Rideau Centre Expansion | Completed - Page 96

1overcosc · #**1901** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 6:50 PM**

The linguistic divide of the Ottawa River is hardening and it's been like that for years now.

Ottawa neighbourhoods that used to have noticeable Francophone minorities, like Sandy Hill and Hintonburg, are now pretty much exclusively English.

Places like Vanier and Orleans that were once mostly French are now mostly English.

Similarly, in Gatineau, the Aylmer area used to be mostly English but now it's mostly French.

The trend has even started affecting valley towns, too. Historically Anglo-Quebec towns like Wakefield and Chelsea are now becoming increasingly French-speaking while historically Franco-Ontarian towns like Rockland and Embrun are becoming increasingly English-speaking.

I grew up in Embrun. When I was a kid my family was the only English-speaking household on our street. Now it's about half-and-half English & French.. and rapidly tilting to English. Many businesses in Embrun now have English-only signage in the interior of the stores.

YOWflier · #**1902** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 6:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocketphish

For many years, as a kid growing up, I thought that the "Mens Hommes" was a special kind of room ("home") for men, and I guess it actually is.

Plenty of phonetic fun can be had if you're reasonably childish and immature at times like me. I usually pronounce "Hommes" as "Homies", which fits pretty well anyway. I won't elaborate on my pronunciation of "Poussez" though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

As I pointed out, I was NOT complaining.

I hear ya. I was just poking a bit. Heavy sarcasm doesn't always come through very well.

Acajack · #**1903** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 7:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ac888yow

I hear ya. I was just poking a bit. Heavy sarcasm doesn't always come through very well.

Cool! And here I was fearing your newfound appreciation for me had fizzled out!

Acajack · #**1904** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 7:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ac888yow

Plenty of phonetic fun can be had if you're reasonably childish and immature at times like me. I usually pronounce "Hommes" as "Homies", which fits pretty well anyway. I won't elaborate on my pronunciation of "Poussez" though.
.

Anglos had lots of fun when Montreal was grouped as the Communauté Urbaine de Montréal, or CUM for short.

So you had the STCUM transit agency, the Police de la CUM, etc.

Acajack · #**1905** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 8:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The linguistic divide of the Ottawa River is hardening and it's been like that for years now.

Ottawa neighbourhoods that used to have noticeable Francophone minorities, like Sandy Hill and Hintonburg, are now pretty much exclusively English.

Places like Vanier and Orleans that were once mostly French are now mostly English.

Similarly, in Gatineau, the Aylmer area used to be mostly English but now it's mostly French.

The trend has even started affecting valley towns, too. Historically Anglo-Quebec towns like Wakefield and Chelsea are now becoming increasingly French-speaking while historically Franco-Ontarian towns like Rockland and Embrun are becoming increasingly English-speaking.

I grew up in Embrun. When I was a kid my family was the only English-speaking household on our street. Now it's about half-and-half English & French.. and rapidly tilting to English. Many businesses in Embrun now have English-only signage in the interior of the stores.

Yeah, the long-term trend seems to be the "consolidation" of the two languages on either side of the river, at least in terms of most public life. The process is a bit slower on the Quebec side IMO, but it still appears to be moving in that direction.

Which is not to say that linguistic minorities don't still have some "kick" left in them. I don't think they'll ever completely die out, but their impact is declining.

I know a couple of kids who live in Wakefield (the town is about 90% anglo) and who are for all intents and purposes unilingual francophones. These are elementary school kids who only hang out with their parents. These are pre-teens who are out and about all the time.

OTOH I don't know any kids that age in Orleans who are unilingual francophones, even though the percentage of francophones there is much higher than in Wakefield (30% vs. 10%).

Marshsparrow · #**1906** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 8:39 PM**

Many areas of traditional english Ottawa (Barrhaven and Kanata) have seen a tremendous increase in francophones.

Just make the signs sensible and bilingual - this debate is so draining and not worth the energy to keep revisiting.

McC · #**1907** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 8:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Ottawa neighbourhoods that used to have noticeable Francophone minorities, like Sandy Hill and Hintonburg, are now pretty much exclusively English.

that's not my experience. I hear lots of French in the parks and at Parkdale Market, the French public and Catholic schools are well used, and a place like Marché Hintonburg Market becomes like a little hub for francophones and francophiles in the hood.

Radster · #**1908** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 8:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by McC

that's not my experience. I hear lots of French in the parks and at Parkdale Market, the French public and Catholic schools are well used, and a place like Marché Hintonburg Market becomes like a little hub for francophones and francophiles in the hood.

