We spend so much time creating laws that vilify English and impose French that we take away the desire of people to learn and speak French. Over the years, we have created a hostile environment for non-French speakers. As an Anglo-Quebecer who studied in French, I suffered several confrontations and mockery, as much from my classmates as from some of my high school teachers, for the simple crime of having spoken a few words in the language of Shakespeare.
Being told “ don’t speak English, kind of relish” or “English stay, go back to Ontario”, that doesn’t really make you want to improve your French, it’s quite the opposite. But I held on, mostly thanks to a group of French-speaking friends who loved me despite my English leanings. However, I have met several anglophones and allophones who have had a journey similar to mine. […] and who, by dint of being ridiculed for their accents, have completely cut ties with French in favor of English. No wonder these people went on to do their higher education in English.
And it does not stop there ; the adult world is no better. My wife, an immigrant who has lived in Quebec for 15 years and is learning French there, regularly experiences episodes of discrimination because of her accent. Even people who come to Quebec voluntarily, and who try to learn French, are intimidated, ridiculed and discriminated against. We want people who decide to live in Quebec to learn French, but we don’t tolerate a language learning period. No wonder so many people are turning to English.
Note that I am only talking about discrimination due to language, but the effect is double for racialized people. We like to give ourselves the image of a tolerant and diverse society, but the reality is that a preference for pure white Quebecers persists.
Moreover, the reason English is so popular is simple: Anglo-Saxon popular culture is just too appealing. If we want to get to the point where people will voluntarily want to learn French here, let’s put more effort into promoting French and Quebec culture. Let’s take the example of South Korea, a country which, since the 1980s, has become a real world cultural center. Whether through its drama series (Squid Game), his cinema (Parasite) or its music (BTS), there is no denying the power of Korean culture on the world stage.
Its cultural exports are so popular that more and more young people want to learn Korean. In 2020, Korean ranked second in the world among the languages with the highest user growth on the Duolingo learning platform. If we focus on francophone culture, people will voluntarily choose to learn French as a second language.
But culture does not create itself, and when it is developed, it must be done with an open outlook on the world. Yes, we have SODEC, but we have to adjust the genres of content and our distribution methods. We need to create original French-language works that are attractive on an international scale and not works that are aimed exclusively at Quebec. We also need to invest more resources in distribution and marketing to reach an audience beyond French-speaking Quebec. A series like District 31 on Tout.tv doesn’t even come with English subtitles. We are thus closing the door to millions of potential English-speaking Canadian listeners who could acquire a taste for the French language and Quebec culture by listening to our series.
In short, let us act in two stages. The first is to stop all discrimination and intimidation against people learning French. When we hear someone speaking in French who makes mistakes, let’s be happy that they make the effort to learn our language and take the time to talk to them with respect. And even if we meet people who cannot express themselves in French, let’s refrain from insulting them to avoid alienating our language from them. Consider a public awareness campaign to get this message across.
The second step boils down to devoting as much effort as possible to the creation of Quebec cultural works that promote French not only at home, but internationally. It is certainly not an easy task, but it is only by positioning ourselves in turn as a world cultural pole that we will really be able to save French in Quebec.