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A great deal of my neighbours do not speak any English. They simply don't need it and had no reason to learn.
I have friends who are unilingual Anglophone, you wonder how that happens in Quebec but some went to English schools work in an English environment,all their friends are English, end result they never learned French or saw the need to.
The people in Montreal and Gatineau can speak English unbelievably well.
Every time I go to Montreal, many of the young people there can speak English at native fluency without an accent. I know someone from Montreal who speaks English all the time, despite being French. She says people in Montreal don't mind, but in Quebec City it's much more frowned upon.
The people in Montreal and Gatineau can speak English unbelievably well.
Every time I go to Montreal, many of the young people there can speak English at native fluency without an accent. I know someone from Montreal who speaks English all the time, despite being French. She says people in Montreal don't mind, but in Quebec City it's much more frowned upon.
It's not "frowned upon" in Quebec City. The truth is if you wanted to speak English 100% of the time here, you would most likely not find many people to speak English with. There are just very few Anglophones, and not that many people who can speak English fluently.
In general (and especially compared to Francophones living in the Montreal suburbs and even on the island), Quebec City residents don't have a very strong opinion on the French vs. English debate, as it is a complete non-issue in their daily lives.
I know someone from Montreal who speaks English all the time, despite being French. She says people in Montreal don't mind, but in Quebec City it's much more frowned upon.
I bet she grew up in the West Island of Montreal: honestly, that's the only place where people wouldn't mind, and that's because it is a mostly English-speaking area of Montreal. Elsewhere in the region, people would consider it very, very weird if a francophone spoke English in his/her daily life.
I bet she grew up in the West Island of Montreal: honestly, that's the only place where people wouldn't mind, and that's because it is a mostly English-speaking area of Montreal. Elsewhere in the region, people would consider it very, very weird if a francophone spoke English in his/her daily life.
When interacting with anglophones, really? English speakers aren't this tiny minority. There are also plenty of anglophones of French descent.
When interacting with anglophones, really? English speakers aren't this tiny minority.
He said she speaks English "all the time", not specifically when interacting with anglophones.
And honestly, outside of the West Island, the reverse is more common: you'll see anglophones switching to French when interacting with francophones. Most anglophones from Saint-Leonard, Anjou, Chomedey or St-Lambert speak French so well that you can hardly tell they're not native French-speakers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdw
There are also plenty of anglophones of French descent.
Well if she is an anglophone of French descent, she is no more "French" than Daniel Johnson (the ex-premier) is "English".
He said she speaks English "all the time", not specifically when interacting with anglophones.
And honestly, outside of the West Island, the reverse is more common: you'll see anglophones switching to French when interacting with francophones. Most anglophones from Saint-Leonard, Anjou, Chomedey or St-Lambert speak French so well that you can hardly tell they're not native French-speakers.
Well if she is an anglophone of French descent, she is no more "French" than Daniel Johnson (the ex-premier) is "English".
No one calls Daniel Johnson "English"; I was saying that maybe Cool85's friend has a French name, but she is probably no more "French" than Daniel Johnson is "English". Otherwise, yes, people would find it weird if she lived in the Montreal area and spoke English all the time.
It's not "frowned upon" in Quebec City. The truth is if you wanted to speak English 100% of the time here, you would most likely not find many people to speak English with. There are just very few Anglophones, and not that many people who can speak English fluently.
In general (and especially compared to Francophones living in the Montreal suburbs and even on the island), Quebec City residents don't have a very strong opinion on the French vs. English debate, as it is a complete non-issue in their daily lives.
It all rings true from my own experience, besides the number of bilingual french quebecers is way overstated IMO or perhaps that word ''bilingual'' means something else to the bean counters and other petty functionnaries tabulating those statistics.
It all rings true from my own experience, besides the number of bilingual french quebecers is way overstated IMO or perhaps that word ''bilingual'' means something else to the bean counters and other petty functionnaries tabulating those statistics.
Bilingualism is always self-reported so there is no consistency in how grey areas are dealt with. For example among Francophones in Quebec City, I would say
10% understand and speak English without much of an accent
20% understand perfectly, speak with a noticeable accent but would still be comfortable carrying out a conversation in English
20% understand it well, can speak with an accent but would be rather uncomfortable doing so
30% understand English at a basic level but can't speak it
20% don't really understand English -- they know some words but wouldn't understand a sentence
The official census stats are ~35% of Quebec City metro area residents have knowledge of both French and English. Where to draw the line between "knows" and "doesn't know" both official languages is a bit unclear given those categories.
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