this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
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My first thought is "good."
Quebec's language laws have always been punitive, under the guise of protectionism. I can only imagine what people would say if the government here in Alberta decided to pull the same shit against French speakers. (And with Smith in power, it's entirely possible!)
If you really must, declare a provincial dominant language; then step aside and stop trying to actively harm people for speaking English.
In a hypothetical situation where the dominance of the English language in Alberta was in question, the Albertan government would definitely try to enact English language laws. Same goes for my home province of Ontario.
Quebecโs language laws have always been ~~punitive, under the guise of~~ [about] protectionism. The value of language protectionism can be tough to understand if you speak English - the most powerful language in Canada and across the globe - as a first (and only) language
The problem seems to be that Quebec has intertwined language with culture. A language is simply a means for two people to communicate ideas, and that is paramount to a functioning society.
Without a common method to exchange ideas, you can't have a society. English isn't the best language, but it works, and like it or not, it's been globally adopted. It's a standard, and anyone in the tech industry knows the problems that come with having multiple, competing, interoperable standards.
You lost the argument right here. Language is as fundamental to culture as the sky is blue.
The rest of your post amounts to "communication is important to function" and you are not wrong on that front. But you put no weight on the importance of culture too.
Consider this your wakeup call, that just because you don't personally care about society having an identity doesn't mean the rest of us don't.
Of course, and what's the culture tied to English speakers then? Do you think 2nd and 4rd generation Canadian Italians/Ukranians/wherever, who don't speak their native language, have lost all sense of their culture? Are the 2nd and 3rd generation anglophones living in Quebec incapable of adopting any of Quebecs culture?
Get over yourself.
You sound like people who hear about evolution and they ask "so where are the monkeys turning into humans." They are not saying there is culture tied to speaking English, they are saying that speaking English is part of some cultures and therfore by learning English you are participating in those cultures. French is the same. I'd you let French die off, you are letting part of French cute die off. If you learn French, you are choosing to inmerse yourself in French culture.
The guy said "intertwined" and it's a great way if thinking of it. You don't learn French and then French culture, learning a language is taking part of a culture, in this case Quebecoise, not even French.