Hello world, what's up? As you probably know (from looking at my profile) I live in Ottawa for the moment. If you look up Ottawa on Google Maps you will find that it is right on the Ontario/Quebec border. So what, you might ask yourself, however, there is one big difference between these two provinces. In Quebec the official language is…FRENCH!!! If you have ever been to France before you know hard it is to get around only knowing English. Well, it is almost the same way in Quebec. The Québécois are so proud of their language and heritage that they often refuse to speak English (although 40% of them are fluent in both French and English). When I have to get groceries I usually head over to Quebec since the nearest Wal-Mart from my house is located there. Normally I don't need any help finding stuff, but those times I have needed to ask for help the employees just look strange at me before they say something in French and leave. What's up with that? It is either because: 1. They don't speak English. 2. They speak English, but don't like to use it. 3. They hate me. I hope its 1 or 2, but for all I know it could be number 3.
That was a warning to all of you who plan to visit Quebec without having any knowledge of French at all (like me). Be aware that it is not enough only knowing English, although you are in a country where English is the dominant language.
Kjo1v
That was a warning to all of you who plan to visit Quebec without having any knowledge of French at all (like me). Be aware that it is not enough only knowing English, although you are in a country where English is the dominant language.
Kjo1v
4 kommentarer:
Cool post!
I'm guessing that they don't speak English, as they work at Wal-Mart, which is about as low as it gets. Possibly even worse than Meny ;) How are the wages in Canadian fail-jobs?
However, that NONE of them speak English would be quite a coincidence. So, I'm guessing that the few who do speak English hate you. And you could actually try learning French, you know... It's not as bad as it sounds.
I'm currently sharing kitchen with some Frenchies, and I used to know the tiniest little bit of their language. However, they speak so terrifyingly quick that grasping a single word is impossible.
The different provinces and territories have their own rates Like in British Columbia it's 8.00 CAD per hour, while in Nuvanut it's 10.00 CAD. And yes, working at Wal-Mart is definitely worse than working at Meny (although Meny sucks too) ;).
When it comes to learning French...Not gonna happen.
Btw those Frenchies that you share kitchen with, they speak English right?
Yeah, they speak English (or try anyway). It's kind hard to grasp and they have insanely funny accents.
Canada has a federal system, right? Sounds like there could be something wrong in the education system, as there is in France, Germany, Italy and Spain etc. over here. Italians and Spanish people are the worst in English, according to the foreign exchange students...
And speaking a different language than the rest of the country is interesting. A nation is defined by common language, history, values and traditions - with language probably being the most important one.
Have the Québécois ever tried gaining independence? I'm also guessing that they don't see themselves as much Canadian as Québécois.
They've tried to get independence several times (and still are). There have over the years been several groups that have tried both with violent & non-violent methods tried to achieve independence, but so far with no luck. Both in 1980 and 1995 they had referendums, but both times the people of Quebec voted no. However, in the 1995 referendum 50,58 % voted "no" to secede from Canada, while 49,42 % voted "yes". So it's still a inflamed topic here in Canada, whether Quebec should become independent or not.
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