Canada to firmly re-assess its status as a British colony

[viper37]

So? I think it could be decently argued that as I work at a company with offices in Montreal, NYC, London, Shanghai, Johannesburg and Kuala Lumpur that employees shouldn't be forced to listen to a language other than English when they want to call their colleagues - given that is the one language that all of us have in common.

Do you think a Quebec based company like Bombardier or Couche-Tard could succesfully impose french as a working language in their canadian and american offices?

Note I also think that would be a ridiculous position to take.

You expect someone to speak to you in english, though.  And I have no problem with that.  I'm not a zealot, I don't care if the english message is first or second.  However, calling in Montreal, I expect to have a french message or french speaking receptionist.
If I sit in a restaurant in Montreal downtown, I expect to have a french or bilingual menu, not argue with the waitress to get one.  And I would expect the basic courtesy of the hostess speaking french to me first, unless I'm with a bunch of anglos.

[viper37]

So your take is that one should get offended over small things because we have bigots in this country that get offended over small things?

<sigh>. No.

[quote author]
But why would they? What's the utility value of speaking French, in Canada, outside of Quebec* if you aren't dealing regularly with French speakers?[/quote]
Is Canada a bilingual country or not?  The answer is yes.  From there, it should only be logical that we learn both official languages everywhere, and that also means much better english education in Quebec.
We know that learning more than one language makes you smarter[/ul].
So why not learn the other official language of the country you're supposedly so attached to?  Especially if you live in Quebec?

Sidebar but what do you think about the idea that we should make people learn Spanish around the US? I took a quick look at wiki and if I take the proportion of people who speak Spanish in the US (including those who learned it as a foreign language or it is their 2nd language) out of total pop - roughly 16% of people speak Spanish (looks like ~12% as primary language). In Canada, roughly 23% of people report French as their main language.  Now US % is clearly smaller but is it an affront if people don't learn English who live in Southwestern states? How about the US as a whole?

I think the States should teach spanish and french, and so should we.  Of course, for States like Texas, Spanish is way, way more useful than French.  But it could be up to the States themselves, so long as they teach at least 2 languages.  Besides, it's not like the spanyards were your former colonial masters and regard you as inferior. 

*added in caveat of outside of Quebec as apparently there is utility value in not having predominantly French speakers pissed at you if you don't learn French and you live in Quebec.

Well, somedays, I feel it's easier to find French speakers in Vermont&Maine than in downtown Montreal 

[Neil]

You think that the United States should teach French to everybody?  Why?  I mean, I can understand why you might think that'd be a good idea in Canada, but the US?

[Grey Fox]

So? I think it could be decently argued that as I work at a company with offices in Montreal, NYC, London, Shanghai, Johannesburg and Kuala Lumpur that employees shouldn't be forced to listen to a language other than English when they want to call their colleagues - given that is the one language that all of us have in common.

Do you think a Quebec based company like Bombardier or Couche-Tard could succesfully impose french as a working language in their canadian and american offices?

Note I also think that would be a ridiculous position to take.

You expect someone to speak to you in english, though.  And I have no problem with that.  I'm not a zealot, I don't care if the english message is first or second.  However, calling in Montreal, I expect to have a french message or french speaking receptionist.
If I sit in a restaurant in Montreal downtown, I expect to have a french or bilingual menu, not argue with the waitress to get one.  And I would expect the basic courtesy of the hostess speaking french to me first, unless I'm with a bunch of anglos.

I don't understand why the first words are such a problem. How outrage will you be in the 20 years when it's going to be a word neither in french or english that greet you?

[Maximus]

Being upset over the language someone else speaks is ridiculous period.

[viper37]

Why?

Because they need civilization too.  Just because they are filthy good to nothing barbarians, doesn't mean they can't bask in the benevolent light of evolved bilingual civilizations.

No, seriously, learning other languages is good for the mind, so either French or Spanish.  Spanish isn't much use in norther states, French isn't much use in southern states, so, the states should simply decide what feels good to them.  I think America would benefit a lot from having a multilingual atheist population of they replace church school with language school

[viper37]

Being upset over the language someone else speaks is ridiculous period.

tell that to your fellow canadians    They are upset when the Prime minister speaks french and they are apparently upset when a business card has french writings on it.

[Maximus]

tell that to your fellow canadians    They are upset when the Prime minister speaks french and they are apparently upset when a business card has french writings on it.

I doubt it. I haven't seen any evidence of Canadians outside of Quebec caring about the language issue in large numbers.

[crazy canuck]

Being upset over the language someone else speaks is ridiculous period.

tell that to your fellow canadians    They are upset when the Prime minister speaks french and they are apparently upset when a business card has french writings on it.

You have been drinking deeply of the separatist cool aid I see.

You are the one that is upset about what is or not on a card.  Your province is the one that regulates what people can and cannot say even in the private sphere of business.

[Neil]

Why?

Because they need civilization too.  Just because they are filthy good to nothing barbarians, doesn't mean they can't bask in the benevolent light of evolved bilingual civilizations.

No, seriously, learning other languages is good for the mind, so either French or Spanish.  Spanish isn't much use in norther states, French isn't much use in southern states, so, the states should simply decide what feels good to them.  I think America would benefit a lot from having a multilingual atheist population of they replace church school with language school

Lots of things are good for the mind, but I don't think the government should mandate the use of Sudoku.  The purpose of language is to communicate, and having more than one language is terrible.  That's been the whole point of the pressure to wipe out all the other languages over the last few generations.  And why do you think that French would be of any use in any state?  I would think that Spanish would have more utility anywhere in the US.  The teaching of French in American schools is the product of the remains of the 1800s, when people were still alive who remember the days when French was the common tongue of diplomacy and literature.

[garbon]

So? I think it could be decently argued that as I work at a company with offices in Montreal, NYC, London, Shanghai, Johannesburg and Kuala Lumpur that employees shouldn't be forced to listen to a language other than English when they want to call their colleagues - given that is the one language that all of us have in common.

Do you think a Quebec based company like Bombardier or Couche-Tard could succesfully impose french as a working language in their canadian and american offices?

They could probably try but they'd run into hiring issues as most of the applicant pool won't be fluent in French.

[Jacob]

Viper, your perception of what upsets anglophone Canadians, what they care about, and how they feel about Quebec is significantly different from mine.

Yes, there are anti-Quebec trolls, but you seem to pay them way more attention and ascribe way more significance to them than most anglophones do.

[Malthus]

Viper, your perception of what upsets anglophone Canadians, what they care about, and how they feel about Quebec is significantly different from mine.

Yes, there are anti-Quebec trolls, but you seem to pay them way more attention and ascribe way more significance to them than most anglophones do.

Personally, I base my opinions on what everyone outside Ontario thinks on any subject based on what the assholes in Youtube comments have to say.   

It's a scary world out there ... 

[Valmy]

Personally, I base my opinions on what everyone outside Ontario thinks on any subject based on what the assholes in Youtube comments have to say.   

It's a scary world out there ... 

Shuddup Jew I m goin to r4pe you

[viper37]

Yes, there are anti-Quebec trolls, but you seem to pay them way more attention and ascribe way more significance to them than most anglophones do.

I don't pay much attention to anti-english trolls either, they seem to be a minority in Quebec.  Yet, they do get significant attention in Canada's medias.