McGill University was slapped on the knuckles by the OQLF for having communicated in English only with its employees.
A Radio-Canada report also told us that on the McGill website, the page on equity, diversity and inclusion is in English only.
But don’t worry, at McGill we love French. Yes sir !
We’ve even devoted a whole page to it entitled, hold on tight, drum roll… “Le French side de McGill”!
We even created an Instagram page “Le French side de McGill”.
After that, we wonder why Francophones complain all the time.
DO YOU HIT YOUR NERVES?
March is the month of the Francophonie. At McGill, we weren’t going to ignore that. The “Le french side de McGill” page offers a calendar of activities.
Thus, on Thursday March 9, we presented “La Trivia Night”. With this warning: “We warn you, it will not be a trivia night like the others”. The entertainment was bilingual, so as not to frighten anyone.
It was also specified that this event was “Open to all McGill students, of all levels (complete beginner to French-speaking)”.
Phew, we are reassured, complete beginners can participate in the trivia night. It’s “completely sick”, as the CAQ ad on Anglicisms says.
To celebrate the Francophonie, we presented on March 10, the conference of Frantz Voltaire A History of Haitian Life in Montreal. And the Faculty of Dentistry presented a bilingual event with a “best told joke contest/ concours de jokes les plus contes”. The poster states, in English only: “Prizes to win! and “Free pizza!” “.
From March 27, all of McGill will be able to participate in the “french@work” event. The concept ? “Bring a French-speaking colleague to class”.
I wonder what it will look like… Are we going to exhibit the French-speaking individual like a circus animal, a learned animal or a rare bird? We will introduce him to the students by saying: “This is Ginette. Ginette speaks French. French is this weird language spoken by the locals around the University. Please do not throw peanuts at Ginette”?
FOLKLORIC FRENCH
But the good-natured and hilarious spirit of the “Le French side de McGill” page does not stop there.
Stopping at nothing to spread good humor and frank camaraderie, “The French side of McGill” offers weekly language capsules to learn Quebec expressions.
This week, see how well we have chosen the folkloric expression that will make people cry out in the living rooms.
“To get on your nerves: This Quebec expression means to lose patience. The verb pogner comes from the meaning of pogner with someone, and the nerves refer to someone who comes to the end of his nerves. Example: My colleague gets on his nerves easily when he is tired! »
Admit that it’s clear to everyone, as an explanation: “The verb to pogne comes from the meaning of to pogne with someone”.
DO YOU GET IT?
In his column on McGill this week, my colleague Antoine Robitaille wrote: “The least we could do would be for the venerable university to respect the Charter of the French language, and give a real place within it to the language of Molière. »
What do you want, “my colleague gets on his nerves easily when he is tired! »