Law Quebec Passed Sweeping Legislation to Enforce the use of French.

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  • Bill 96 limits the use of English — one of Canada's two official languages — in the public service and permits inspectors to conduct searches and seizures in businesses without warrants.
  • The proactive use of Section 33 (notwithstanding clause) permits the Quebec provincial government to override the Canadian Constitution.





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The place that banned the term grilled cheese and cocktail

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The commonly used term for a grilled cheese sandwich in Quebec is 'grilled cheese'

From grilled cheese to cocktails, drag queen and leggings, the French-language watchdog in the Canadian province of Quebec has relaxed its guidelines around some common "anglicisms".

It's the Canadian province that made international headlines for "pastagate" - a fracas over the use of the word "pasta" on an Italian restaurant's menu in Montreal.

So it comes as no surprise that new guidelines from Quebec's French-language watchdog on some common, longstanding "anglicisms" has sparked debate.

The use of a handful of English words whose Francophone equivalents have never been adopted by Quebecers are now considered acceptable infringements on French in the province.

Grilled cheese is as OK as "sandwich au fromage fondant", cocktail instead of "coquetel" gets a pass, baby-boom can be used instead of "bébé-boum" and softball is fine in place of "balle-molle".

A handful of words from languages other than English - café latté, gelato, scampi - are also now considered permissible in French in Quebec.

The 51-year-old language watchdog agency, known by its French acronym, OQLF, quietly adopted the changes earlier this year.

OQFL spokesman Jean-Pierre Le Blanc says the policy was loosened "to keep in the mind the social and linguistic reality of Quebecers".

"We're legitimising what is already commonly being used," he says.

Le Blanc says that the agency will continue to promote French and propose equivalents as new words like hashtag ("mot-clic") come into use.

Some like "divulgâcheur" as a replacement for spoiler, or "cuisinomane" for foodie, appear unlikely enter into daily conversation.

But "courriel" for email, or "égoportrait" for selfie, have caught on.


Le Blanc says they demonstrate that "French can also be creative, can describe situations that are new, that are modern".

"But we're not closed to other languages. That's what we want to show with this new policy."

The language agency was established in 1961 with the mandate to defend the use of French in Quebec as well as fight English words being borrowed and creeping into the common vernacular.

Language has always been a thorny issue in the predominantly French-speaking province.

One former researcher at the OQLF was so incensed by the change he said the agency was abandoning its responsibilities and participating in "voluntary subjugation".

But Benoît Melançon, a French literature professor at the Université de Montréal, says the OQFL is simply being "realistic" with the updated policy.

"No one in Quebec says 'coup d'écrasement au tennis' instead of saying 'smash'. It doesn't exist," he says.

"If you propose it and after 10, 15 years no one is using it, you can't be stubborn about it."

The French-language watchdog has a reputation for stringent application of the Quebec's language laws.

It has found itself at odds with angry restaurateurs, business owners, and large retailers over the application of the provincial language laws.

The new guidelines mean that some restaurants that have had run-ins with the OQLF are now in the clear.

In 2016, a restaurant called La Mama Grilled Cheese in Quebec City received a letter from the language agency for its now justified use of "grilled cheese".

Le Cheese restaurant, a gourmet grilled cheese establishment in Montreal, has also faced concerns over its name.

Owner Pascal Salzman told the CBC "I'm all for preserving the French language and culture - I think it's a great initiative - however, I don't think using the word 'grilled cheese' is going to destroy that heritage."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41323915
 
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Previously, in Quebec...
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Head of Quebec language watchdog resigns after ‘pastagate’ controversy
The head of Quebec’s language watchdog agency resigned Friday following a series of controversies that have created embarrassing headlines at home and abroad.

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Massimo Lecas, co-owner of buonanotte restaurant, shows the menu atthat led to a warning from the Office quebecois de la langue francais.

QUEBEC—The head of Quebec’s language watchdog agency resigned Friday following a series of controversies that have created embarrassing headlines at home and abroad.

The departure of Louise Marchand, president of the Office Quebecois de la langue francaise, was announced Friday by the provincial minister responsible for the agency.

Her exit follows a series of news stories that have drawn considerable ridicule upon the agency — in Quebec, the rest of Canada, and even internationally.

The first such story was about how an Italian restaurant was forced to remove the word “pasta” from its menu, and similar reports have surfaced repeatedly in recent days from other restaurant owners.

“These episodes had an undesired effect on the businesses, the Office personnel, the public, and Quebec in general,” said Diane De Courcy, minister responsible for the French language.

