Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site watmath.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!saquigley From: saquigley@watmath.UUCP (Sophie Quigley) Newsgroups: net.travel Subject: Re: Quebec Message-ID: <7161@watmath.UUCP> Date: Fri, 2-Mar-84 11:49:04 EST Article-I.D.: watmath.7161 Posted: Fri Mar 2 11:49:04 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 3-Mar-84 10:41:42 EST References: <185@hou2g.UUCP> Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 21 It is not always obvious that people in Quebec city are "pretending" not to know english. This is the often the case in Montreal, where there is a large english population and most of the french people end up knowing some english because of their influence. If they refuse to speak english, it is for political reasons. Things are different in Quebec. Quebec city is a french city as french as toronto or vancouver are english, and people there have the same good reasons (I dont know what) not to learn english as the english have not to learn french in other parts of the country, laziness.. who knows. Anyway, 1976 was a very tense year with the PQ coming to power and talk of the referendum already starting. French people were much more defensive about their language than they are now. With the current language laws, french people do not feel as victimised about their language as they used to. Since it is now the english who are victimised in their place, they feel they are not as much on the defensive, and are nicer in general to "anglos". I think that if you were to go to Quebec now, you would notice quite a difference. However, if you go to some french parts, people might still refuse to speak english, simply because they do not know it. Sophie Quigley watmath!saquigley