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Bilinguism, Montreal
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Bilinguism: “French Only” signage
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  • We knew of Canada’s official policy that all official signage must be in two languages, English and French, so we were quite surprised to find that much of the official signage in Montréal is only in French. We have since learned that this apparently results from a decision taken by the Province of Québec, intended to help preserve French culture and language. OK, I can understand the concern to limit ‘cultural imperialism’ but this appears to be a question of whether Canadian laws apply nationally: that seems a Constitutional matter and somewhat beyond a VT page! What is blindingly obvious though, is that most of the tourists visiting Montréal will be English speakers, many of whom can be expected to not understand these signs. At the least, the appeal of the tourist experience will be lessened for those people (when tourist information signs are involved) and they’re hardly likely to comply with signs carrying requests they don’t understand. Overall, I’d have thought this approach likely to be counterproductive (or even dangerous when applied to the internationally accepted “STOP” signs). Main photo:Sign in bus Second photo:Sign in railway station Third photo:Sign in park Fourth photo:”ARRÊT” for “STOP”!


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    Bilinguism: Anglophone & Francophone neighbourhoods
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  • Montreal, originally an Iroquois settlement called Hochelaga, was first visited by the French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1535. It wasn't until 1642 that the French began to settle the area. Montreal therefore developed naturally as a completely French-speaking city. Yet, over a 100 years later, in 1760, the English would acquire possession of the land and Montreal started to change. The biggest change was that English-speakers started to settle and change the fabric of the city. The once-French city was shifting into a bilingual city. Through the following decades many English speakers moved to Montreal and this influenced the neighbourhoods. Some neighbourhoods became predominantly English-speaking while others became predominantly French-speaking. Nowadays, Montreal is working hard to become a predominately French-speaking city again, but there are still neighbourhoods where native English-speakers (called Anglophones) are the majority. The general rule of thumb is that rue St-Laurent, the road which divides Montreal into east and west, is the general division of Montreal's French and English speaking communities. Neighbourhoods which exist on the east side of St-Laurent, such as Outremont and the Plateau, are French-speaking. West of St-Laurent, neighbourhoods such as Westmount and NDG (Notre-Dame de Grace) is where you'll find more English speakers. Of course, this is all general. There are indeed many francophones that live in the neighbourhoods west of St-Laurent, just as there are anglophones who live east of St-Laurent, however, anglophones that live east of St-Laurent are definitely becoming a shrinking minority. Random side note: Montreal is pronounced "MUN-tree-all" by Anglophones, but the Francophone pronounciation is "Moe-ray-AL" (AL as in Albert).

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    Bilinguism: Ask if the person speaks English
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  • Hortense taking a little respite from translating - Montreal
    Hortense taking a little
    respite from translating
    by Gwenvar
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    Ok! The big question...Do people in Montréal speak English? The answer is, No, a beluga whale is translating all of this for me. Since she travels more often then I do, I thought she might pitch in a bit of her knowledge. Just kidding! Don't mind my strange sense of humor, it highjacks my brain once in a while. So I'll leave Hortense the whale go back to her plankton and finish this tip myself... Kidding aside, of course we speak English! Not all of us. But a good part. And just as politeness goes, ask the person in front of you if she or he speaks English, first. If not, they'll let you know. And you can move on to the next person, which probably will be able to speak to you. You can tell them Merci! and they will be happy to have helped. Montrealers and Quebecers in general are not shy to speak to strangers, in fact we love to do so. Montréal is a dynamic North American city. And If we didn't speak the Shakespearean language, we would be in deep trouble. And surprise of all surprises, you will even hear some Montrealers speak English between themselves. And Cantonese, Vietnamese, Portugese, Italian, Lebanese, French, strange French, funny French, elegant French, etc,etc. Just below, you will find a French/English - English/French internet dictionnary.

  • Website: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL/forms_unrest/FR-ENG.html

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    Bilinguism: Yes..we speak english as well..
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  • Even thought the majority of people here are francophones, most people here are bilingual. But saying 'Bonjour' goes a long way. People really apreaciate the effort and will often switch to english much faster. The flag to the left is Québec's national flag (and my personal favorite!) ;) You'll see a lot of them on the 24th of june which is our national holiday! It's a 3 day party with flags, people with painted faces, bonfires,fireworks, free concerts and well..alcohol! :) Feel free to participate in the festivities as people like other ethnic groups to join! Even if there is a LOT of people, kids should be ok..exept for the Maisonneuve concert wich usually attracts between 2 and 500 000 people..i'd keep them away from there.. :(

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    Bilinguism: Montreal is very cosmopolite
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  • Montreal is very cosmopolite. You will be able to get by speaking English just fine. People will appreciate if you try to speak French and might even switch to English if they see you in pain. But do try, the effort is worth while. It's just funny that you may have trouble in some locations to get served in French (not to start a debate, but that what bugs people (and me)... you say 'bonjour' and the answer is 'what'!) Enjoy your stay tremendously!!!!

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    Bilinguism: Parlez-vous francais? If not...
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  • Parlez-vous francais? If not don't worry. Most Montrealers are perfectly bilingual. Signs are mostly in french so having a travel translation guide might come in handy.

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    Bilinguism: Francophones?
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  • Well, yes it's true that Montreal is French speaking, but I found that it's the most bilingual place I've ever seen. Of course, it's polite to attempt to speak a little French, but if you don't know how, you won't experience any rudeness. The people are extremely friendly. The phones are also bilingual. Simply press the button for "English" and you'll be all set. The Canadian country code is 1, so to call the USA, you just dial "1" as if making a long-distance call in the States.

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    Bilinguism: If you are down town or at...
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  • If you are down town or at other tourist locations, you should have a very easy time getting around in English. Signs will most probably be in French though, in most places around the city, and some people may not be that good in English. Generally speaking, if you don't know French you shouldn't have a hard time. Almost all restaurants will have bilingual menus, etc..

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    Bilinguism: It pays to make an effort to...
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  • It pays to make an effort to speak some French in Montreal. When I got there, I was a bit apprehensive that Montrealers might snub me because of my pidgin French. But they were quite understanding and spoke to me in fluent English!

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    Bilinguism: From the moment you arrive at...
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  • From the moment you arrive at Montreal's Dorval airport, or cross over any border into the Canadian province of Quebec, you will step into a multicultural, bilingual environment. You will experience the exciting dynamic of two old cultures, the French and the English, that have mixed and harmonized into an exciting and unique blend that is Montreal. Whether it is the taxi driver, or the Hotel concierge, you will have no problem finding someone to speak to you in English. Most signs as well will be bilingual, French first and then in English.

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