Montreal Area Mayor Says She Received Threats to French Language in Montreal - Canada

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA 1 THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA 7 Threats to French Language in Montreal – Canada Student Institution Links to the Selected Articles https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/montreal-area-mayor-says-she-s-received-threats-over-language-spat-1.2439907 https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ignore-

Running head: THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA 1
Threats to French Language in Montreal – Canada
Student
Institution

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA
2
Links to the Selected Articles
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/montreal-area-mayor-says-she-s-received-threats-over-language-
spat-1.2439907
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ignore-the-alarmists-there-is-no-language-crisis-in-
quebec-economists-say
https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/our-home-and-native-tongue/

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA
3
Summary of the Selected Articles
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/montreal-area-mayor-says-she-s-received-threats-over-language-
spat-1.2439907
A news article “Montreal-area mayor says she’s received threats over language spat” that
was published on 25th June 2015 by Sidhartha Benerjee of The Canadian Press sought opinions
on whether it was ideal for people to use the English language while in Quebec (Banerjee, 2015).
This was after Caroline St-Hilaire wrote in a Facebook post complaining that she had been
exposed to bullying and hateful insults over an online comment that she had made about a
politician from the opposition party who had used English during council meetings in the city.
The mayor who happens to be the former Bloc Quebecois MP explained on her post that
was published on Tuesday that she was not amused by Robert Myle's insistence on translating
everything that he said in French into English. The mayor seems to be protecting the French
language in her post, but from what was gathered by this newspaper, it is clear that the French
language is not under any serious threat.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ignore-the-alarmists-there-is-no-language-crisis-in-
quebec-economists-say
The article “Ignore the alarmists, there is no language crisis in Quebec economists say”by
Graeme Hamilton which was published on 24th June 2018 argues that the French knowledge has
increased even though the share of French mother-tongue speakers has gone down (Hamilton,

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA
4
2018). The percentage of Quebec population that can speak in French has increased from 88.5%
to 94.5% between the years 1971 to 2016 respectively. This is a clear show that the French
language is not under any serious threat.
https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/our-home-and-native-tongue/
The article "Will immigrants save the French language in Quebec, or hasten its demise?"
that was published on 30 September 2011 by Martin Patriquin seeks to reveal what immigrants
will do to the French language in Montreal (Patriquin, 2011). The article argues that the residents
in the Quebec state are the one who will save and hasten the French language but not
immigrants. The future of the French language in Quebec is not the responsibility of immigrants.
Discussion of the Articles
Montreal just like any other part of the globe has various groups of people. Even though
most of the people in the region use French as their language, there are, still people who are not
French speakers. It is therefore ideal to use a word that caters for anybody when conducting most
of the public affairs in the state.
The opposition leader Robert Myles was very right to have translated all his French
spoken speeches to English (Banerjee, 2015). This showed inclusivity to the non-French
speakers. However, everybody is entitled to his or her view of an issue. People could not have
criticized the mayor since she was only expressing her opinions. The opposition leader upholds
on speaking the French language first then English later. This shows that he respects the French
language. Providing comments using both the English and the French language is a good idea.

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA
5
People should also learn two words. It helps in easy mingling with other people. For the French
language to remain without any threats, the French speakers must respect other languages. The
mayor was not fair on criticizing the opposition leader. Using words that everybody understands
enhances national cohesion.
It is complicated to imagine that language issues can be a thing of the past in Quebec but
if the findings by the author of the new economic study is anything to go by, then the French
language is not facing any challenges in Montreal even with the decline of people with French as
their mother tongue (Hamilton, 2018). The French speakers dominate the Quebec economy.
Most of the immigrants to Quebec are able to express themselves in French fluently. This shows
that the language is well taken care of. Thus, it is ideally contradicting that the French language
might be facing serious challenges in Quebec.
Immigrants cannot resolve the problem of languages in the places they settle (Patriquin,
2011). It is not the responsibility of the immigrants to save the decline of French language rather
the responsibility of the native occupants of Montreal. In as much as the government forces these
immigrants to learn the French language, they already have their mother tongue, which they
efficiently use while at home. Nobody does a follow up activity to make sure that each person
uses the French language at home. These immigrants have their children whom they speak to
while at home using their mother tongue. These children will grow with their parent's first
language hence with time the French language will extinct.
Analysis of the Decline of the French Language in Montreal, Canada

