A total eclipse? Here in Quebec? That’s not what science tells us.
We are not talking about the solar eclipse, this exceptional event that we had the chance to admire on Monday and which will remain engraved in our minds for a long time.
No, we are rather talking about the French language which is not being eclipsed in the public space of Quebec, as evidenced by a study published last week by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF)1.
For 15 years, the use of French has remained stable in businesses, restaurants and even government services. In fact, 79% of Quebecers used French most often in 2022, the date the survey was conducted, the same proportion as in 2016 and 2007.
Curiously, the dissemination of this study did not cause much noise, as if we did not want to rejoice at the reassuring news.
As if we couldn’t believe it, the observation contrasts so much with the current political discourse which establishes the decline of French as an incontestable truth.
However, this is not the opinion of around thirty key researchers who published at the end of 2023 a very detailed work entitled French in decline? (Del Busso Editor). This group of experts from varied backgrounds agree on the importance of establishing a nuanced debate that moves away from the “dark, monolithic and reductive vision of the current dominant discourse”.
This pessimistic vision is based on bad indicators, such as mother tongue or the language most often spoken at home, which necessarily show a decline in French, due to the low birth rate of French speakers and the arrival of immigrants.
But we should not cry about the Louisianaization of Quebec, because these indicators do not take into account the fact that immigrants speak more and more French: 81% can carry on a conversation in French, compared to 53% in the early 1970s. .
The proportion of allophones using French in public spaces increased by three percentage points between 2016 and 2022, according to the recent OQLF study. Among English speakers, the increase was five points. It’s significant.
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INFOGRAPHICS THE PRESS
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INFOGRAPHICS THE PRESS
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INFOGRAPHICS THE PRESS
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These figures may surprise those who feel like they hear all kinds of other languages on the street. But you should know that the OQLF survey only targeted conversations with people other than parents or friends.
Because no law can ever prevent Quebecers from speaking the language of their choice with their loved ones, when they walk downtown or when they go grocery shopping. What is important is that everyone can be served in French when they arrive at the checkout.
By denying the efforts made by Anglophones and allophones in Quebec, we are causing a rise in anger that is counterproductive. Everyone retreats into their own corners instead of engaging in constructive dialogue.
By focusing on indicators of the private sphere to darken the portrait of French, we end up with harmful solutions that do not promote its development, such as increasing tuition fees for university students from other provinces.
This does not mean that there are no issues. The recent OQLF study raises yellow flags.
Young people, for example, seem much less concerned about French. Fewer of them use it in public spaces, combining the two languages more than their elders. It is not with guilt-inducing advertising like that of the peregrine falcon, a “really sick” bird, that we will make them aware of the importance of strengthening French, which is the pillar of our culture and our identity.
If we are not careful, French risks becoming weakened, thanks to globalization and digitalization which have made English the “lingua franca” of the planet, both on the job market and in social networks or listening platforms.
French is our common language, the language that unites us. Its development is the responsibility of all Quebecers, including English speakers.
But it is distressing to note that 40% of the population of the Montreal region who have English as their first language are not able to carry on a conversation in French. That’s 350,000 people. And this number has increased in recent years, thanks to immigration. This is particularly noticeable in the suburbs of Montreal, which attracts many Asians arriving with English in their suitcases.
This is a real issue.
Anglo-Montrealers who have the privilege of speaking an all-purpose language can play a crucial role for French in Quebec, as professor at the National Institute of Scientific Research Mario Polèse explained to the English-speaking audience during a an event organized last week by the Quebec Community Groups Network2.
Arriving from New York a long time ago, the professor himself adopted the reflex of speaking French when he approaches a foreigner in a business.
This is proof that we can speak to each other… in French.
Let’s talk about methodology
The OQLF study was the subject of strong criticism which called into question the methodology of the survey on which it is based.
Some pointed out that the sample of 7,171 Quebecers was smaller than that of a Statistics Canada survey. Nevertheless, this is an appreciable sample (surveys on voting intentions have samples of around 2,000 people) which is more than sufficient to obtain reliable results, including for the subcategories (French-speaking, English-speaking, etc.) and for the different regions of Quebec.
Others have cast doubt on the survey results because its response rate was only 46% in 2016 (the rate is not available for 2022). But this is not surprising. Across the industry, response rates to telephone surveys, which were around 50% in the 1980s, are now below 10%, most of the time. The reason is simple: people are abandoning the telephone as their preferred means of communication.
This does not mean that the results are biased. Instead of focusing on the response rate, pollsters make sure to reach all strata of the population to obtain credible results.
1. Consult the OQLF study on the use of French in public spaces
2. Read the opinion piece “A Call to My English-Speaking Fellow Citizens”
Also read the opinion text “The political fabrication of the consensus on the “decline of French””