English Canadian going to French Canada: Quebec

[stephaniehoffman]

Very sorry to read those words on Quebec. I am from Quebec, and I can tell that the problem comes from culture more than language, but I must admit that culture and language are linked together. Language structures the mind, linguists say. We, french people from Quebec, have to protect our language and our values because we are only 10 millions among 330 millions english speaking. And don't compare chinese people to quebeckers : we are native! I do think that our values are different, but we have to cope with these differences more than to fight them. Being abroad gives me a new point of new on the national question, ans I continue my refelxion. Hope you do the same, and visit Quebec to feel the culture. Sometimes I feel like we have nothing in commun, but I suppose I'm not right. At least, we have hockey to get together!

Our country is based on lex soil not lex sanguilinis. Who is native? Are you first nations? Only they really are. The rest of us, and I have BOTH french blood and English blood being fully caucasian and I feel that being Canadian is NOT about ancestry, but rather, about living on this land. My Japanese boyfriend was also born in Vancouver, and he is just as much Canadian as I am, or even as you are. His grandfather fought NOT for Japan, but for the 442ND Regimental Combat Team upholding the flag of the UNITED STATES ARMY! His parents were immigrants to Canada, as an AMERICAN not as a Japanese. He is a 4th generation Japanese 2nd generation American citizen. He was born with 3 nationalities! By Japanese law, lex sanguinis only goes for 4 generations, so our baby cannot have Japanese nationality unless he or she is born in Japan, being again an Issei, but we have chosen to give that up as we plan on living in the UK! He faced a few comments in the UK being asked whether or not he was a Yankee, but he was more pleased that he was at least seen as a Canadian before being seen as a Japanese. It never occurred to the English that he is actually also Yankee!

He has surprised many when he talked of his grandfather fighting on the US side, when we went to Hawaii and saw the Perl Harbor Museaum. Someone approached us and asked whether or not his grandfather flew those planes, and he responded, how his grandfather fought in the European theater under the flag of the United States Army.

[Clapoti]

I will definitly read that thread more this weekend. don't have much time now.

What I can say from the beginning of it.

I'm from Quebec and I'm really not a separatist. I think it's a stupid idea.

I just have a comment about the language. I don't know why everyone think that most people from Quebec also speaks english as a second language. it's just not true. Okay we all learned it in school, but except if you are from Montreal you are not really in contact with english speaking people. maybe some tourist in Quebec city. But more than half of my friends don't speak or are really bad in english.

So it's not like we are born wth the 2 languages. I don't say that to defend the separatist or anything but more to inform you about what my point of view is.

More to come probably

[CanuckAbroad]

Yeah I've noticed the same thing about the language - But from the official stats on the Quebec Immigration page it says that like 70% or so speak english and french.

It also says 80% of quebecers speak french as a first language. That seems kind of low to me! At least to then only have one official language for the province. Finland has a 5% population that speaks swedish, and it's considered an official language. Having 20% of your population speaking another language as their first is a pretty significant number.

But anyways - It's just like the rest of Canada in that most of us learn french in school, but that's obviously not enough to consider all of us being fluent in both languages.

[Clapoti]

exactly. they say 70%. but I'm sure you take those 70% and ask them to speak english. it would be more like 50. if not less.

[DutchGirl]

First of all, to be honest, I have not read each reply fully, so if I offend anyone because of what I type here, please pardon me.
I just can't help sharing the following tid-bits of my opinion:
Canada is great indeed BECAUSE of its cultural diversity and indeed it is a mosaic unlike the US melting pot. And of course Chinese-Canadians are no less native than any other Canadians. We live today, guys. not yesterday. And anyone living in Canada and feeling Canadian and having or being in the process of obtaining the Canadian nationality should be able to consider themselves just as Canadian as anyone else if they wish to do so.
Having said all of that, it is also true that the french culture in Canada has a lot of history, and it is too bad that in "melting-pot USA" most of that french culture and language has gotten totally lost! So why not help to protect it a little bit more? It is unique, so let's celebrate it.
And if anyone wants to do the same with the Chinese-Canadian heritage? Well hey I'm all for it! Or why not with the Dutch? They've been around for a long time as well. or the Polish? the Romanians? the Italians?. But as much as we can go on debating about it, nobody can deny that a long long time ago, the British and French cultures made up the majority of the pioneer Canadians. So why not protect that heritage a little more? And especially why not protect Quebec culture a little more than English culture? I mean, there is so much English-Canadian culture, it will hold its own, but there are less French-canadians.
So there ya go.
About the British empire. they're really cute and all, but I, like most of you, would rather say bye-bye to the British rule in Canada.
Thanks for reading.
p.s.- all this coming from someone who 1. is Dutch and not Canadian (by any legal means at least) 2. used to carry a real dislike to french-Canadians (something I've completely changed my mind on, even though every culture has a few idiots in it) 3. has lots of lovely British friends!