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA
6
Montreal stands out to be the second largest city after Paris with the highest number of
French-speaking people. However, one cannot blindly ignore all the opinions by different people
that a threat of extinction faces the language. For instance, immigrants view it beneficial to be
bilingual. In my own experience, because their children go to French schools and as well, many
immigrants originate from French colonies, it is quite easy for them to adopt French as a
language or even assimilate the Montreal natives (Bimbam, 2014). In the recent past, things have
started changing. These changes can lead to the death of the French language if not taken care of.
Languages do gradually die (Jordan, 2015). Most people in Quebec have started using
English is a medium of communication in working places. The community is becoming
progressively bilingual. They might not have discarded their first language, but soon with time,
many people will start using the new style more. Language shifts in most cases happen naturally
(Nordquist, 2018). For instance, the government of Quebec allows people to speak in French
then translate what they have said to the English language. This can make people shift their
communication to English in a bid to reduce the strenuous act of translating everything they say.
Through the interaction of the immigrants with the natives of Montreal, the French
language can be assimilated with time (Timalsina, 2011). It has been witnessed in other parts of
the globe where upon arrival of an individual community, then the native language becomes
assimilated. Urbanization is also another factor that may or might have endangered the French
language (Heiber, 2012). Quebec is a city where people meet in search of greener pastures.
These people do not speak the same language. They will possibly use English as a medium of
communication. Out of this, it is clear that the French language is actually at the verge of
extinction.

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA
7
Migration also plays a critical role in language death and language change (Foltz, 2015).
Montreal is appealing for people to come to their land. This could bring in many diverse
languages, which with time will lead to the death of the French language. Additionally, the
Internet has become the source of knowledge for many people in the recent past (Chauvot,
2016). Montreal natives are not to an exception. Since English is the dominant language on the
internet, there is a need to worry about the upcoming opinions concerning the extinction of the
French language (Temperton, 2015). Lastly, socioeconomic drivers create and geographically
distribute the extinction risk of the French language across Montreal (Amano, et al., 2014). There
are a large number of words currently being spoken in Montreal as people from diverse places
interact during trade in the city. This can result to the extinction of the French language.
Conclusion
The French language is on the verge of extinction from the analysis of opinions from
different individuals. Only the natives in Montreal can save the language from these threats. A
law is required to restrict everybody in the city from using any other language apart from French
whether at home or the workplaces. This will increase the usage of the literature thus the young
generation will grow to have French as their first language.

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA
8
References
Amano, T., Sandel, B., Eager, H., Bulteaul, E., Svenning, J.-C., Dalsgaard, B., . . . Sutherland,
W. J. (2014). Global Distribution and Drivers of Language Extinction Risk. The Royal
Society Publishing, Online. Retrieved from
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1793/20141574
Banerjee, S. (2015). Montreal-Area Mayor Says She's Received Threats Over Language Spat.
CTV News, Online. Retrieved from https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/montreal-area-
mayor-says-she-s-received-threats-over-language-spat-1.2439907
Bimbam. (2014). Is French in danger of decline in Montreal? (home, private school). City-Data
Forum, Online. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/forum/montreal/2171377-
french-danger-decline-montreal.html
Chauvot, P. (2016). Endangered Languages: Why are so Many Languages Becoming Extinct.
Communicaid, Online. Retrieved from https://www.communicaid.com/business-
language-courses/blog/why-are-languages-dying/
Foltz, A. (2015). How Languages Die. The New Republic, Online. Retrieved from
https://newrepublic.com/article/125501/languages-die
Hamilton, G. (2018). Ignore the Alarmists, There is no Language Crisis in Quebec, Economists
Say. National Post, Online. Retrieved from https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ignore-
the-alarmists-there-is-no-language-crisis-in-quebec-economists-say
Heiber, D. (2012). Why Do Languages Die? Mises Daily Articles, Online. Retrieved from
https://mises.org/library/why-do-languages-die
Jordan, S.-C. (2015). What Causes the Death of a Language? Alpha Omega Translations, Online.
Retrieved from https://alphaomegatranslations.com/foreign-language/what-causes-the-
death-of-a-language/
Nordquist, R. (2018). Language Change. Thoughtco., Online. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-language-change-1691096
Patriquin, M. (2011). Will Immigrants Save the French Language in Quebec, or Hasten Its
Demise? Maclean's, Online. Retrieved from https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/our-
home-and-native-tongue/
Temperton, J. (2015). Languages are Dying, but is the Internet to Blame? Wired, Online.
Retrieved from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/linguistic-diversity-online

THREATS TO FRENCH LANGUAGE IN MONTREAL – CANADA
9
Timalsina, M. P. (2011). Causes and Consequences of the Loss of Native Language Among
Paharis at Khopasi:Sociocultural and Linguistic Perspectives. Nelta Choutari, Online.
Retrieved from https://neltachoutari.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/causes-and-
consequences-of-the-loss-of-native-language-among-paharis-at-khopasisociocultural-
and-linguistic-perspectives/