Xref: utzoo can.general:1771 can.politics:2784 Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!watmath!watmsg!sccowan From: sccowan@watmsg.waterloo.edu (S. Crispin Cowan) Newsgroups: can.general,can.politics Subject: Re: postings in the French language Keywords: appropriate, language, subsequent Message-ID: <29431@watmath.waterloo.edu> Date: 26 Sep 89 17:33:34 GMT References: <1178@mannix.iros1.UUCP> <3837.251eb4d9@uwovax.uwo.ca> <1989Sep26.153200.959@utstat.uucp> Sender: daemon@watmath.waterloo.edu Reply-To: sccowan@watmsg.waterloo.edu (S. Crispin Cowan) Distribution: can Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 49 In article <1989Sep26.153200.959@utstat.uucp> webber@utubrutus.toronto.edu (Bob Webber) writes: >In article <3837.251eb4d9@uwovax.uwo.ca> J G Millerwrites: >>In article <1178@mannix.iros1.UUCP>, leonard@pivele.iro.umontreal.ca (Nicolas Leonard) writes: >>> Oh, jusqu'ici ca va... >>[and subsequent postings in the French language] >> >>Is not the group can.francais more appropriate for these postings, >>after all this is not can.politique? >> >>//Greg Miller > >Pourquoi pas? Consider it a challenge (no, better, an _opportunity_) to >learn something about Canada's other official language and other imperialist >running dog founding culture. Or a chance to make new friends by politely >asking for a translation if your language skills aren't up to par. This is one of the issues that I consider to be a major problem. Among anyone but civil servants, 'par' in French is about zip. I like it that way. I don't do any significant business with anyone in Quebec. I don't know anyone i Quebec. No significant amount of work in my field (computer architecture) is published in French. Therefore, I am completely un-interested in investing the man YEARS required to acquire the language to any degree of utility. On the other hand, it is becoming a standard requirement that any medium to high level civil servant be bi-lingual. Since bi-lingualism is almost completely non-existant outside of Quebec, this creates a tremendous bias towards people from Quebec. In a predomenantly English country, I regard this as un-fair discrimination. It is also divicive. People tend not to like the federal government now. How will western Canada feel about it when every time they talk to a federal civil servant the first thing they hear is 'Bonjoure', followed by broken english. It's not fun feeling like an immigrant in your native country. Crispin ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Login name: sccowan In real life: S. Crispin Cowan Office: DC3548 x3934 Home phone: 570-2517 Post Awful: 60 Overlea Drive, Kitchener, N2M 1T1 UUCP: watmath!watmsg!sccowan Domain: sccowan@watmsg.waterloo.edu "Everything to excess. Moderation is for monks." -Lazarus Long >-- >Bob Webber, Office of the Dean of Arts and Science, University of Toronto >Internet: webber@artsci.toronto.edu; webber@utstat.toronto.edu >UUCP: utzoo!utas!webber; utzoo!utstat!webber