University French Culture Report: FREN1000 Research Project

This report, prepared for a French Language and Culture course, delves into the complexities of French culture in Canada, focusing on issues related to language and cultural identity. The student analyzes three articles from various sources, including BBC News and the American Historical Association, to explore topics such as language policies in Quebec, the relationship between French and English-speaking communities, and the evolution of bilingualism. The report compares and contrasts the perspectives presented in the articles, highlighting the tensions and contradictions surrounding linguistic diversity and the preservation of cultural rights. The author also incorporates personal observations and reflections, discussing the impact of immigration policies and the challenges of maintaining cultural identity within a diverse society. The report further examines the immigration policies and its implications on the French culture. The analysis underscores the significance of language in shaping cultural dynamics and the ongoing debates about assimilation and the protection of minority languages. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding these issues for fostering a cohesive and inclusive society.

Running head: FRENCH CULTURE
French culture
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Table of contents
Summary of the articles.............................................................................................................3
Comparison between the articles...............................................................................................4
Personal observations.................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Summary of the articles
Ist article
BBC news article, Rebelling Against Quebec’s language police, reflects the
resurgence, which has been produced in response to rebellion produced by the Francophone
nationalists. This is in terms of the restoration of the nationalists to authority. The English
speakers are now revolting against language police. One of the striking facts in this is
banning English in schools, hospitals and shops. The mastermind behind this decision is
revisions in the political laws of Parti Quebecois (Bbc.com, 2018). As a result of this,
majority of the Anglophones has been marginalized. For the locals, these kind of divisions is
a common issue. The inspectors are of the opinion that the French signs and symbols are
three times bigger than the other languages. The locals are determined in their statements
regarding the preserving of their rights. Their statements reflects the feeling of serving the
motherland.
2nd article
American Historical Association produced an article, Is there a deep split between
French and English Canada? This article warns the readers about the strive for unity, which
the citizens need to possess for studying the relationship between French Canada and English
Canada. In this, “English” is the connotation for the English speaking population. The article
proves fruitful in enhancing the knowledge of the readers regarding the ethnography of
Quebec. Nearly 20% of the 3.3 million population of the Canadians speak English
(Historians.org, 2018). Except the province of British Canadians, French Canadians form the
minority. For three, out of the 10 Canadians, French is the native language. The article
upholds the concern of the Americans regarding the assimilation of French in Canada.

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According to the critics, the question was out of assimilation, as the French did not wish to be
“anglicised”.
3rd article
Mention can be made of the other article, Bilingualism growing, but not in French
and English. This article informs the readers about the emergence of bilingualism in Canada,
except the case of the country’s two official languages. According to the statistics, 200
languages form the linguistic portrait of the country. This data indicates the insignificance of
multiculturalism in terms of enhancing the linguistic diversity. Instead, it maintains a
continuity with the confinement in their native grounds. The census depicts 17.5% of the
population, who are bilingual. This is an increase of 14.2% from the data of 2006 (Cbc.ca,
2018). From this, 5.8 million of people speak English and one immigrant language. One of
the striking facts of the article is that 1,387, 190 speak both French and English. The article
also sheds light on the decline of the aboriginal languages, which contradicts the aspect of
revival for the culture, customs and traditions of the natives. The article upholds the views of
the lead analyst of census regarding the clear picturization of diversity. Diversity encountered
an increase from the data used by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Officially,
bilingualism is not growing. This is because 17.5% of the people claim that they can speak
both in French and English. This is a slight improvement from the data of the 2006 census
(Cbc.ca, 2018).
Comparison between the articles
Deep split between English and Canada contradicts the aspect of multiculturalism.
This contradiction answers the question that bilingualism is not growing, specially for the
countries where the population speaks at least two languages. The contradiction broadens the

