Xref: utzoo can.general:1811 can.politics:2814
Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!evan
From: evan@telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch)
Newsgroups: can.general,can.politics
Subject: Re: postings in the French language
Message-ID: <1989Sep29.130503.13587@telly.on.ca>
Date: 29 Sep 89 13:05:03 GMT
References: <1989Sep6.222038.2707@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> <1178@mannix.iros1.UUCP> <3837.251eb4d9@uwovax.uwo.ca> <1989Sep26.132533.12660@utzoo.uucp> <22345@looking.on.ca>
Organization: Telly Online, Brampton, Ontario
Lines: 21

In article <22345@looking.on.ca> brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton) writes:

>Canada has two official languages, but if somebody came to you and asked
>directions in English, to respond in French (when you know English) would
>be rude.

That's not to say it hasn't happened. When I lived in Montreal, being
treated that way by bus drivers, directory assistance and government
offices was the exception rather than the rule.

In more recent trips that hasn't happened, ususally because I now ask in
French (1/2 :-). But the memories are certainly vivid, and the technique
was sometimes applied to tourists who didn't know better. I have come
across a number of Americans who won't vacation in Quebec anymore for this
reason.

In this context, the actions were not only rude, but damaging to
both Quebec's reputation for hospitality and its economy.
-- 
   Evan Leibovitch, Sound Software, Brampton, Ontario  -  evan@telly.on.ca
         She was looking for a vacation, and he was the last resort.