A question for the Canadians of the forums

[Doctor XFizzle 8,651]

Okay, I have a question. I'm not trying to stir a debate or start a civil war.

 

So if you follow sports, the Canadiens just fired their coach and replaced him with a new guy just for the rest of the season. Apparently Montreal is all in an uproar because the new coach only speaks English, he's not bilingual in both English and French.

 

From what I've been reading around the internet from hockey fans and other Canadians, a lot of people really don't care for or are very annoyed with Quebec (the province) and the people there.

 

Are Quebec(ians?) really snooty and unlikable or am I just reading/listening to biased sources?

 

IMO, I think it's a bit ridiculous for a city to demand that the coach of their favorite hockey team learn French. They haven't won a cup in 22 years now. If the new coach is really good, I wouldn't care what language he spoke, as long as the players understand and they win games. They should be upset with the coach's quality, not his language preferences.

[Marshmallow 1,134]

I don't really follow the Canadiens, or hockey in general for that matter. But being from Quebec, I have heard quite a bit about this lately.

 

First off, you have to understand that the french language is very important in the culture and history of Quebec. It is what differentiates us from the rest of Canada and what gives our identity. Most of us are very proud of our heritage and so it is normal that we want to fight for it.

 

The province is literally surrounded by English-speakers from every side. It is quite ovious that if we did not have laws to protect the french language and culture, the english language would eventually spread and the french language would eventually die off. This is pretty much what is happening in Montreal right now actually. I'm in Quebec City, which is still largely french-speaking so I don't see too much of it, but in Montreal, English is really starting to take over. Probably as much as 70% of the population is fluent in both french and english.

Signs are in both french and english (as opposed to just french in the rest of the province) and if you go into a restaurant, the waiter/waitress is likely to speak in english first. Now, I'm not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing. Multi-culturalism is good imo, but English is basically taking over and French language has always been very closely linked to our culture and history so that's why people are freaking out and making a big deal out of it.

 

As for the new coach thing, I personally do not think that it matters much. The majority of the team probably doesn't speak french either anyway.

 

And yes, I do believe that other Canadians find us annoying! At least from what I've seen. Especially with separatism and all of this. haha! Oh well I guess that's just how it is!

 

PS: It's "Québécois or Quebecer in English btw, not Quebecian! ^^

 

edit: I agree, Rush is awesome!

Edited December 20, 2011 by Marshmallow

[Doctor XFizzle 8,651]

Good to know. It was really interesting to me since the US doesn't really have that sort of problem (besides the basic stereotyping among different regions like Southerners, California hippies, snooty New Englanders/Northeast). I can see why Montreal would see this situation as a big deal.

 

In a year, Quebec can turn their focus away from the Canadiens since they'll have the Nordiques back (from the Phoenix Coyotes). I read that when Quebec hired their new coach in 1989, he took 3-hour French classes 3/4 times a week. That's dedication to the community.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Doctor XFizzle

[Marshmallow 1,134]

In a year, Quebec can turn their focus away from the Canadiens since they'll have the Nordiques back (from the Phoenix Coyotes). I read that when Quebec hired their new coach in 1989, he took 3-hour French classes 3/4 times a week. That's dedication to the community.

 

Hehe, I sure hope so

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

Here in Nova Scotia, everypony I've met has...a small nagative view on ponies living in Quebec.

 

My friends who were on a school trip to Quebec for 1 week said they've never met such snotty and rude ponies in their life. However, there are ponies like that every where, so I immagine that they just ran into some grouchy ponies. It does look nice in Quebec though, just not honestly sure what the ponies there are like, as I've never been there.

 

But I understand their pride for their culture, who wouldn't take pride in who they are, and who their ancestors are?

[Zoop 8,384]

Are Quebec(ians?) really snooty and unlikable or am I just reading/listening to biased sources?

For the most part, even the friends I have that live in Quebec find the people snooty and unlikable... come to think of it they can't stand the French language, either.

 

Black sheep, I suppose.