Unilingual Francophones don't speak English. Shocking, but true.
By Philippe Gohier - Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 38 Comments
The first French-language debate between Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay and challenger Louise Harel took place this morning. (According to La Presse‘s preliminary report, it was “very animated”—as all municipal leaders’ debates have been known to be.) There won’t be an English-language sequel, though. Harel announced earlier this week she’d be passing up the opportunity to express herself in la langue de Mordecai for the perfectly ridiculous reason she doesn’t speak it.
Cue the necessary outrage:
“There’s an obligation for the candidates running for mayor to address the different communities that make up Montreal,” said Marvin Rotrand of rival Union Montreal, incumbent Mayor Gérald Tremblay’s party. [...] “This is indicative of an attitude toward anglophones in general – almost as if we’re second-class voters. I mean, she’s written us off, basically.”
And the equally predictable outrage over the outrage (in this case, from the professionally-outraged Richard Martineau):
It’s not up to elected officials nor mayoral candidates to make efforts to be understood by Anglophones: It’s Anglophones who should be integrating into the majority! It’s up to them to get a move on it! The burden of integration is on THEIR SHOULDERS!
All this over a debate that would otherwise have been ignored by the vast majority of Montrealers and amounts to little more than an electoral booby-trap for Harel. Sure, it’d be ideal for Harel to be perfectly bilingual, but she isn’t—and won’t be come November, when Montrealers have to decide whether or not that fact makes her unsuitable for the mayor’s job. In the meantime, the mere option of electing a unilingual Francophone is enough to get everyone competing, once again, to officialize their status as members of “North America’s Most Aggrieved Linguistic Minority.”
It’s a cliché, but plus ça change…
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Duceppe: French for without shame
By Andrew Coyne - Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 12:07 PM - 0 Comments
Duceppe called Harper’s comments a “low blow” during a radio interview in Montreal…
“I think it’s just unacceptable to criticize Mr. Dion’s English,” Duceppe said….
“Anything that touches on the quality of Mr. Dion’s English are low blows.
Hmmm… Now where did I see… I seem to recall… Yes, here it is, thanks to alert reader ST:
[T]he Bloc leader also acknowledged Layton put on a strong performance in the English debate, but appeared to feel pity when discussing Dion.
“He really had trouble with his English,” Duceppe said, shaking his head
I know, it looks like shameless hypocrisy. But maybe he just misunderstood the question.
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Double double standard
By Andrew Coyne - Friday, October 10, 2008 at 6:53 PM - 0 Comments
In a radio interview in Montreal, Duceppe said Harper’s comments serve to illustrate the “double standard” that exists when it comes to Canada’s official languages.
Canadians demand that French political leaders speak English fluently, but English-speaking leaders can get away with mangling French, he said.
Norman Spector has offered the obvious rejoinder: that Canadians elected Jean Chrétien, notwithstanding his barely-comprehensible English, to three straight majorities.
I’ll add another: it was English-speaking Canadians who did so. Francophone Quebecers largely turned their back on him, with Duceppe’s hearty encouragement, for sins that included… his French. How many times has one read how Chrétien’s crude, backwoods French, strewn with grammatical errors and anglicisms, was an embarrassment to sophisticated urban francophones, how it made them cringe?
English-speaking leaders can get away with mangling French? Can they? Could Preston Manning? Stockwell Day? Kim Campbell? Joe Clark? How’d that work for John Crosbie or Belinda Stronach’s leadership bids? In fact, no leader who was not fluently French-speaking has carried Quebec since Lester Pearson in 1965 — and since 1930, with one exception, no leader has won a majority in Parliament without carrrying Quebec. The exception? Jean Chrétien.
As Norman says, “nobody does humiliation better than Duceppe.” Or hypocrisy.
ENCORE: Deux Maudits Anglais has another take.
ENCORE DEUX FOIS: Just to complete the circle, I seem to recall seeing a quote from Duceppe somewhere at the conclusion of the English debate observing how Dion was “really struggling” in English, or words to that effect. Ten points to the reader who can supply the link.
ENCORE TROIS FOIS: Duceppe, whose own English is accented to the point of absurdity, is often declared the winner of the English debates, by English-speaking commentators.
ENCORE QUATRE FOIS: In point of fact, Harper never criticized Dion’s English, or suggested it explained his difficulties answering the question. Tory bloggers, alas, have not been so restrained, nor was Mike Duffy (or so I’m told: it doesn’t show up in the clip).
