In the locker room by the swimming pool, the clerk of a large local pharmacy shouts at me. “I have to tell you. At work, everyone speaks English to each other. And as I refuse, I get looked askance. » Do you work in the West Island? “No, here, in Ahuntsic! » Are there many English-speaking employees? “No, almost not. They are francophones who speak English among themselves. »
A reader confirms: “I have lived in Ahuntsic for fifteen years. There are still five of them, you never heard English there. It is therefore an essentially French-speaking area and not touristy at all. For two or three years, I have been hearing more and more English spoken in the street and especially in shops. The surprising thing is that we have a clientele convinced that everyone can answer them in English, an exercise that I do with much less success when I ask questions in French in Westmount. »
A reader from Montreal: “What to do when you live in Quebec and you can’t get services in French in a store? We leave the place and go buy elsewhere. This is what I did recently at Tim Hortons, Pizza Pizza and at Metro, all located in downtown Montreal. Faced with staff unable to answer me in our official language, I turned on my heels without opening my wallet. »
A Montreal cinephile: “Last year, before entering the Parc cinema, having a few minutes, I wanted to buy a coffee at the Subway across the street. Unable to get served in French by the young woman, I turned back. About two months ago I did the same thing again. New employee unable to speak French, even a few words. I couldn’t believe it. I turned back again. »
A reader back to school: “I’m in my sixties. 15 years ago, I did a certificate at the University of Montreal. Everything was normal. I have just returned to this same university. English is now heard everywhere in the hallways of social science departments. Students speak a pronounced Franglais and practice code switching. In the seminars, they look for their French words which they replace with an English vocabulary. You must already know English yourself to be able to understand their syntax. »
A reader from Laval: “Statistics are not enough to describe the situation. When I go to Winners, the employees chat and work in English, Spanish and Arabic. The employees who come to my home speak neither French nor English among themselves. Require French as the language of service? “Madam, what do you want? A guy who understands your heat pump or a guy who speaks French?”, or “you want service in French, go to France”. Asking for services in French means exposing yourself to contempt and insults. »
A reader from the South Shore: “I observed that young allophones working at the Presse Café restaurant in Quartier Dix30 prefer to use English behind the counter even if they speak French perfectly. »
A reader from Longueuil adds: “In Longueuil, every day, there are places where no one can (or wants to) speak French. It’s up to me to adapt. »
De l’Estrie: “I teach at the Cégep de Sherbrooke and at the Faculty of Law of the Université de Sherbrooke. I can tell you that every week I see a worsening of the situation. More and more of my students, who are perfectly native French-speakers, choose to speak English to each other during class breaks. English is gradually becoming the language of use, even for French speakers. »
Another teacher: “For more than 20 years I have been teaching French to children, adults, immigrants, Anglos, in primary, secondary and everything else. I can not stand it anymore. The more I fight, the fiercer and more armed the adversary. For the youngest, French is out and outdated, whereas English is so much more cool ! »
A reader returning from Quebec: “What a disappointment to see that everyone working in restaurants and businesses spoke to us first in English. We visit our nation’s capital and are treated like strangers. I tried to talk to a waiter about it, and he told me that at least 97% of his customers spoke English. I replied that non-francophones who visited Quebec City would surely expect us to speak to them first in French. There is work to be done so that workers in Quebec understand that French is also a force of attraction for tourists and an insult to Francophones when it is not used first. There is always time, after the first contact, to switch to English. »
Of course, these are just anecdotes.
Finally, there is this reader: “Jean-François, I think your comments on language are well documented. I admire your tenacity. But, is it useful to whip a dead horse? »
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