Quebec – Educational Sociolinguistics

Greek schools in Québec; Maintaining Hellenic culture

Marina Koutsis

When my grandparents migrated to Québec from Greece more than 50 years ago, they made a promise to one another that they would not lose their culture and would pass it on to their children. Maintaining one’s culture when migrating to another country is very important as it is a way to stay connected to the home country, especially if one cannot easily travel back. And it is not always easy to pass down the culture to future generations when parents work a lot and children are sent to schools where only the host country’s language is taught. This was a reality for many communities, such as Greek immigrants, that came in large numbers to Montréal after the Second World War.

In 1909 in Montreal, the first Greek school was founded though it only counted 25 students, but by 1971, however, the school, named Socrates, was moved to a larger building with 11 classrooms. This gave access to Greek education and culture to even more students of Greek origin (https://www.socdem.org/). What is interesting with this school is that it is a good reflection of the multicultural aspect of Montréal. In fact, 66% of the lessons at Socrates are taught in French, 24% in Greek, and 10% are taught in English (École Socrates-Démosthène, 2022). Though I thought that 10% was little, the school does count more hours of English per year than regular public schools. And surprisingly, Socrates students read and analyse classic English novels such as Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies, which I had never read until I reached Cégep despite having done all my education in anglophone schools.

Other than through language, Socrates allows students to connect with their Hellenic heritage through traditional dance lessons. There are so many types of dances in Greece that vary depending on the region and they are all very much part of Greece’s culture and religious celebrations. Such a Hellenic school offers choice to parents seeking this approach, but unfortunately these remain private and are not affordable to all. This approach to instruction demonstrates that it is possible to study more than one language at once successfully. Québec has experienced various power dynamics associated with language, especially in relation to French vs English. It is understandable that French should be prioritised in educational institutions within the province, but second language education should not be ignored. Other languages should still be encouraged in schools, especially as multiliteracy and plurilingual education has been proven to be beneficial for student learning (Galante, 2020). Even though I did not personally attend Socrates, it is still important that people have the opportunity to connect to their heritage.

References

“Αccueil.” École Socrates-Démosthène, 20 Oct. 2022, https://www.socdem.org/.

Galente, A., Okubo, K., Cole, C., Elkader, N. A., Carozza, N., Wilkinson, C., Wotton, C., & Vasic, J. (2020). “English-only is not the way to go”: Teachers’ perceptions of plurilingual instruction in an English program at a Canadian university, Tesol Quarterly, 54(4), 980- 1009. 10.1002/tesq.584

Welcome to the fourth (2022) edition of the Educational Sociolinguistics class blog!

I’m very happy to once again be the instructor for this course – giving me the opportunity to launch this fourth edition of the class blog. Thanks and a nod to Alison Crump, who envisioned and created this blog back in 2016, and Mela Sarkar who carried on the tradition in 2019 and passed the baton onto me in 2020. Both Alison and Mela are contributing members of our BILD research community (Mela’s brainchild) which has its own blog and an online, peer edited journal (Alison is a co-editor). I encourage you to visit the links to these sites for more interactive discussions about all things sociolinguistic.

Sociolinguistic issues are all around us, and often seem even more on the forefront in Quebec. With the recent adoption of Loi 96 and our current provincial election campaign is it possible that we are hearing even more debate around language than usual? A quick google search reveals wide range of opinions on this! And we will certainly be talking about this more over the course of the semester as it brings up issues related to language and society, language policy and planning, language and education, language ideologies, and I could go on!

I am been impressed so far by the rich discussions around sociolinguistics in class, and I look forward to reading your blogs on this site.

Linguistic Tensions in the Midst of a Pandemic

Elizabeth M.

I am fortunate enough to have travelled in parts of the world. I have always stayed in hostels as this is the cheapest and most accommodating context to meet fellow travellers. Once you introduce yourself to someone, it is implied to first say your name, and possibly where you are from. This is sort of a conversation starter. I always found myself hesitating between these three options: I am from Canada; I am from Quebec; I am from Quebec, Canada. The social relationships I have held with people all of over the world made me conscious of my linguistic and cultural identities.

*Neidik, Abbey Jack, director. Between the Solitudes. National Film Board of Canada, 1992, 49 min.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQIncACiMLE*

Between the solitudes (1992), a brilliant documentary by Josh Freed, outlines the complexity between English-speaking communities and French-speaking communities in Montreal. As the title of the documentary implies, the journalist seems to be stuck between the solitudes of both linguistic communities. I identify to both the Quebec culture and the Canadian culture. Do I have to pick a side? It somehow feels that way sometimes. What does it mean to be Québecois, and more importantly, why do so many people that have lived here for a majority of their lives, do not feel Québecois? In 1995, Quebec almost declared its independence with the following votes: the “no” option carried 50,58% of votes and the “yes” option carried 49,42% of votes (Gall, 2013). As some might say, the last referendum in 1995 and the strong nationalist ideologies that were promoted are less prevalent in today’s political narrative. Even though the separatist movement is not at its tipping point, the linguistic tensions continue to simmer under the guise of language restrictions.

PHOTO BY JACQUES BOISSINOT /The Canadian Press

A linguistic storm hit the National Assembly last week when Dominique Anglade vulgarized her speech using French and English (Papineau, 2020). A journalist interrupted the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party by saying: “ça ne se fait pas ça!” you can’t do that!, referring to her usage of the English language in the National Assembly. After political discussions amongst party leaders, it was agreed that only François Legault, current premier of Quebec, and his team, could reiterate political messages in French, and then in English during the Covid-19 outbreak (Mulclair, 2020). In the midst of a pandemic, linguistic choices by political leaders are still confronted and questioned.

