually means that the person doesn't speak French. Whether he can talk Swahili as a second language or not is irrelevant.

English and French is what counts.

[Barrister]

Italian is not an official language in Canada. What counts is, does he speak French or not?

No - what counts is that viper either doesn't know what 'unilingual' means, or doesn't know anything about Perischilli besides what the Quebec media has told him.

Well he has a point - in Quebec "unilingual English" means that the person doesn't speak French, whether he can talk Swahili as a second language or not.

English and French is what counts.

So are you saying Quebecers don't know what the word "unilingual" means?

That seems... unlikely, since the french translation "unilingue" is virtually identical.

[Drakken]

And for the record, I don't give a hoot if a DoC speaks French or not. It's a position totally within the perview of the Prime Minister.

What worries me, though, is that this journalist is a known Quebec-basher.

[Drakken]

Italian is not an official language in Canada. What counts is, does he speak French or not?

No - what counts is that viper either doesn't know what 'unilingual' means, or doesn't know anything about Perischilli besides what the Quebec media has told him.

Well he has a point - in Quebec "unilingual English" means that the person doesn't speak French, whether he can talk Swahili as a second language or not.

English and French is what counts.

So are you saying Quebecers don't know what the word "unilingual" means?

That seems... unlikely, since the french translation "unilingue" is virtually identical.

Like I said, coloqually. If you say "this person is unilingual English" in Quebec, it means that he doesn't speak French, irrelevant of any other language.

We don't give a shit about other languages, plenty of people here speak Creole or Spanish or Italian or Portuguese. What counts here is "do you speak French or not". You don't, you're not bilingual. You're unilingual and you widely seen as not mixing in if you're living here for more than a few years.

[Barrister]

Italian is not an official language in Canada. What counts is, does he speak French or not?

No - what counts is that viper either doesn't know what 'unilingual' means, or doesn't know anything about Perischilli besides what the Quebec media has told him.

Well he has a point - in Quebec "unilingual English" means that the person doesn't speak French, whether he can talk Swahili as a second language or not.

English and French is what counts.

So are you saying Quebecers don't know what the word "unilingual" means?

That seems... unlikely, since the french translation "unilingue" is virtually identical.

Like I said, coloqually. If you say "this person is unilingual English" in Quebec, it means that he doesn't speak French, irrelevant of any other language.

We don't give a shit about other languages, plenty of people here speak Creole or Spanish or Italian or Portuguese. What counts here is "do you speak French or not". You don't, you're unilingual and you widely seen as not mixing in if you live here.

But that's not what the word means.

Let me try again:

UNILINGUAL MEANS YOU ONLY KNOW ONE LANGUAGE

It's not as if Perischilli's knowing Italian is some little known fact.  The guy was hired because of his extensive history in Italian (and other languages) broadcasting.

[Malthus]

I dunno what the Director of Communications for the PMO does. One would assume that ultimately the communications are still in content those of the PM, so the Director's own personal views about Quebec aren't all that big a deal.

[Drakken]

But that's not what the word means.

Let me try again:

UNILINGUAL MEANS YOU ONLY KNOW ONE LANGUAGE

It's not as if Perischilli's knowing Italian is some little known fact.  The guy was hired because of his extensive history in Italian (and other languages) broadcasting.

Well if you want to keep it at semantics, you are right.

But in Quebec, unilingual and bilingual are loaded terms, like mischling in German, and it is used with that meaning even in official government papers, the former meaning that you aren't the latter. Your other languages don't count, you do not become magically a "bilingual Anglophone" if you speak English and Italian. The core of the matter is, in Quebec you do not speak French, one of the two official languages in Canada, and the sole official language in Quebec, you are unilingual. You mumble a few words of French and attempt to mix in, you are seen as bilingual because the reverse is true (bilingual Francophone means that the person at the least can mumble a few English words with a heavy accent, but at least he or she tries).

Xenophobic, yes. But it's the way it is here, especially with the perpetual victim syndrome a lot of nationalistic Quebecers have.

[viper37]

New director or communications in Ottawa, for Harper's cabinet.  A unilingual anglophone who dislikes the French.  Oh yeah, I feel the love

Believe it or not Viper, but those words are not synonyms.

Perischilli is perfectly bilingual - English and Italian.

http://www.angelopersichilli.com/
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1047357--star-columnist-angelo-persichilli-to-join-pmo

ah sorry.  He speaks one of the 2 official languages in Canada.
Whatever he speaks besides english is of no importance for the PM's Director of Communications.
But that could be excused if he wasn't anti-French and anti-Quebec.

Sun Media and other Canadian medias went batshit insane just because Gilles Duceppe was getting 15 minutes or air times per week on CBC radio.

But that was ok, then.

I think I see the logic.

Maybe not.

Besides - why is is important for every single person in the PMO to be bilingual?  Harper's press secretary knows French, as does the PM himself.

Every person?  No.  but some key jobs must be.  The PM, among others (credits to harper), the Ministers themselves (credit to Harper for forcing them to learn French), and the staff who is having regular contacts with the journalistes or the general population.

Altough it is impossible, I wonder how Canada would react with a non english speaker as Prime Minister's director of comms,  or part of his staff dealing with the press.

[viper37]

No - what counts is that viper either doesn't know what 'unilingual' means, or doesn't know anything about Perischilli besides what the Quebec media has told him.

they did say he spoke Italian.  It was badly phrased of my part.  I tend to assume bilingual, in Canadian context, to be French & English.  The rest is irrelevant, really.

[HVC]

Altough it is impossible, I wonder how Canada would react with a non english speaker as Prime Minister's director of comms,  or part of his staff dealing with the press.

Confused becasue they wouldn't know what he's saying lol

[Barrister]

Altough it is impossible, I wonder how Canada would react with a non english speaker as Prime Minister's director of comms,  or part of his staff dealing with the press.

You seem to be confusing the Director of Communications (who comes up with strategy) with the Press Secretary (who deals first hand with the press).

The Press Secretary (whose name escapes me) is bilingual.

Besides, if GF is correct, we've had numerous english-only-speaking Directors of Communication in the past.



As for "unilingual", you didn't apologize (nor was it necessary), but you did say it was "badly phrased", so that's the end of that for me.

[crazy canuck]

Well if you want to keep it at semantics, you are right.

You may not have noticed in the past but BB is very literal in his views.

[viper37]

You seem to be confusing the Director of Communications (who comes up with strategy) with the Press Secretary (who deals first hand with the press).

The Press Secretary (whose name escapes me) is bilingual.

Besides, if GF is correct, we've had numerous english-only-speaking Directors of Communication in the past.

Dimitri Soudas was DoC, and he was the ones journalists talked to when they needed a meeting with the PM.
GF is correct, but that's not the whole issue.  The most important issue is that he is a known Quebec basher.

As I said, just imagine a seperatist in the PMO office, some guy like Gérald Larose, if you've heard of him.  If you haven't, one his most famous recent declaration was that federalists are all double-crossers (the exact french word used was "crosseur", wich means badly dishonest, I guess; you'd use that word for a used car salesmand selling you a piece of junk).

As for "unilingual", you didn't apologize (nor was it necessary), but you did say it was "badly phrased", so that's the end of that for me.

Ok, I apoligize for using the word unilingual, as Drakken explained, and as I said, in the context of Quebec-Canada politics, I tend to refer to "bilingual" as people who speak French & English, discarding any other languages.  Someone who speaks French & German is not usually considered bilingual.  Yes, it is not the literal view, and I am sorry for the confusion.