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Originally Posted by Charlatan
Interesting thing about the French language in Quebec... some shout that English is taking over and that English Canada is swamping them...
1) take a look around the world... English is the language of international business and culture. This is way bigger than English Canada.
2) French Canadian culture is *way* stronger than English Canadian culture. They fact that Quebec can support multiple celebrity magazines that only deal with Quebecquois stars should tell you something (quick name a few English Canadian Film and TV stars... tough eh?)
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The thing about the state of French-Canadian as a language is that it has absorbed many English words, without changing them significantly enough to make a difference, which results in a sort of patois sometimes called "franglais" ("frenglish"), by myself and friends. For example, take any English verb, say "check". What some Quebecers do is slap a French conjugation on it and use it in common parlance (never in written form). So, you end up with "checker", instead of the proper "regarder". Another example: I've never heard of a French-Canadian using the word "pneu" for "tire". We always say the latter. Of course, this is a result of a certain linguistic laziness on our part, but reflects how ubiquitous English is here and how some purists go nuts about it. These are the types of people that scream bloody murder and support Law 101.
I've always believed that in a free society, a person should learn whatever language they feel would give them the best opportunities. If you lived in Spain and refused to learn Spanish, you'd be missing out on a lot! I've live in Japan for almost 2 years and I've felt like a child when I arrived: I couldn't understand anyone or anything. This was very humbling and showed me the value of expanding one's mind to learn about other cultures, which obviously includes language.
I feel that one of the main sour points from Quebecers is that the rest of (English) Canada doesn't have to deal with the same things linguistically, i.e. French worming its way into English. However, some French words have made their way into English in Quebec. In Montreal, the most multilingual place in Quebec, words like "depanneur" (convenience store), "tuque" (toque - wool knit hat) and even "liqueur" (soft drink) are used regularly instead of their counterparts. While this doesn't equal the level of English words in French-Canadian, it's sign that exposure brings about change.
French Quebecers also tend to forget that French is spoken as a first language outside the province as well. I have a fellow teacher hear that hails from St-Boniface, Winnipeg that was part of a French immersion program all through elementary and high school, while living in a place full of native French speakers. The numbers are much smaller, but they are there.
To switch gears a bit, I think the reason Quebec supports such a wide variety of stars is that we are sick and tired of getting our pop culture from the United States, by way of France. One of the reasons I learned English at a young age is that I couldn't stand to watch anything dubbed in continental French. All cultural references in the shows were French, not French-Canadian, and the accent was completely different. Imagine watching a show from Mexico dubbed in London and broadcasted in New York. It doesn't make any goddamn sense! Therefore, more budget was allocated to the fledgling Quebec movie industry and translation. "The Simpsons", for example, was one of the first mainstream American shows to be translated, adapted and dubbed in Quebec. The result was extremely well-received. Now, if we could only find a way to actually CREATE something like that...
Getting back to politics, I agree that a high voter turnout would be necessary for "clear will" to be established. If only half of the voters showed up and the "yes" side won by 50% + 1, that would mean that only around 26% of eligible voters showed any sign of wanting to separate. Bleak numbers indeed. I also believe that Quebec should handle their own business as soon as secession is achieved, i.e. no help from Canada (financially or otherwise). In fact, Quebec should clear out its debts before leaving, which I believe would make any hardcore separatist think twice about his/her convictions. Who would want to start a new country in the red. The ultimate irony would be for Quebec to separate, then become indebted to Canada for the costs of starting a new economy. Folks in the West would be happy, since money would be coming the other way. However, I'm sure the Liberals would find a way to muck things up again. Then Alberta would hold a referendum... heh.