Frenglish in Montréal, bien sûr! (Specific Languages) Language Learning Forum

Frenglish in Montréal, bien sûr!
Tags: Canada \| Confusion/mixing up languages \| Press Article
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Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages

9 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

lecavaleur
Diglot
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4779 days ago
146 posts - 295 votes

Speaks: English*, French
Studies: German, Spanish

Message 9 of 9

09 December 2012 at 2:27pm | IP Logged

Tsopivo wrote:

"[what passses for] 'bilingual' around here sometimes is highly questionable."

I don't know if it is the same in English but in Quebec, the meaning of the word
"bilingue" or "bilinguisme" is certainly different from it's common use in France which
can create some confusion. Basically, it is understood as simply meaning the capacity
to use two languages or commonly using two languages or using two languages fluently
whereas in France, most people consider you can't claim to be a "bilingue" if both
language are not your native languages or if you have not at the very least achieve
native-like fluency. The Quebec acception of the word is actually the "proper" one
though.

What I mean to say in that quote is that, with the idea that being bilingual means
speaking two languages fluently (though not necessarily natively so) many Anglos I know
who claim to be bilingual are fibbing. They can't actually speak French fluently; they
do speak it to a certain extent (if they must), they have poor accents, make TONS of
errors and do not seem natural in their speech. Now, of course there are a certain
number of bilingual Anglos. That's unquestionable, but just how many is a question I do
not consider answered. The statistics saying that 80% of Montréal Anglos are bilingual
are almost certainly exaggerated.

When Statscan performs the census every 5 years, they send a form to every household,
and if you have ever filled out the form you know that it's basically the honor system.
There's no way of knowing if the respondent is telling the truth or if he is
embellishing. Also, the questions are purposefully open and vague. They don't ask you
if you are bilingual. They ask you if you can "hold a conversation" in the official
language that is not your mother tongue. Well, it is certainly possible to "hold a
conversation", even if that conversation is of the most basic form, in a foreign
language without being fluent and spontaneous enough to be considered "bilingual". Yet
those who respond "yes" are thrown into the bilingual pile by those called to interpret
the statistics (ex. in the media) and this fudges the numbers.

Edited by lecavaleur on 09 December 2012 at 2:30pm

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