Quebec, the French Language, and Quebecois Identity

[harls]

They probably call it Leroy.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by harls

Not sure why this is ridiculous.

Victoriaville is still a place, afterall.

[harls]

Originally Posted by le calmar

I tried to watch Money Heist in English and it was terrible.

I had to watch an episode in French at a friend's house. The English version was marginally better.

Nothing better than the original.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by harls

King Street is used thoughout Canada.. and Québec is not an exception.

It was named King in Sherbrooke because of English settlers. Over the years it just morphed into 'rue King'.

Not sure why this is ridiculous.

Yes.

In most places in Québec these places were originally called King Street, Victoria Street, Queen Street, etc.

At some point the generic was changed to the French 'rue" but they kept the specific.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Toi, y'a pas à dire, t'es souvent super mesuré et subtile dans tes commentaires...

Don't even bother. It's just politeness to the English. The prez is not going to hurt them when it's not necessary.
I was a bit pissed at the European Union flags gone half-mast for this after their Brexit, that was like their middle finger to us all, but again, it is only tact.
They probably know what they do.

However, I think the French media is overdoing this story. You know, they always say - it's funny how we beheaded Louis XVI while so many French are still so fascinated by the British monarchy.
Really? Except for my old Breton aunt who's a funny monarchy nerd (not only about the English one, but all remaining monarchies in Europe and especially Monaco), I've never seen anybody so interested in that kind of things in our country.
As for my uncle, he smiles in her back and whispers - never mind, it entertains her. Lol.

I don't even know why our media talks about it so much. It must be boring a lot of people out here.
They must be losing a lot of their audience aged less than 70.

British stuff including the royals has global star power due to pop culture: The Crown, Harry Potter, James Bond, Coldplay, Downton Abbey etc are all popular even in France.

The British rarely pay attention to the French equivalents.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by harls

I had to watch an episode in French at a friend's house. The English version was marginally better.

Nothing better than the original.

Spanish with subtitles is the best.

[harls]

Originally Posted by vanatox

*Most perfectly bilingual Quebec people

Otherwise dubbed versions are the most popular. Personally, I am very 50-50 on that even though I consider myself bilingual. For any non-French content, I watch the dubbed version or sometimes l use subtitles. And i am not old, I am in my thirties.

Hmm, My circle of friends revolves around MTL and Gatineau, and I am not much older than you are.

I find my 'older' friends (50+), yes - they will wait for a series to be complete and dubbed in french before watching it. Meanwhile, I want to spill the beans because I already saw it almost a year ago (these people are pure-laine too).

I feel the dubbed industry is kinda dying out. My kids have been schooled in french (15 and 12) but they consume all media in English outside of high school and I swear to god, I had nothing to do with it - I even married someone from Abitibi for god's sake.

My father was scared that my second born son wouldn't be able to communicate to him in English and he was worried. This was when he was 2 years old. Now 10 years later, he corrects me on my crappy French grammar (in an English accent the same as mine).

[mousquet]

Voilà, bon... Brisavoine probably thinks that's too much from the French prez like he'd be on his knees to kiss their ass, but it's actually smart, wise and elegant in such a circumstance.

• Video Link

Maybe it's even sincere, who knows?

I'll tell you about my personal experiences in England if you will. It's always been pleasant.
I've never felt unwelcome or mistreated over there. My first experiences in an English-speaking country were England and somehow, it was even easier than the US that wasn't too hard either. I have only good memories from childhood over there.
Heck, their moms were really nice to me. Even the food they cooked for us was actually decent. No boiled beef or anything like that, it was only fair edible food and I like the way they serve tea with a drop of milk.
Maybe I was lucky. I've only met kind people over there when I was a kid, so that's the way it is to me.

But this is not about one's personal feeling anyway. This is about defending the French language, France and Québec's interests, and the Republican principles and ideals vs monarchy that's really old-fashioned.
That's all. Nothing personal.

Hm, yeah, she met a bunch of French presidents in 70 years, huh... It is said that Elizabeth II liked François Mitterand. I'm hardly surprised.
What a clever manipulator that guy must've been. Nasty politician...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by harls

Hmm, My circle of friends revolves around MTL and Gatineau, and I am not much older than you are.

I find my 'older' friends (50+), yes - they will wait for a series to be complete and dubbed in french before watching it. Meanwhile, I want to spill the beans because I already saw it almost a year ago (these people are pure-laine too).

I feel the dubbed industry is kinda dying out. My kids have been schooled in french (15 and 12) but they consume all media in English outside of high school and I swear to god, I had nothing to do with it.

Kids from anglophone-francophone parents even if they went to French school and speak French perfectly, skew heavily to anglophone pop culture.

I actually think francophone pop culture does better among allophone kids who generally do not even speak French at home.

Source: my kids' many friends of all origins.

