dave@lsuc.uucp (David Sherman) (12/14/88)
I phone people in Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke fairly
often, and while my French isn't good enough to discuss tax
and computers, it's fine for negotiating through secretaries,
receptionists and directory assistance.
I've noticed that, without exception, the secretaries and
the like are extremely friendly. I guess I concentrate
more on what they're saying because I have to make sure I
understand it, but they always seem to use longer and more
flowing sentences than the sort of "Sorry he's not in
cnitakeamessage?" that one gets in Toronto. (I'm calling
universities, law firms and computer companies, mostly.)
Is it my imagination? (Or are they more friendly because they
detect a non-quebecois using French?)
David Sherman
--
Moderator, mail.yiddish
{ uunet!attcan att pyramid!utai utzoo } !lsuc!davestacey@hcr.UUCP (Stacey Campbell) (12/14/88)
In article <1988Dec13.133220.28851@lsuc.uucp> dave@lsuc.UUCP writes: >Is it my imagination? (Or are they more friendly because they >detect a non-quebecois using French?) In a similar vein, a Quebecois separatist who lives next to a friend of mine in des Laurentides fails to understand English when spoken by a Canadian. I have found that his comprehension improves dramatically when speaking with an Australian (it certainly can't be the accent!). (Even so, I felt guilty enough about having no French vocab that I took a series of French classes when I returned to Toronto.) -- Stacey Campbell, HCR Corporation, {lsuc,utzoo,utcsri}!hcr!stacey
cdshaw@alberta.UUCP (Chris Shaw) (12/15/88)
In article x dave@lsuc.uucp (David Sherman) writes: >(French-speaking secretaries) always seem to use longer and more >flowing sentences than the sort of "Sorry he's not in >cnitakeamessage?" that one gets in Toronto. Mostly I suspect that it's part of the French-speaking culture in general to be polite in greeting, and partly that you're comparing to English speakers in Toronto. >David Sherman -- Chris Shaw cdshaw@alberta.UUCP (or via watmath or ubc-vision) University of Alberta CatchPhrase: Bogus as HELL !
charlesv@auvax.UUCP (Charles van Duren) (12/19/88)
In article <4321@hcr.UUCP>, stacey@hcr.UUCP (Stacey Campbell) writes: > In article <1988Dec13.133220.28851@lsuc.uucp> dave@lsuc.UUCP writes: > >Is it my imagination? (Or are they more friendly because they > >detect a non-quebecois using French?) > > In a similar vein, a Quebecois separatist who lives next to > a friend of mine in des Laurentides fails to understand English > when spoken by a Canadian. I have found that his comprehension > improves dramatically when speaking with an Australian (it certainly > can't be the accent!). > We had a different experience. We lived in Quebec from 1974-1978 when Quebecois consciousness was reaching new heights. Our Ontario high school French was a distinct political liability. Many of our Quebecois friends were bilingue, but would not deign to help us improve our knowledge of French by speaking it with us. Any part of a group conversation involving us would be carried on in English (or rather, "anglais", which can be made to sound quite unfriendly). The root of this attitude seemed to be that just speaking French, even with the correct political sympathies, would never make us Quebecois (very much like the Maritime notion of being "from away" unless you can trace your family back some number of generations). This is not a complaint. I fully understand the connection between culture and language in Quebec. I am as an Alberta resident, however, becoming distinctly aware of the difference between Quebecois and French-Canadian. I am very much afraid that any move on Quebec's part to pursue the notion of distinct society, which it almost inevitably must do, will abandon French minorities in the rest of Canada to assimilation of the remnants of their culture. This apprehension is not eased in the slightest by the rumours of understandings between Devine and Bourassa, for instance, about treatment of their respective linguistic minorities. The French minorities in the West are no match on their own for the Gettys, Devines, and Zalms and the right-wing populism they represent. The Franco-Ontarions and Acadians may in the long term fare no better, except that the latter have at times been an identifiable political force in provincial politics. Quebecois must take into account their brethren in the diaspora. > Stacey Campbell, HCR Corporation, {lsuc,utzoo,utcsri}!hcr!stacey Charles van Duren TIP Project, Athabasca University Athabasca, Alberta albert!auvax!charlesv