Lingualism
I had, yesterday, my first interface with someone who expressed extreme displeasure at my not knowing French. I was at the SAAQ (the Quebec equivalent of the Department of motor Vehicles) to register my car. As I arrived at the window (after a 2 hour wait --- long waits at the DMV seem to be everywhere), the bureaucrat said something detailed in French; I replied apologetically, "I'm sorry, I do not understand..." (yes, in English --why? because I've already found that if I say this in French, people just repeat what they say; the standard apparently is to say something in English, and the bilingualist switches over).

The teller looked at me archly, and mocked me: "You do not understand?". He then went silent for a few seconds, so I repeated, "No, I'm sorry, I don't speak French well." He arched an eyebrow, "Well, you are in Quebec now, so maybe you will learn a little French? All of our forms are in French, and we do everything in French." And then he silently went about his business.

Now, I thought, if we were in California, and someone who spoke only Spanish approached the window, and the same interaction occurred, we would regard the teller as intolerant, and unacceptably so. I don't think it is policy in the US for DMV tellers to chastise non-English speaking people to learn English. But, the situation is even more interesting here. French is the official language of the province of Quebec, while English must be provided as an alternative. Both languages are the official languages of Canada. But the French-speaking peoples of Quebec feel put-upon by the Microsoft of languages, and are themselves fighting back.

I am still looking forward to my classes this summer, and eventual fluency.

- posted by Unknown @ 1/21/2004 04:34:00 AM