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gap between the neighboring countries, nullifying the aspect of linguistic diversity. Rebellion
is the immediate outcome of these fissures in terms of preserving the rights of the fellow
neighbors. The locals are the representatives of the whole population. Their opinions hold
significance in terms of preserving their individual rights (Bbc.com, 2018).
Language can be accounted as one of the rights, as the people possess the right to
speech. All the individuals possess the right to speak out for the issues, which they face.
Snatching away his right is like snatching their daily bread. Aligning the case of the police
language in the Quebec rebellion, the arrest of the locals seems inappropriate. However, the
determination of the locals regarding serving the customers reflects their Samaritan attitude
towards the linguistic diversity. On the contrary, selfish approach would have reflected their
treachery towards the culture. The decline of the Aboriginal language, in terms of the
increase in the other languages creates discrepancies in the linguistic demography of the
world (Cbc.ca, 2018). Moreover, it generates a feeling of marginalization for the Aboriginals,
one of the tribes, occupying important position in the world.
Bilingualism reflects the growth in the linguistic diversity. However, as it is not
growing in the two most official languages, it cannot be said to be enhancing the linguistics
of the whole world. French and English are the two official languages in the world.
Assimilation of these languages would have enhanced the relations between the nations.
However, disinterest towards being anglicised brings fissures in the relation between the
countries. Rebellions destroy the order and harmony of the state, aggravating the
complexities of the government in terms of introducing measures for preserving linguistic
diversity (Bbc.com, 2018). Countering this, rebellions assist the citizens to assert their
authority towards their rights.

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Fissures destroy the diversity. In this sense, language is just a mere symbol of the
customs and traditions, which strengthens the relationship between the countries. Protest over
languages divides the nations into separate groups, fighting for restoration of their official
language.
Census data are records for the ethnographic description of the nations. The data
revealed in the data informs about the languages spoken in the parts of the world.
Consideration of this data helps in taking initiatives towards protecting the official languages.
For most of the population, French is the official language. Anglicizing it act as an
intervention into the personal culture of French speaking people. This would enhance the
diversity, however, in terms of the French culture, this would be something illegal (Bbc.com,
2018).
Figure: Canada’s immigration policy
The above picture depicts the immigration policy developed by the Canadian
government. According to this policy, the government announced rewards for the people,
who would emerge as good citizens. The picture shows the queue of unemployed people

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being lured through the promise of better placement opportunities. The policy was invented
in the 1967 with the aim to remove discrimination. In the process of accepting the
application, the race, religion, color, creed was ignored. This approach adds to the
preservation of the official language. The aspect of “fissure” is a breach of the promise in
terms of rejecting the application of the old men, who intend to enhance their professional
skills (Historians.org, 2018). Gender biasness is also reflected from the picture, as a young
nurse is offered the job and rest of the old men and women look upon dejectedly. This
biasness indicates rejection of the old people even if they are fluent in English. However, the
policies are changing, which reflects positive outcomes for the natives as well as the
foreigners.
Personal observations
For the population of 67,186,638, French is the official language. The government
does not regulate the choice of language for the people. However, the use of language comes
under the legal obligations of the commercial and workplace communications. La
Francophone is one of the means adopted by the government for promoting linguistic
diversity. In this sense, protests and rebellions contradict the legal obligations (Bbc.com,
2018). As a matter of specification, it is the inability of the administration in terms of
protecting the rights of the citizens. Linguistic rebellions adversely affects the existence of
the people, especially the immigrants. This affectation raises doubts over the policy and the
amendments.
The slogans of “One country one language” aggravates the complexities of the
linguistics issues in France. This slogan exempts the entry of the foreign languages into
France, which stalls the promotion of linguistic diversity. Rebellions in this direction has
raised double standards, accusing the government in terms of their negligence towards the

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ethnography. Bilingualism is a common issue in the French culture, however, absence of
anglicization stalls the growth of linguistic diversity (Historians.org, 2018). Herein lays the
valuation for the opinions of the natives in terms of preserving their rights. Under such
scenario, inclusion of better job placement in the policy results in compromise with the
individual rights of the people. This expresses the hypocrisy of the government in terms of
ensuring the wellbeing of the citizens. This hypocrisy is against the usual corporate nature of
the policymakers, which is harmful for the democracy.
One country one language contradicts the aspect of multiculturalism. This
contradiction deprives the foreigners from better education offers and job opportunities.
Typical example of this can be the old French speaking people in Canada, who are not given
the prospective job offers. This reflects the division in the population of French and Canada
(Historians.org, 2018). This division, in turn, is problematic in terms of creating the census
data and reports, raising doubts over the already established census data. Hypothetical
statistics raises issues and concerns over the citizenship, which is inappropriate in terms of
preserving the nationality.

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References
Bbc.com (2018), Rebellion against Quebec’s language police, Retrieved 31st July 2018 from
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22408248
Cbc.ca (2018), Bilingualism growing, but not in French and English Retrieved 31st July 2018
from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/bilingualism-growing-but-not-in-french-and-
english-1.1176469
Historians.org (2018), Is there a deep split between French and English Canada?, retrieved
31st July 2018 from https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-
history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/em-47-canada-our-oldest-good-
neighbor-(1946)/is-there-a-deep-split-between-french-and-english-canada