How many of you speak fluent French?

haha, I have to laugh when I see things like that, if I'm in a foreign country and don't know the language, if I stop someone and they don't know English I leave it at that and ask someone else. I always try to lern how to say "excuse me do you speak english". For example the only French I know is "Excuse-moi, parle vous angles?". I can speak English, Irish, reasonable German and a small bit of Spanish. Anyone who doesn't know a second language should try learning one.

 

c'est vrai que les americains perlent seulment une langue official, mais je conais beaucoup des gens la qui parle l'espangiol aussi

sorry, it just sounded like a cheap shot at American intelligence

 

I maybe Canadain but french serves no point for me

 

Except a lot of employment opportunities.

Peace

 

i don't wanna work for the federal goverment so that doesn't really matter to me..in the western provinces being able to speak french is not a big deal.
and univeristy requires a 2nd lang..which Japanese is considered acceptable

 

French is pretty much isolated to the eastern provinces in Canada...
I rarely hear french words spoken, from Ontario to the west coast, except in the odd French Canadian family, and in the odd rare French restaurant... and even then, those who live west of Quebec province rarely speak French... From Ontario to British Columbia, the French language is for the most part considered to be somewhat of a festering butt boil, and a turd that just won't flush...

French is pretty much still where it began here, in the 1800's when eastern Canada was the original Acadia... and it infests most Canadian product labels, as required by law... from toothpicks to aircraft... and maybe even on Nasa's "Canada Space Arm"...

I've lived in Canada all my life, 57 years, in every province from Ontario to BC, and I've not yet met a French Canadian that hasn't tried to rob or harm me in one way or another... and some have quite well...
I have a strong dislike for French Canadians because of that... I don't trust them in the slightest... I just can't...

When I hear the French language being spoken near my home or vehicle or business,
I make sure everything is tied down, and locked up tight... including the shovels and rakes, and the cat and dog, the welcome mat, the garden vegies...

The last French Canadians I met, were at the Vancouver Flea Market, in a white van, with a tiny homemade window on the side. They were selling a large variety of gas and electric yard and garden tools. My nosy friend found from them that they had a route, back and forth across Canada throughout the summer months, breaking into garages all across Canada, robbing everything they thought they could make a dollar on, and selling it at fleamarkets in the big cities on route...

The second last group of French Canadians I met, were gypsies, in a convoy of two antique camper trailers, and three muscle cars. Their MO was to crash their beefed up crash vehicle through doors of businesses, in the middle of the night, and grab all they could in the allotted time period, before the police can respond to burglar alarms...

The third last FC's I met tried to set me up to lose all my possessions to them, while they pretended to be movers...

The forth last FC's I met tried to rob my utility trailer, while I was in process of vacating a rental house...

The fifth last FC tried to have me murdered...

French Canada wants to breakaway from, and breakup, Canada, because Canada's welfare and unemployment systems can't pay the poor millions of French Canadians enough free federal dollars to keep them in color TV's, Cd players Computers, Gasoline, Moosehead, and perpetual cultural stagnation...

I've heard it said, that our last handful of French Canadian Prime Ministers sold Canada out for big dollar overseas accounts... and pretty much destroyed Canada as a nation... and still are... and their mindless greedy damage really shows, in absolutely every city and town in Canada... and in the lives of every Canadian...

 

Ok, I'm calling your bluff, that's a load of complete BS, and you are an ignorant racist tool, and I mean that in the nastiest way possible.

(1) There is a healthy french population in Ontario, in northern Ontario particularly they constitute about 30% of the population. In the Ottawa Valley and many communities near the border there are communities which are almost entirely francaphone.

(2) This is basicly just wrong. The urban centres and nothern Regions of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and to a lesser degree Alberta are all home to tightly knit francaphone Communities where french is the language heard in local shops, at public events, government insitutions and of course, peoples homes. In the north these communities are a result of early French trade and exploration, predominately with the North West Trading Company. They are certainly a minority, but given the historical context of thier settlement they have a right to protect thier cultural heritage.

(3) Who are you? Hitler? Show some tolerance, this is a bilingual mulitcultural society, deal with it, and perhaps, god forbid, apreciate it.

(4) WHere did you get your Canadain history? the back of a cerial box? In the 1800's Eastern Canada was known respectively as the colonies of PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia each enjoying, at that time, a history of french inhabitance of some some 150 years + and a peacfully intigrated english inhabitance of some 50 some odd years. The Acadians arrived in the mid 1600's, and flourished as a colony of New France for over a century untill the British captured Louisburg, and in an attempt to squash further rebellion deported a great deal of the population to what was then a french territory, and what is now the State of Louisiana. The Acadians however continued to flourish and today enjoy a peaceful relation with thier Anglo compatriots, I've yet to meet anyone from NewBrunswick who doesn't beam with pride when mentioning they are they only bilingual Province of Canada...

(5) Vice versa it's nice to know (although I personaly am bilingual) that when in Quebec I can read ingredients, have access to medical care, legal assistance, etc, etc, in my language of choice aswell. Having many franco-phone friends its also nice to know the same is available for them when they choose to go abroad in OUR Country, which I might add they usually do.