Members of this speech community have created sociolinguistic norms about language use, more specifically, targeting the do’s and don’ts of the English language (Van Herk, 2018). These political tensions may affect people’s language attitudes and ideologies and how they perceive linguistic diversity in their everyday lives. These tensions can be transposed in the classroom. As an ESL teacher, I have witnessed lowered interest and motivation, and an overall reticence in learning English as a second language. Now, there are many factors that can impact one’s level of interest and motivation. Nonetheless, it would be important to consider the possible impacts of the history and the current debates in relation to the French and the English language in Quebec on second language English teaching and learning.

In a special time where each individual’s linguistic needs should be met with compassion and reassuring thoughts, language usage is still at the heart of the debate. The effects of these linguistic tensions continue to have significant impacts on my personal, social, and professional life, as I identify to both communities. Until my next travels, I will continue contemplating my linguistic identities to express with certainty: I am from___________.

References:

Gall, G. (2013). Québec Referendum (1995). The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-referendum-1995

Papineau, P. (2020, September 25). Une prise de parole en anglais soulève les passions à l’Assemblée nationale. Journal Le Devoir. https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/586644/une-prise-de-parole-en-anglais-souleve-les-passions-a-l-assemblee-nationale

Mulcair, T. (2020, September 29). Anglade shouldn’t have backed down on use of English. Montreal Gazette.https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/tom-mulcair-anglade-shouldnt-have-backed-down-on-use-of-english

Gall, G. (2013). Québec Referendum (1995). The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-referendum-1995

Neidik, Abbey Jack, director. Between the Solitudes. National Film Board of Canada, 1992, 49 min.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQIncACiMLE

Van Herk, Gerard. (2018). What is sociolinguistics? 2e Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

The advantages of being multilingual

Fangzhe

On my last trip to Cuba, I was struck when the tour guide on the bus was introducing the whole trip to us in very fluent English, French and Spanish. He explained everything in all three languages, in an order based on the number of people who can only understand a certain language. He seemed to have no troubles traveling through these three languages. And with the ability to entertain his target audience in each language, he gained an abundance of tips at the end of the trip.

I was surprised because in China, normally mastering English, a language most people learn since primary school, is not common and can be regarded as a great attribute. However, the first Cuban guy I met can speak three different languages in such a good way. Does it mean that in Cuba, even to be a tour guide, there is a such demanding requirement of being multilingual, or most people there actually are good multilingual speakers?

A Look at Franglais in a Work of Quebec Fiction: noms fictifs

Brian

As Heller (2008) describes, culture in Quebec is something in which the government and Quebec society have invested a great deal of energy and money. As a result, the arts are thriving, and Quebec writers are able to take advantage of subsidized publishers, an enthusiastic public, and opportunities to export their work to francophone countries in Europe, where it is promoted as Quebec culture. This is in contrast to English Canadian writers, who have greater opportunity to see their work get recognized by the Anglo-American mainstream, but more barriers to publishing and less local support. I’m generalizing to an extent, but these are factors in why English-Canadian writers from Montreal are less likely to use vernacular than their francophone counterparts.

noms fictifs, by Olivier Sylvestre, was released in 2018 and was a finalist for the French-language Governor-General’s award in fiction, among other prizes. While a work of fiction, the entire book is told in verse, another trait that is unusual for English-language fiction. Because of this structure, there is extra focus on language, which makes it a good study for both Quebec slang and franglais, or, as we could also call it, bilingual repertoire.

A Special Case of Language Anxiety?

By Wai In Chan

In one of our last classes, Lauren Godfrey-Smith gave an amazing lecture on language anxiety and the experiences of people who went through language anxiety. It was a really emotional experience for me because I felt that the study was acknowledging and validating my feelings about speaking and learning French in Montreal. Over 25 years of my life I have been learning French as a second language in English as a first language schools, and I STILL feel so much anxiety using the language that I avoid it at all costs even until today.

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A Discussion on Identity and English as a Global Language

Posted by Cheryl Lingjuan Yan (Post #2)

The word “Multilingualism” refers to the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers (Tucker, 1999). When I first came to Canada, I found people here in Montreal to be amazing. Most people are at least bilingual and almost everyone can speak three or four languages. People all come from different background, or, to be more specific, have different identities, for instance, Canadian, French, half-Spanish, full-Korean, etc. The reason why Montrealers can speak so many languages derives from the city’s history, and it also may partially be because of its colonial culture. Quebec was founded and colonized by French settlers for a long time. Therefore, French culture has a strong influence on Quebec. In addition, Canada is one of the members of the British Commonwealth. Perhaps these are the reasons people in Montreal are at least bilingual in English and French.

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The Imagination of a Language

Kunyao Kuang

In the last class, I leant a lot about the Quebec language policy on Dawn Allen’s (2006) article Who’s in and who’s out? Language and the integration of new immigrant youth in Quebec. I found that the language policy could be interestingly linked to theories from imagined community: Reflection on Origin and Spread of Nationalism (1991) written by Benedict Anderson. Although I am an outsider of the French language policy of Quebec, either a stakeholder or a “victim”, I would like to share my thoughts on the language policy, based on the power of “imagination” that Benedict mentioned in his book.

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