Franco Manitoba

[Enjoy03]

Originally Posted by chrisallard5454

French is very hidden in Winnipeg. For example I have a co-worker at the zoo who until the other day never spoke a word of French. A group of daycare kids came in, the majority of whom spoke French, and she preceded to speak complete, fluent, French to them. I came to find out both her parents speak French and that she just doesn't speak it often in public. This gives an example of how French is hidden in Winnipeg. Out of my 4 co-workers, one is fluent in French, another is fluent from French Immersion, and the only one that lives in St. Boniface (myself) is sadly only fluent in English.

It isn't just in St. Boniface, French is spoken everywhere in this city. It just isn't prevalent. People aren't forthright with it. Even in the restaurant on the corner of Taché and Provencher they will only speak French to you if you speak it first despite the fact that they have obvious heavy French accents.

To Roccerfeller, it was me who mentioned the British accents. That was because when I first moved to Southern Ontario my classmates would tell me that I had the strangest accent, and that I sounded almost British. They said the biggest noticeable difference was the vowels. For example, they would say when using the word pants, that I would say p-aw-nts and they would say p-ah-nts. For me it would be (milk) M-i-lk, for them it is M-e-lk. I never noticed a difference, however watching my little sister growing up in Ontario, I noticed a major difference in her accent, then mine. I was really the only one out of my family that held on to the Winnipeg accent.

Also whenever my Winnipeg family would come down to visit Ontario, they would make fun of the "American" accents that Ontarioans have.

With a name like Allard, I always thought you maybe spoke french

[roccerfeller]

chrisallard -

regarding accents, oh I see that makes sense. I know what you're referring to. I have seen that "American" accent in southern Ontario many times myself, especially Toronto & Hamilton.

regarding French speakers in the city, agreed. I have never thought of St Vital for example as a "french" borough (even though 17% of St V residents are fluent) but in my experiences at restaurants there are always one or two french servers (more in the larger ones), and a random older or younger couple out who will ask for a french server and the restaurants in that area have to be ready for that (according to what several waiters & waitresses told me on several different non-connected occasions post-inquiry)

I feel like this is more western espresso related than construction though haha maybe we could get this discussion moved in that thread, 1ajs, in case we feel like talking about it more

[harls]

Originally Posted by Shinook

If you are a Quebecois coming to "look down" on the french community in Western Canada, then ya, I can understand your expectations.

Jesus, let your defensiveness go, Joshy.

And btw, I was pretty surprised when I heard people talking French at Wal-mart at St. Vital a couple of years ago. But we already had this conversation when you were Nigel.

[vid]

I hear people talking French at Walmart in Thunder Bay. I don't think that kind of thing should be surprising to anyone. Considering thousands of people shop there every day, you're going to hear other languages. Lots of the times when I am on the bus in Thunder Bay, most riders will be speaking and none are speaking English. We're a multicultural society.

At one point in Winnipeg I was on a bus beside a man from Africa, speaking an African language. Every second word sounded like "al-Qaeda". A racist person would have been terrified.

[Bluenote]

Originally Posted by roccerfeller

chrisallard -



regarding French speakers in the city, agreed. I have never thought of St Vital for example as a "french" borough (even though 17% of St V residents are fluent)

This is due to the fact we were forced to take FRENCH in school here in St Vital. I speak it, but I also speak German.

What annoys me, and hear me out, is that when PET ( Trudeau ) put forth that we had to have all signage in both languages, this is fine, but and we had to take French in school, why is it though in Quebec ( a province which doesn't really consider itself part of canada ) doesn't have to teach english in schools, and have english signage? And what makes me more miffed is the fact our tax dollars go to fund Quebec. I would much rather see, and I am sure the rest of Western canada would rather see those tax dollars put into St B, as St B french people are nothing like Quebec people, just like Quebec people are nothing like French from France.

It is also unfair to every other language here that anyone who speaks french gets a job faster with the city, province or feds faster. That is discrimination. Yet I have never used my French card once, or my Metis Heritage once as I find that unfair.

