Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire
That's what I mean, though - I mean, I'm sure there is someone local who takes it as an affront, but generally people there are unperturbed by the presence of English. I wonder if Quebec, or at least some parts of it, is becoming more aligned with that viewpoint.
|
A decent chunk of Quebec's population has always been aligned with that viewpoint, even in the early days of the language debate (late 60s and early 70s). You've always had quite a few francophones who saw things that way, even.
There are always shifts taking place though, relative to which groups tend to think in which way.
Certainly the data shows that young people (even francophones) are less passionate and more laissez-faire about language, but you also have new variables like appreciable numbers of allophones/immigrants who are very passionate about French. Something that was virtually absent in the 1970s.
For example, this open letter was published a few days ago and circulated on social media. It's from a Kabyle origin student who is complaining of a lack of respect for French... at McGill.
https://www.delitfrancais.com/2020/1...urgit-en-2020/
She does not represent a huge majority but she's not as much of an outlier as one might think.
I think it's wishful thinking to say "it's just old people who care about this and eventually it'll go away as they die off".
There is still some noise to come on this.