(6) That's most unfortunate, but seems to me trouble follows the ignorant. I have a difficult time believe you're sharring with us objective accounts of your experiences. I say this based only on my own experience across the country, in all my travels only ONCE, ONCE, have I met a Quebecor who rubbed me the wrong way simply because he was a Quebecor and not due to the fact that he was an ignorant person(they exist in all languages and cultures, in relative proportion I might add, and to think otherwise, is in my opinion, racist). He began ranting about how I was an oppressive anglo capitolist bent to destroy his culture....about 10 minutes later he passed out, his friends apologised and we all got high.

I won't comment to much on your personal experiences, I wasn't there, I don't know, but still, I find it all very suspect that you've been at the centre of a french Canadian plot to have you robbed and murdered.

(7) Racisim. Pure and simple, and I don't see how you could argue otherwise.

(8) This is pure BS, it's so tripe with ignorance and racism I don't even know if I should even try explaining to you the present political/enconomic climate and reality of Quebecois culture. But, here it goes: Quebec Soverignty is not intented to "break up the country", it's an internal affair pertaining to thier wish to self determination, domesticaly and aborad, and further cultural realistion. This notion of Canada falling apart at the seems is a very shakey logic which centres around the exsistance of an extremist Quebec nation state intent on using its physical geography to destroy the rest of the country.

In all reality, if seperation ever did occour the outcome and reality of our relation with Quebec would likely resemble that of the European Union, and that is a worst case scenario. Transport, trade, imigration and issues of border security would see VERY minimal change as there exsists far to much of a common interest on BOTH sides. The notion that physical geography would stop the flow of communication amongst the rest of Canada is kind of silly given our country's nature and history as a land which has since the beginning relied on a continually inovative system of communication technologies which artifcially connected a vastly dispearsed population.

Infact the seperation of Quebec would likely quell many of the issues pertaining to western-allienation and strengthen the bond of the remaining 9 provinces. It would however likely spell an end to offical bilingualism and as a result could lead to the eventual assimilation of our other francophone cultures. Now, with the urban myth of the "evil nation breaking serpatists" out of the way lets move on. Quebec culture, In a few words: europe with maple syrup and hockey. Quebecors are EXTREMELY liberal and socially progressive(a far greater reason for thier support of the Parti Quebecois and the Bloc then the issue of soverignty by a mandate), I personally have found them to be the most open minded and worldly people in Canada. Many political scientists and historians have recently been making the argument that since the Quiet Revolution it has been the "Quebec Factor", with it's socio-democratic impacts, which has set us on a course divergent of the United States and allowed us to retain a constituation of a rather organic nature, which bends to the will of the people and the voice of a nation.


(9) Politicians, as a rule of thumb, are often crooked, iregardless of thier race, colour, creed and sexual orientation. I'll leave you with that opinion, as I don't care to delve into politics with a person of your nature.

As a Canadian of a mixed English, French(Franco-Ontarien) and Ukranian decent, who has enjoyed the hospitality and joi de vivre of our Franco-Bretheren I take GREAT offence to everything you wrote, not only because I know it to be completely false but because it perpetuates a mentality which seeks to destroy the very nature of our nations diversity.

I am a Canadian, et je suis fier d'etre Canadiene, l'anglais ET la francais c'est la histoire de mon pays, and it's the only logical foundation for our future.

 

I agree with Yoyo. Cosmicbrat is ignorant.
There is also a large french speaking population west of Ontario, specifically in Manitoba and around Edmonton, in Alberta.
Again, cosmicbrat not knowing his history, there was a people called the Metis, half french and half native american. They used the fur-trading routes through the hudsons bay to populate the area west of ontario before other european settlers did.

Peace

 

yovo, i suspect that you're significantly underestimating the french population in canada.

even in my hometown, Terrace, BC, which could be considered to be in exactly the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere, with a population of only 20,000 there was a distinct quebecois community, with my estimates at at least 500 people.

 

Je parle franais , c ma langue maternelle ...
Au Quebec ˆ peu prs tout le mond parle franais sauf les nouveaux immigrants et une couple d'anglais... Pis en dehors du quebec ... c po ...

 

I know a lot about the Metis... I've been living with a delicious Metis lady for ten years now... who is more honest and real than any million Canadians put together... She is the very essence of the Native People...
Her great grandparents owned the land all around the tip of Hudson's Bay... They gave the French Canadian owned Hudson's Bay Company a chunk of their land to build a store on... They gave HBC the land to use for free...
A week and a half after her grandparents were murdered, their house was burned down, and all documents of that family's ownership of the land was lost in that fire... So now you know the rest of the story...

Are you folks trying to tell me that I should find love in my heart for the French Canadian? When all I've ever recieved from the French Canadian has been evil and pain and sorrow... They make it hard to not seem racist... and I really do try to love all... but I'm really not into turning the other cheek, when I know that it will get slapped too... A person can take only so much evil before they must build a defense wall to it...
Can you see my point?...

