Some mornings I read The Montreal Journal and I’m scared.
Other days, I think back to Quebec’s recent triumph at the Paris Book Festival and I exult.
Here we will discuss the situation of French in Quebec.
The Quebecor newspaper headlines the disaster daily. The most recent report from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) speaks of stability. For some jovialist linguists, everything is so good. And if I read Mathieu Bock-Côté, I will have to speak to my cat in English within three months so that he understands me…
To say that the situation is complex and the debate polarized is an understatement. We all have our noses glued to the problem, and our reading is marked by emotion. Who to believe? Who paints the most accurate picture of the situation? Should I panic?
There are persistent perceptions, like those felt in downtown Montreal, in Laval, where the prominence of English goes beyond the folkloric “Hello-Hi”. But we must be wary of impressions, even if they catch our attention. We have to put them through the test of numbers and data.
This is where the OQLF data on language in businesses comes into play.
If the reception in French has dropped from 84% to 71%, nearly 97% of customers say they were able to be served in French. In addition, in 2022, 79% of Quebecers used French most often in public spaces, a figure that has been stable for around fifteen years.
Well, we can make statistics say everything, but here’s what calms things down (a little).
Yes, but…
There are real, tangible factors that fuel the debate on the resistance of French.
Geography, first. We are in Canada, where the numerical and political importance of French is in decline, thanks to the postnational politics of Justin Trudeau and neoliberalism. And we are in North America, where we form an enclaved minority representing 2% of the population. A historical improbability, there is no other way to say it.
Demographics, then. The number of French speakers in Quebec is decreasing, migratory flows are increasing. We are finding it increasingly difficult to Frenchify newcomers, especially in the workplace. According to the OQLF, 40% of Quebec businesses and 63% of Montreal businesses require knowledge of English. Lack of labor forces pressure to relax language requirements.
The globalization of culture does the rest. Our references are increasingly English-speaking. Fatalism and quiet resignation are at work.
In 2000, the Larose commission conducted general meetings on the situation and future of the French language. The commissioners were talking. For them, examining the survival of French through the prism of demographic indicators would overshadow the civic project of a multicultural Quebec, open to the world. As if it were incompatible! They were cautious in their recommendations. In fact, many of our elites have done everything to erase the issue of the survival of French since then. Through denial and heads in the sand, the situation is now described by some as “catastrophic”. Let’s see if the 603 million released by Quebec will be accompanied by strong words and intentions that will galvanize us.
My position on the tongue therefore varies depending on the day.
Sometimes I feel like I’m watching a tank crash in slow motion.
Other days, I tell myself that it is the destiny and the life of languages to live and disappear.
But most of the time, I’m amazed by our linguistic vivacity.
Our French is lively and uses multiple voices. He has the harsh words of the Centre-Sud joual in Francis Ouellette in Fancy Molasses. He flirts with indigenous languages in Michel Jean, is irresistible and complex in Alain Farah, familiar and effective in STAT, joyful and mixed at Clay and Friends. He is strong and powerful even when he is basing himself on English grammatical structures, even when he is inventing words. It is linked to a culture, to a way of seeing life, of resisting, of singing, of occupying the territory, of telling stories, of not wanting to be silent. Our words are fruitful and nourished by all those who live here.
However, we will have to see the danger. Our bad-day pessimism is realism. Ideologization has poisoned this discussion on the future of French in Quebec and prevents us from adopting solutions, all together.
We should be alert and generous. Strengthen the legislative arsenal, dare to have compulsory CEGEP in French. Invest massively in francization, literacy and reading. Revalorize Quebec culture to everyone, display it. We have individual and collective levers to affirm and propel our culture and our language.
Sometimes I despair.
But most of the time, I tell myself that we, Quebecers of all origins, are too pig-headed to let ourselves disappear. It will not arrive. We will don armor of pride and abandon our cloaks of invisibility.
We are not killable.
What do you think ? Participate in the dialogue
reference: www.lapresse.ca