“OK Boomer! She was scathing, the reaction of many young people to the Quebec government’s advertising aimed at convincing them to stop using anglicisms. This is proof that it misses its target, even if it must be recognized that the pub is talking.
How on earth do you want to persuade them to change their ways by treating them with condescension and a hint of contempt? Those who design advertisements that seek to convince young people of the harmful effects of cigarettes, for example, would never have used such a strategy.
The topic of this ad is also dubious. The proliferation of Anglicisms (of which young people, it should be noted, do not have a monopoly) is the tree that hides the forest. Let’s face it, it’s a minor phenomenon. It’s annoying, that’s for sure. But that is not what threatens the vitality of French in Quebec. The quality of the French used here has nothing to do with its decline.
“It doesn’t hold together logically. That would mean that if English takes up so much space, it’s because no one makes a mistake speaking it,” points out Marty Laforest, author of a brilliant little essay in which she takes up the defense of spoken French in Quebec, states of mind, states of language.
No, really, there are much better ways to make our young people aware of the importance of French. It is not by making them feel guilty that we will develop their sense of belonging to the language of Réjean Ducharme and Gilles Vigneault.