 

No, I still fail to see your point because I still feel your fear and distaste for the french is completely subjective and irrational.

I lived and worked overseas with a group of Quebecois in the Republic of Benin, can't recall any of them murduring or stealing from the locals, infact as memory recalls we all worked tirelessly for development inititives. Programs like Quebec Sans Frontiers and Oxfam Quebec are respected worldwide for their integrity of character.

I lived with a family in Val d'Or Quebec this past year, by far the most warm hearted, generous, passionate people I have ever known. Even in the rough and gritty heart of Abitibi I came out unscathed, again I left behind many good friends, truely good people.

For a few months Magog, QC was home, durring the heart of winter. While most Ontarians would be gripping about the cold and snow the Quebecois were out skating, playing shinny, taboganning, skiing, snowshoing, at the cabine de sucre and socialising on the streets. It was eerily like something out of Roch Carrier's The Hockey Sweater. I worked for a highschool in a skills training program for students with learning disabiliites and behavioural problems and low income adults, some with disabilities: even amongst this crowd, societies unwanted, there was no violence, no fowl behaviour, nothing.

I visit my sister in Montreal atleast 4 times a year, usually a weekend to a week at a time, I wander about nearly every part of the city, at nearly all hours...again, nothing. I certainly feel safer in Montreal then in Toronto.

Once again, these are my personal opinions, I'm not saying it's a big happy utopian society, but it is certainly not what you make it out to be. They are people, like you and me, there's good and bad seeds all mixed together, plain and simple. It really is sad that you can't see that and feel the need to place some imaginary linguistic line as a judge of character. And again it is very offensive, being of a french Canadian background, that you continue to hold that belief.

 

Jai compris tout, sauf que ca la

c po? ca va dire?

 

I'm sure, as you grow older, you'll see what I mean after you've been stung a few times...

Good luck on your BC tour...
I just thought of a very important feature on a trip like that... Take along a 100-foot length of 1/8" Braided nylon rope, to hang your food stash between trees, at least 20-feet off the ground, and at least 200 feet away from your tent... Also, carry 6 mothballs in a DOUBLE airtight container, to place them around your campsite if you are concerned about bears and cats visiting your camp...

Fashion a tiny mesh bag of 6 layers of cheese cloth, with three moth balls in it, and a large safety pin to clip it to the Bottom of your food pack... Never on the side or top, and never store the mothballs with your food, or it will make it all taste like mothballs... thus the reason for the double airtight container...

In Jasper National Park, a restaurant placed two mothballs in the garbage pails, full of rotting meat, that bears rifled through every night.. The cans with mothballs were left untouched...

I'm writing a book on "Luxury Bush Survival"... I've pretty much done it all...

 

I know how to say "The black cat ate the small baby at the door" in french....that's about it.

Casper

 

Well put Yovo.
Now that I think about it, my grandma is french canadian. She never murdered me...
I live in Quebec now, and I find the people to be lovely and liberal. More so, perhaps, then anywhere else in Canada.
I think, that as much as you think you can generalize against a group of people, it is always gonna do you more harm then good.

Peace

 

Exactly! That's why I avoid them... All my life, every time I've meet one, they've tried to harm me... So if I avoid them entirely, I never get into their hurt games... and I never let them stick their games on me...
It's just a basic matter of survival and peace of mind...
I don't hate them.. I don't love them.. I just avoid them..
Same reason one-handed Floridians avoid aligators..
What's so wrong with that?...

 

hbc was english owned i thought?

as a metis, i think you overlook the fact that we are half french when you say 'she is the very esscence of the native people. ' i would think she is also the very esscence of a french canadian.

 

and yovo, i have grown older and i have been stung many times by many people - french canadian and chinese and indian and negro and on and on - and you will only become bitter if you allow bitterness to set in...

 

HBC was a French Canadian fur trading company, that likely murdered my lady's great grandparents, and burned down their home, and stole my lady's inheritance, and robbed part of her heritage, like a river leach sucks the blood out of your leg...

Doesn't seem to be any French Canadian in this delicious fantastic prime Native Woman... Everything about her is good and pure... She stands miles above most Canadians... She seems like the very essence of the Native Spirit... in connection with, and in love with, all of life... But that's not the point! She doesn't hurt anything, anyone, ever... Total opposite of the French Canadians I've had the misfortune of permitting to touch my life...
I just figured, given that every French Canadian I met turned out to be evil, that I should just avoid them, with a basic non-violent predjudice attitude... It's like when your burn your hand with fire... You try your best to not let it ever happen again... Same for shark bite... Same for bee stings... Same for frostbite... Same for letting a jelly fish, or scorpion, or lion fish, touch you...

Maybe I've just met the bad ones, the sharks... But why were all those I met bad ones? I can't answer that, so as a logical survival ploy for peace of mind and personal safety, I simply avoid the French Canadian... Simple as that!

"When the devil comes a calling, all you've got is to run and hide"...