Just my rant.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Bluenote

This is due to the fact we were forced to take FRENCH in school here in St Vital. I speak it, but I also speak German.

What annoys me, and hear me out, is that when PET ( Trudeau ) put forth that we had to have all signage in both languages, this is fine,:

Most signage in Winnipeg and elsewhere is local, and so federal-level bilingualism has nothing to do with it. Federal bilingualism applies only to signs on federal buildings like post offices, etc. If there are bilingual signs in Winnipeg for the most part these are local decisions, not federal Trudeauesque ones.

Originally Posted by Bluenote

but and we had to take French in school, why is it though in Quebec ( a province which doesn't really consider itself part of canada ) doesn't have to teach english in schools, and have english signage? ,:

English is taught in all French schools in Quebec starting in Grade 1. There are more English signs in a city like Montreal (on stores, in restaurants, etc.) than there are in Winnipeg for sure. Just because the street signs don't say ''Rue WHATEVER Street'' doesn't mean there are no English signs in Quebec.

Originally Posted by Bluenote

And what makes me more miffed is the fact our tax dollars go to fund Quebec. ,:

I assume you are talking about equalization. Since Manitoba is a recipient of equalization and receives more per capita than Quebec, how exactly are YOUR tax dollars going to fund Quebec?

Originally Posted by Bluenote

I would much rather see, and I am sure the rest of Western canada would rather see those tax dollars put into St B, as St B french people are nothing like Quebec people, just like Quebec people are nothing like French from France.
,:

The feds also spend money to prop up the English community in Quebec. Would you also like to see that money transferred to the francophone community in St-Boniface? In any event, it is odd that you are now supportive of Franco-Manitobans, given that just a few lines above you were bitching about a bunch of stuff that was actually put in place in recognition of their place in Manitoba (signs, etc.)

Originally Posted by Bluenote

It is also unfair to every other language here that anyone who speaks french gets a job faster with the city, province or feds faster. That is discrimination..:

Nobody gets a job simply because they speak French. They get a job because they have the skills for that job plus they speak English and French which is an added asset over people who speak only English. In any event, the number of bilingual jobs in Western Canada is always way overblown by people like you.

Originally Posted by Bluenote

Yet I have never used my French card once, or my Metis Heritage once as I find that unfair.:

What is a French card anyway? Where can I apply for one?

Originally Posted by Bluenote

Just my rant.

If your definition of a rant means inaccurate, disjointed and inconsistent adolescent gripes, then sure, this fits the bill.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by Bluenote

This is due to the fact we were forced to take FRENCH in school here in St Vital. I speak it, but I also speak German.

What annoys me, and hear me out, is that when PET ( Trudeau ) put forth that we had to have all signage in both languages, this is fine, but and we had to take French in school, why is it though in Quebec ( a province which doesn't really consider itself part of canada ) doesn't have to teach english in schools, and have english signage? And what makes me more miffed is the fact our tax dollars go to fund Quebec. I would much rather see, and I am sure the rest of Western canada would rather see those tax dollars put into St B, as St B french people are nothing like Quebec people, just like Quebec people are nothing like French from France.

It is also unfair to every other language here that anyone who speaks french gets a job faster with the city, province or feds faster. That is discrimination. Yet I have never used my French card once, or my Metis Heritage once as I find that unfair.

Just my rant.

Quebec french language educated students are required to take English classes in school. Its the equivalent of the French classes students in manitoba are required to take for grades 4 to 9 only they are required to begin at grade 1.

[1ajs]

can we nix the anti french anti quebec vibes in here its part of our countries history and for those that don't know Manitoba was a french speaking province when it was first formed and... it was also bilingual for a while

[Biff]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

can we nix the anti french anti quebec vibes in here its part of our countries history and for those that don't know Manitoba was a french speaking province when it was first formed and... it was also bilingual for a while

How about nixing all the language talk period in the Construction thread. Can't it be moved to the Of Interest thread or somewhere else? It is interesting but having two pages of it in a Construction thread just gets my hopes up and completely dashed in seconds.

