Postby Speakeasy » Sun Dec 10, 2017 1:38 am
I do not wish to make a political statement. However, I have often read comments in this forum concerning the situation of the French language in Quebec and in the ROC (Rest of Canada) by people who take obvious pleasure in their private efforts at learning the language. Some of the comments are made by members who may have visited Montreal for a brief period, but very few are born of a personal experience of having lived for a number of years either in Quebec or in the ROC. Please forgive me but, too often, the comments come across as uniformed statements reflecting no more than wishful thinking of an imaginary Canadian utopia for their chosen language ... the situation is vastly more complex than an outsider could ever imagine. As for so many other multifaceted matters in life, if you haven’t lived through it yourself, then you should be wary of the limited (and very heavily biased) information that you may have been receiving.
First, I would say that the situation of French in the ROC continues to be a matter of legitimate concern. Yes, the Federal Government has, for the past 60 years, invested massively in French-language instruction for the nation’s non-Francophone civil servants. And, yes, the Federal Government continues to offer a Bilingualism Bonus to employees who occupy a position requiring such a skill. Nevertheless, despite the fact that French is introduced in Elementary School and that it remains a required subject in Secondary School, and despite the existence of, and increasing demands for, French immersion schools across the country, the actual production of non-Francophone English-French bilingual speakers in the ROC is not as encouraging as it is often portrayed.
The underlying problem for non-Francophone Canadians wishing to become truly bilingual is the same one faced by many members of this forum. That is, coming into contact with, and maintaining sufficient contact with, a population of French-speaking people with whom they can practice their rudimentary language skills, so as to become truly bilingual, has always represented an almost insurmountable problem. Insufficient contact means insufficient practice, which translates into the lack of a of bilingualism. This problem does not exist in Quebec for the simple reason that the population of French speakers has, since the inception of La Nouvelle France, always represented a “critical mass” capable of supporting the language, despite the outside pressures of English in the greater North American context.
What does this mean for the non-Francophone Federal Civil Servant? Well, as there are insufficient opportunities for practicing French outside of Quebec, the probability that a non-Francophone will obtain a designated bilingual position in the Federal government is significantly reduced. Accordingly, the Bilingualism Bonus is apportioned in a demographically-skewed manner. No one wanted this situation, no one likes this situation, the enormous efforts deployed by the Federal government have had little-to-no effect at redressing the situation and, despite the goodwill of everyone concerned, anyone with a modicum of life experience can readily imagine the kind of tensions that such an imbalance can generate.
Again, this is not meant as a political statement. I moved to Quebec some thirty years ago and adopted French as my primary means of communication. I have absolutely nothing against the concept of a truly bilingual country. However, having lived through situation myself, I felt that a little “redressement” was in order.
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Typos, of course!
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