Such stories are considered damning enough to the OQLF that some of its more nationalist defenders have even voiced theories of an Anglo plot to discredit the agency.

But other OQLF defenders say its inspectors are simply doing the job politicians have asked them to do — which is to vigilantly enforce Quebec’s language law.

This series of events has created a rare phenomenon in Quebec politics: the Parti Quebecois government has been calling on the language watchdog to be less aggressive, not more.

It has also led to rare jokes in newspaper columns and cartoons, and in social media, about a 50-year-old institution that francophone Quebecers have traditionally credited as a cultural safeguard.

De Courcy announced several changes to OQLF procedures Friday. One will see the agency create a quality-control post, to keep an eye on any dispute between a business and an agency inspector. There will also be a new procedural guide, among other measures.

The so-called “Pastagate” stories are only one language headache for the government.

An even more significant problem for the PQ, in the long run, could be its difficulty to get a language bill adopted by the legislature.

Bill 14 appears on shaky ground with one opposition party saying it will reject key elements of the legislation.

The leader of the Coalition for Quebec’s Future says he opposes plans to make French the mandatory language in the workplace for companies with between 25 and 49 employees. He also opposes plans to make it easier revoke the bilingual status of municipalities with dwindling English-speaking populations.

François Legault told a news conference in Quebec City this morning it is important to strike a balance between promoting French and respecting the rights of Anglophones.

The Coalition has 19 seats in the 125-member national assembly and effectively holds the balance of power.

The governing Parti Quebecois has 54 seats and the Liberals, who have said they will vote against the language legislation, have 50. The two others are held by the left-wing sovereigntist Québec Solidaire.

The PQ made protecting French a key issue during last year’s election campaign, saying the language was threatened, particularly in Montreal and western Quebec.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...hdog_resigns_after_pastagate_controversy.html
 
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This organisation sounds like a massive waste of time, space and money
 
this is typically for French speaking people, happens in France all the time. upside is their language gets preserved somewhat, downside is that it's very forced
 
You just described Quebec. Beautiful place, filled to the brim with stupidity.

You are free to leave and join the 300+ North Americans who share you view.

In any case you don't care about Québec's culture, or you fail to grasp how threatened it actually is in a North-American context. Possibly both.

That being said the OQLF is abit over the top at times, I can agree with that. English notions and word are being translated in French ad nauseam in Québec, more so than in France.
 
You are free to leave and join the 300+ North Americans who share you view.

In any case you don't care about Québec's culture, or you fail to grasp how threatened it actually is in a North-American context. Possibly both.

That being said the OQLF is abit over the top at times, I can agree with that. English notions and word are being translated in French ad nauseam in Québec, more so than in France.
You know full well that in Quebec any English word becomes Quebecois by putting "le" "la" or "les" in front of it. Let's not pretend for a second that what is being spoken there is actually French. Don't get me wrong, like I said Quebecois is beautiful and has a lot of great things, but it is fucked at the same time.
 
Fookin' frenchies thinkin' their language is the shit. I get it in Quebec to an extent but I remember one of the things that annoyed me the most about Marine la Pen and her party was their retarded ideas about making French a world language again. Fuck off, you had your chance and ya blew it!
 
Je prefere 'l'ordinateur' et 'l'ecran' a 'pc' et 'screen'.
 
this is typically for French speaking people, happens in France all the time. upside is their language gets preserved somewhat, downside is that it's very forced

Look, we have to get these dudes off the fucking metric system and standing up at the damn urinal.
 
You know full well that in Quebec any English word becomes Quebecois by putting "le" "la" or "les" in front of it. Let's not pretend for a second that what is being spoken there is actually French. Don't get me wrong, like I said Quebecois is beautiful and has a lot of great things, but it is fucked at the same time.

I am well aware of the extent to which English has creeped in the language in Québec, no need to remind me. But I disagree with "what being spoken not being French". That would apply to some lower-class folks from some areas of Montreal/Border regions/Eastern Townships.

Most educated people speak the Québec-variation of French which is French by all means. Sure, there are some variations in the syntax and the expressions from normal French, but it is still French and people from France understand it perfectly.

In any case your comment simply shows your contempt for Québécois culture : "why try to defend their language since they speak like shit anyways?" is basically what you are saying.

You know, most Europeans consider the languages spoken in the New World as garbage. Québécois French, American English, Brazilian portuguese, Mexican Spanish........

Maybe our heritage is shit to some people, but it is still our heritage and should be precious to us.

May anybody who disagrees get fucked by pigs. And their mother as well.
 
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