Béatrice
“My monolingualism dwells, and I call it my dwelling; it feels like one to me, and I remain in it and inhabit it. It inhabits me.”Jacques Derrida.
One of the major changes that I have witnessed in the time since I was last in school, is the overwhelming air of acceptance pervasive on almost every level of socio-cultural behaviour. The education system has evolved, there is hope for humanity.
I’m a firm believer in EDUCATION. My family, my upbringing, it was, and still is, all about getting an education.
This brings me to the troublesome issue of Quebec French monolingualism.
It is about NOT getting an education.
The population of Quebec is approximately 8 million, of which 6 million describe French as their mother tongue. According to the 2016 census, the rate of bilingualism (the percentage of the population that said they had knowledge of both English and French) is at 44.5 per cent. But that still leaves a rough 4 million with monolingual French. I have wrestled with the negative implications of that issue for some time now.
The necessity to protect and promote the French language is understandable. I’m all for it. We are swimming in a sea of English. However, the bureaucratic narrow-mindedness of limiting linguistic education and preventing a significant portion of the population from acquiring a second language (in this case English), is a mind-numbing exercise in the propagation of group-think covered by a veneer of nationalism. This enables an easy manipulation in the service of population control.
The political powers that be, can maintain an easy upper hand, if the masses are ignorant. Monolingualism often diminishes economic potential. Lack of education represses the individual in society, and governance as a hierarchical activity of power and control, can more easily dictate to the uninformed. The educated elite rises to the top to rule the uneducated.
Even though languages are social constructions, the ideology of languages as fixed entities still carries a powerful social force. As with identity, we need to be able to account for a range of conceptions of language (Crump, 2016).
In line with this, an interesting issue came up during our last discussion in class. How is it that many of the students from China enrolled now at McGill, are not thoroughly informed that they are coming to study in a province which is predominantly French-speaking? These students spoke of their great surprise at the preponderance of French here.
Furthermore, if they wish to work or immigrate here, knowledge of French is essential. These students impressed me with their ambition to eventually acquire the French language, although they declared it a formidable task. Considering that they speak at least two other languages, (English and Mandarin-Chinese), there is no doubt that this can be accomplished, should they so desire.
Culturally and linguistically these diverse students and others are traditionally on the educational and technological margins with the literacies they need to fully participate in public, community, and economic life in the 21st century. However, an open-minded educational system which includes all—immigrant, native born, and visitor—should be the solution, not the problem.
References
Crump, A. (2014). Introducing LangCrit: Critical language and race theory. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 11(3), 207-224.
Derrida, J., (1998). Monolingualism of the Other: Or, the Prosthesis of Origin. Stanford University Press.
Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2011 and 2016.
Beatrice, this is a rallying call! The consequences of changes to the status of French in Canada and in Quebec since 29160 make up a fascinating field of inquiry for sociolinguists and students of language policy and planning—but however great the abstract interest of the pursuit, there have been human costs that also need to be understood. You are reminding us of those. I look forward to seeing what your classmates will say…
The Quiet revolution of the 60s supposed the handing of education in Quebec from the hands of the churches (who ran schools) to the hands of the people (the government). This philosophy sometimes called “Maîtres chez-nous” ensured changes that brought education closer to people in the province. However, I always find it interesting to see how education in Quebec continues to serve a higher agenda. It provided churches with lots of power and influence before and it now serves as a means for political gains and influence as well. I cannot think of any other place where educational decision-making gets so politicized (the battles for the new history curriculum, and intensive ESL in French schools are just recent examples). Bill 101 gave provisions that, in my opinion, have safeguarded the place of French in the province, but its monilingual approach, despite having contributed to a strengthened sense of identity in Quebec, has failed the children of the province by denying them access to multilingualism as an asset to successfully engage in the dynamics of the 21st. century.
I believe Bill 101 has served the overarching purpose of assuring the “quality and influence of the French language” (Bill 101, 2018, Preamble, p.1) quite well, to the point that it has promoted bilingualism in the Anglophone communities through immersion schools. However, its prescriptive nature is affecting the chances of especially Quebec’s francophone youth to learn English and other languages and to successfully insert themselves in the dynamics that globalization imposes on our society and education. The bill also fails to recognize the sociocultural realities of this day and denies the role of new literacies that are built upon multilingualism as the muscle of interactions and access to new text formats.
The debate on the role of language acquisition and instruction in Quebec schools thus needs to be seen not as a political card, but as an enriching opportunity for future generations to attain a better future. Although the prospect of English immersion programs across Quebec schools seems distant and makes old generations frown, the outlook of a globalized future must be the driving force of movements that push for educational policies that respond to such reality. Keeping the existing mindset when it comes to language of instruction is also a direct denial of our own children’s potential and capabilities.
John
I agree. Thank you for contributing to this discussion. Gracias.
I agree 100% with the reasons and consequences of having French as the dominant language, while applying certain structures to keep the “spread” of English in Quebec under control. I believe,though, that English speakers will, indeed, grow in numbers if Quebec is to further develop economically. Globalization and business with other countries (as well as the rest of Canada) will require many Quebequers to learn the language that will provide them with better job opportunities. Having said that, I am really curious about what next steps the governments will take to keep English in check. I think the newer generations going into Politics might help steer current French policy toward a new direction. Still, that is just mere speculation from a newcomer, haha.
Thank you for adding your thoughts. Gracias!
And who knows …newcomers become old-timers eventually.
Bea
Béatrice, thanks a lot for a new insight on the issue of Quebec French monolingualism.
This actually reminds me of the seminar on Permanent residence I attended two weeks ago.
I was a bit embarrassed with the new immigration policy in Quebec that requires the applicants to achieve a certain level of French. This is, in some part, ok as one of the reasons I selected McGill lies in this bilingual city, Montreal. However, what I would like to point out here is the language policy strongly affects the future path of the children who are born and raised here in Quebec. As Béatrice mentions “We are swimming in a sea of English”. However, the policy makers, I believe, should take into consideration the fact that even a slight change of language policy would affect children’s future path. (For my third posting next month, I am thinking of writing about a language-policy change which could potentially affect/threaten the local languages or cultures in Africa)
Thank you for your insights. Arigato!
Beatrice