Since the unveiling of the Quebec government’s announcement of the decline of French, many people have responded by saying that the way they speak is being attacked. It is said that the government would target “the young people” who would teach them.
Several representatives of French Canadians outside of Quebec have seen an offensive against their language. Once again, these communities revealed to us their propensity for division among the French-speaking peoples of America and their inability to target the real culprit of the decline, namely the Canadian regime. It’s always easier to make Quebec the scapegoat for all your troubles than face the truth.
If French-Canadians outside of Quebec truly believe that Quebecers pride themselves on their accent and vocabulary, they should learn that the harsher reality is that Quebecers are barely aware of their existence. This ignorance is the result of a definitive marginalization of French Canadians outside of Quebec caused by Ottawa’s insane immigration policies. Outside of Quebec, the Francophones no longer have a political future worthy of the name, that’s the sad truth.
acculturation
The use of Anglicisms does not indicate a unique and rich style of speech. On the contrary, it reveals an acculturation that alienates a people and alienates them from the fertile sources at the origin of their birth. This acculturation sooner or later leads a people to their final assimilation, like the French Canadians in New England or the Cajuns in Louisiana, of which few admirable traces remain.
It must be said that those who insist on repeating their Anglicisms demonstrate a laziness that condemns American French to a mediocre Creole. Defending French necessarily means learning to speak it well and correcting mistakes. There’s nothing beautiful about saying “crazy,” “flavor,” “chill,” let alone uplifting. Would we have seen Baudelaire or Nelligan use such words? The French language implies a culture, a history and a harmony that must be respected if we really appreciate its heritage and beauty. Learning Anglicisms to better neutralize them should be done in high school, something the Quebec government should have thought about long before their ads.
Verbal nationalism of the CAQ
There’s one more thing to note about this grotesque comedy. While lecturing ordinary mortals, the Quebec government is unable to take minimal measures to ensure the survival of the French. The strictly verbal nationalism of this government seems more and more like a covert collective resignation.
Therefore, the Quebec government refuses to extend Bill 101 to CEGEPs, even though it is a minimal measure going forward. The government is also unable to confront Ottawa over its demographic drowning migration policy. He also preferred to fund the McGill empire colossally and leave the UQÀM in a sorry state. It will also never do anything against the very clear dominance of English in high-profile research and work areas such as artificial intelligence or computer science.
Every time we touch real business, this government bends over and cooperates with the Canadian regime’s assimilationist goals. Small comic advertising does not change anything and initially only serves as shop window decoration.
Photo provided by Philippe Lorange
Philippe Lorange, Master student in Sociology – UQÀM