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by hipparchus
1830 days ago
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This sounds like you didn't even try to look at this from their perspective. What reads as narcissism to you reads to them as a necessity for cultural survival: is this a good way of dealing with the perceived anglophone takeover? are their fears unfounded and will Quebec still be the thriving French-speaking province it has been, a thousand years from now? I know neither answer to these questions, but I can on paper understand their sentiment: they are the only French speakers on their continent (barring the pockets in louisiana or French Guiana), and neighbours to the biggest cultural powerhouse of the last 50 years. Learning English to get better job opportunities seem like a no brainer for the majority of their youth, and leaving to the US is a dream for many of them. Their film producers, musicians, writers, and other artists are deeply talented in their own right, yet struggle to be known outside of Québec or francophone Europe. Who wants to be stuck in that market ? Some bear it, but others cater to the anglophones to benefit from the americans who export their culture to the entire rest of the world. It's nearly impossible to make it in the western world in any other way. If the Chinese ever achieve cultural rayonance as well as the Americans have achieved, or if spanish suddenly gains a much higher rate of usage in the US, I am confident thousands of anglophone will change their tune and opt a position much closer to the québécois. |
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If Quebec lost the French language overtime that would be an organic cultural correction in line with what the majority wants. If they didn’t want it, they’d preserve it.
But if we want to shape culture and protect the past, why not go further in the past and promote indigenous languages too? They were there first.
Language is an evolving tool. If we’re to protect English today from 600 years ago then we would still be speaking Germanic or something like that.
https://youtu.be/8fxy6ZaMOq8