Last March, the city of Montreal provided a new guide for frontline workers. The internal guide, obtained by the Montreal Gazette, is titled, “Exemplary Conduct in the French Language: Mechanisms for Informing the Public,” and offers instructions on how government employees should speak to anglophone customers. One sample script reads:[Read More…]
Tag: language
The accent they mock, the voice I carry
Some of my earliest memories are of the way my mother sang me to sleep—soft vowels, careful consonants, and an accent I never thought twice about. Yet, I’ve sat in rooms where that accent—the one that raised me—was mocked. In my high school, classmates exaggerated syllables they didn’t understand. On[Read More…]
My cultural identity is not dependent on a language
A few weeks ago, my friend Toscane and I were stopped by a man who asked us if we were French. With our affirmative response, he excitedly expressed his love for our accent before noticing the Hamsa pendant on my necklace. Also called the Hand of Fatima, the Hamsa symbol[Read More…]
Exploring Montreal’s bilingual identity
Living in a vibrant and multicultural city such as Montreal exposes us to a variety of languages each day. Montreal’s linguistic mélange encourages us to consider how these different languages impact our perception of one another’s languages, and the key factors in this process. In a study conducted in Montreal,[Read More…]
New French language funding cannot be a tool of linguistic domination
Tension over the use of French and English is nothing new for the city of Montreal. Decades of disputes between self-appointed defendants of French and those who recognize language laws’ discriminatory nature have brewed a debate so polarized that middle ground seems like a fantasy. Plowing straight through this precarious[Read More…]
Along Party Lines: Language education rights being debated as Bill 40 returns to court
Following the Quebec Superior Court’s ruling that portions of Bill 40—an education reform meant to transform the governance of English school boards—were unconstitutional, Premier François Legault publicly announced on Sept. 8 that his administration intended to send the case back to court. As of Sept. 15, their request for appeal[Read More…]
Innovative algorithm develops theories on rules of human language
Over the last several years, artificial intelligence (AI) has made huge strides forward in the areas of language modelling and translation. Recent improvements are exemplified by the accuracy of machine translation services such as Google Translate, the ability of devices like Amazon’s Alexa to interpret and respond to instructions given[Read More…]
‘When Injustice is Fully Bilingual’: Emilie Nicolas’ Mallory Lecture discusses linguistic barriers to anti-racism work in Quebec
Emilie Nicolas, a columnist for Le Devoir and the Montreal Gazette, took to the virtual stage on Feb. 15 for this year’s Mallory Lecture, speaking about language barriers to anti-racism work. The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) hosted the talk. Nicolas introduced her lecture by describing a[Read More…]
Say my name (right)
At the start of every school year, my high school held a special assembly to honour seniors. Every senior was called up one by one by the principal to grab special red ties, meant to symbolize their maturity. In my last year, I was so excited for the assembly. But[Read More…]
Orphaned tongues
A few months ago, I taught my parents a gesture known as the “finger heart.” To make it, you gently cross your thumb and index finger. Selfies featuring this gesture have become a staple of our text conversations, and I hoard a precious collection of screenshots that document this phenomenon:[Read More…]