[harls]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Kids from anglophone-francophone parents even if they went to French school and speak French perfectly, skew heavily to anglophone pop culture.

I think my youngest is corrupting quite a few french-only speaking friends, dragging them into his team deathmatches and bringing their gaming addictions kicking and screaming into the anglosphere.

I call this - 'ruekingography'

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by lio45

We’re 30 km too far north for that to make sense, but “Rue W. L. Mackenzie King” could work.

Though, “Rue du Roi” would be a better choice IMO, if the status quo somehow isn’t an option anymore.

There are Martin Luther King streets all across Western Europe. It would be odd if Canada had none. One doesn't have to be a US city to have a "Martin Luther King Street", just as one doesn't have to be an Indian city to have a "Mahatma Gandhi Street".

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by mousquet

They are good customers, we sell them lots of stuff. Our trade balance is usually positive to the UK.all.

They'll keep drinking Champagne and Cognac, and skiing in the French Alps even if they dislike France, just as you'll keep buying Apple computers even if you greatly dislike the US.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Yes.

In most places in Québec these places were originally called King Street, Victoria Street, Queen Street, etc.

At some point the generic was changed to the French 'rue" but they kept the specific.

That is not what they do in Brussels. It would be like having a "Law Street", and changing it to "Rue Law", which is, yes, a bit ridiculous. In Brussels they had a "Rue de la Loi", and now that street names have to be in Dutch in all of Brussels, it was translated entirely, and it is therefore "Wetstraat" in Dutch ("wet" means "law" in Dutch, and "straat" is "street"). The Flemings would find it ridiculous (and probably offensive) if it was "Loistraat" that had been chosen for Dutch street signs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_de_la_Loi

[harls]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

There are Martin Luther King streets all across Western Europe. It would be odd if Canada had none. One doesn't have to be a US city to have a "Martin Luther King Street", just as one doesn't have to be an Indian city to have a "Mahatma Gandhi Street".

You are really stuck on this King thing, Cut oats.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

They'll keep drinking Champagne and Cognac, and skiing in the French Alps even if they dislike France, just as you'll keep buying Apple computers even if you greatly dislike the US.

I imagine that when Quebec is finally, completely, maître de son propre destin, that there will be an official government decree that now, and forever more, Apple computers will henceforth only ever be referred to as l'ordinature de Pomme.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Voilà, bon... Brisavoine probably thinks that's too much from the French prez like he'd be on his knees to kiss their ass, but it's actually smart, wise and elegant in such a circumstance.

• Video Link

Maybe it's even sincere, who knows?

I would call it naive, as often with Macron (think of his dalliance with Putin). He always has this almost childish feeling that if you reach out to people, they are going to be nice with you, and you'll be able to solve the world's problems. It's perhaps true at an individual level in private life (and then, not always), but at a state level, for interstate relations, it strikes me as being so very naive... How well did it work with Putin? or with Trump? Remember how he tried to play Trump's best friend to keep the USA in the Paris Climate Agreement?

Queen Elizabeth II did not even come to the funerals of De Gaulle in Paris, attended by more than 60 heads of states and governments, including Nixon who crossed the Atlantic to pay his respects to the old man. Elizabeth II thought it wasn't worth crossing the Channel for that, and just sent Charles, Prince of Wales to represent her.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

There are Martin Luther King streets all across Western Europe. It would be odd if Canada had none. One doesn't have to be a US city to have a "Martin Luther King Street", just as one doesn't have to be an Indian city to have a "Mahatma Gandhi Street".

It would be perfectly normal to have a MLK street somewhere in the city, but to have MLK Street as THE #1 by far street in the entire city, you basically have to be a US Southeast city (and almost certainly a majority black one, as well).

Similarly, any town that has Mahatma Gandhi Avenue as its major spine has got to be in South Asia. I challenge you to find me a French city that named its single most prominent street after a foreigner, even a well-known one.

Would you find it odd if Paris renamed the Champs Élysées avenue “Martin Luther King Avenue”? No need to even answer that.

(If Memphis, Tennessee did that, okay. Pretty sure I recall MLK Ave was major in Atlanta too.)

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I imagine that when Quebec is finally, completely, maître de son propre destin, that there will be an official government decree that now, and forever more, Apple computers will henceforth only ever be referred to as l'ordinature de Pomme.

They've already done that, haven't they?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

There are Martin Luther King streets all across Western Europe. It would be odd if Canada had none. One doesn't have to be a US city to have a "Martin Luther King Street", just as one doesn't have to be an Indian city to have a "Mahatma Gandhi Street".

Montréal has an Avenue du Président-Kennedy.

[MolsonExport]

Mountain Street became "de la Montagne" despite being named after some dude with the surname "Mountain".

St. James --> St. Jacques
Dorchester--> Rene Levesque
University --> Robert Bourassa
Burnside--> DeMaisonneuve