[roccerfeller]

Looks like its been moved!


Franco-Manitoban culture/discussion can continue here

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Quebec french language educated students are required to take English classes in school. Its the equivalent of the French classes students in manitoba are required to take for grades 4 to 9 only they are required to begin at grade 1.

Is that correct? I had always understood that English began at a later grade in Quebec.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Andy6

Is that correct? I had always understood that English began at a later grade in Quebec.

Used to be Grade 3 but was moved up to Grade 1 five or ten years ago.

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Used to be Grade 3 but was moved up to Grade 1 five or ten years ago.

Also wanted to point out that there is a very vibrant fransaskois community in Saskatchewan. Their main impact is in the primary and secondary education system. Working hard and getting lots of government support to maintain their culture.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

Also wanted to point out that there is a very vibrant fransaskois community in Saskatchewan. Their main impact is in the primary and secondary education system. Working hard and getting lots of government support to maintain their culture.

What part of Saskatchewan is this? I used to work for a large insurance company out of Regina. In one meeting they were talking about their strategy of expanding into Quebec and the difficulty they had because there weren't enough French speakers in Regina that they could hire to do customer service.

They also said most Quebecers would prefer to speak to a French person with a Quebec accent rather than a "western" french accent which is why they were leaning towards opening a centre in Quebec rather than recruiting more people from across the praries.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

Also wanted to point out that there is a very vibrant fransaskois community in Saskatchewan. Their main impact is in the primary and secondary education system. Working hard and getting lots of government support to maintain their culture.

Not to deny the existence or the efforts of the Fransaskois to continue to exist as a community that functions in French, but this sounds a bit overly jovialistic.

For the record, I have known ''native'' (intergenerationally established) francophones from every single province in Canada except for BC.

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by cheswick

What part of Saskatchewan is this? I used to work for a large insurance company out of Regina. In one meeting they were talking about their strategy of expanding into Quebec and the difficulty they had because there weren't enough French speakers in Regina that they could hire to do customer service.

They also said most Quebecers would prefer to speak to a French person with a Quebec accent rather than a "western" french accent which is why they were leaning towards opening a centre in Quebec rather than recruiting more people from across the praries.

Most of the French speaking population in Saskatchewan is located in the South Central part of the province, with Gravelbourg, named after Pere Gravel, as the epicentre. There is also a strong concentration in the Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina areas. Click on the link below to see a 2011 Stats Canada study on the Fransaskois.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-642-...uction-eng.htm

Also check this one out - the history of French schooling in Saskatchewan

http://www.cefsk.ca/EN/EN_History/index.html

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

Most of the French speaking population in Saskatchewan is located in the South Central part of the province, with Gravelbourg, named after Pere Gravel, as the epicentre. There is also a strong concentration in the Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina areas. Click on the link below to see a 2011 Stats Canada study on the Fransaskois.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-642-...uction-eng.htm

Also check this one out - the history of French schooling in Saskatchewan

http://www.cefsk.ca/EN/EN_History/index.html

It's always tough sledding trying to maintain French even though some people do try.

As an interesting aside, my MP until fairly recently was heavily involved with the ACFC, which is the main Fransaskois association - I think he might have been its president at one point.

Anyway, he eventually moved away from Saskatchewan and when he went into politics, he joined the Bloc Québécois. Go figure.

[roccerfeller]

I wanted to keep this thread an info place for some of the stuff happening in the french community, and had meant to update it earlier; I'll do my best in between my back-and-forth travels, to keep updating it and anyone else is welcome to as well


onward:

- Le Cercle Molière is having a play titled La Maculée from Oct 5 to Oct 27th
(will not be shown on Sundays & Mondays)

- CCFM will have an Improv night @ 8pm in the Antoine-Gaborieau hall this upcoming Friday