Agreed, I live in Hintonbourg, and I hear French spoken on the street, restaurants, shops and parks all the time.

loga0082 · #**1909** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 9:39 PM**

I have even noticed, when I walked in the Rideau Centre, all the names of the shops are written in English instead of French. There are some Franco-Ontarians who live in Ottawa and they must speak French. Since the Rideau Centre is very close to Hull, I am sure that some people from Hull must walk across the Alexandrian bridge and shop at the Rideau Centre. The people from Hull will speak French surely. The Rideau Centre is very close to the University of Ottawa which is a bilingual university and many French Canadian students do their degree in French. They must shop at the Rideau Centre. What one must know that Franco-Ontarians and people from Hull, Gatineau, and Alymer are very fluent in speaking English, so I am sure that they would be able to read simple signs of shops in the Rideau Centre.

Acajack · #**1910** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 10:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marshsparrow

Many areas of traditional english Ottawa (Barrhaven and Kanata) have seen a tremendous increase in francophones.

Just make the signs sensible and bilingual - this debate is so draining and not worth the energy to keep revisiting.

No one is complaining (on here anyway).

Acajack · #**1911** Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 11:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by McC

that's not my experience. I hear lots of French in the parks and at Parkdale Market, the French public and Catholic schools are well used, and a place like Marché Hintonburg Market becomes like a little hub for francophones and francophiles in the hood.

It's true that some francophones in Ottawa have been moving out of their traditional east end base area more in recent years.

This is not necessarily a good thing for the future of French in the city, but it does give the community and its language more of a presence in the west end.

(Though the Wellington West - Hintonburg - Mechanicsville - LeBreton area actually used to be a pretty francophone area. That was never the case though for Nepean, Barrhaven, Kanata, etc.)

McC · #**1912** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 12:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

(Though the Wellington West - Hintonburg - Mechanicsville - LeBreton area actually used to be a pretty francophone area.

For sure. St François d'Assise didn't build itself.

Buggys · #**1913** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 12:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocketphish

For many years, as a kid growing up, I thought that the "Mens Hommes" was a special kind of room ("home") for men, and I guess it actually is. But I always wondered why there was no analogous "Womens Hommes". Bilingualism can be a very strange thing for kids.

Weren't there any "Women's Femmes"?

Acajack · #**1914** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 3:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by McC

For sure. St François d'Assise didn't build itself.

Yup.

Several km east of there, there was still around 10 years ago a caisse populaire on Somerset right near where the Chinese arch is. St-Jean-Baptiste was its name, which it also shared with a church (still open) and I believe a school (long gone).

The caisse closed a some years ago, but I think it hasn't been that long since they took out the Desjardins ATM machine there.

YOWflier · #**1915** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 3:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Cool! And here I was fearing your newfound appreciation for me had fizzled out!

Ha! Not yet!

Acajack · #**1916** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 5:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ac888yow

Ha! Not yet!

Phew. There's hope for me still.

loga0082 · #**1917** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 5:15 PM**

In the Rideau Centre, there is a 'Femmes' clothes shop which is across from 'Nordstrom' on the 3rd floor. It is right next to the 'Kiehl'. It has a French name. The shop 'L'Occitane' on the 3rd floor, where they sell facial products is in French. I have heard that they are opening a 'L'Anthropologie' shop in the Rideau Centre expansion in August, so there are a few shops that have French names in it. I forgot that the 'Creperie' in the new food court is written in French too.

Acajack · #**1918** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 5:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by loga0082

In the Rideau Centre, there is a 'Femmes' clothes shop which is across from 'Nordstrom' on the 3rd floor. It is right next to the 'Kiehl'. It has a French name. The shop 'L'Occitane' on the 3rd floor, where they sell facial products is in French. I have heard that they are opening a 'L'Anthropologie' shop in the Rideau Centre expansion in August, so there are a few shops that have French names in it. I forgot that the 'Creperie' in the new food court is written in French too.

I guess you are referring to "Femme de Carrière"?

Anthropologie BTW is an American chain. Some American chains have French names like Aéropostale, Bon Ton, etc.

And some Quebec and French chains have English names...

kwoldtimer · #**1919** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 5:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

I guess you are referring to "Femme de Carrière"?

Anthropologie BTW is an American chain. Some American chains have French names like Aéropostale, Bon Ton, etc.

And some Quebec and French chains have English names...

The do that so they can charge more.

loga0082 · #**1920** Posted **Jun 22, 2016, 8:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

I guess you are referring to "Femme de Carrière"?

Anthropologie BTW is an American chain. Some American chains have French names like Aéropostale, Bon Ton, etc.

And some Quebec and French chains have English names...

Acajack, yes, I am referring to the clothes shop which is very close to "Kiehls" as the "Femme de Carriere" on the 3rd floor. I did not even know that "Anthropologie" was an American chain. Does it sell clothes too? "Femme de Carriere" would translate literally in English "Career Women".