61 replies to this topic

[sputman]

i think actual french people get a bad rap. my wife and i went to paris and central france for our honeymoon and everyone we met was gracious and accommodating (except for one lady working at a museum information booth who was annoyed that we had a question ). one lady showed us how to sneak through the metro gates and another person actually paid our fare when our debit card wouldn't work.

we don't speak french, we just learned the basic "hi i don't speak french, do you speak english?" and i think just starting out a conversation like that went a long way.

and there was english everywhere, and most people spoke it well and didn't mind. i remember some high-up dope wanted to de-anglicize the word "email" and change it to "le courrier," but the people wouldn't have it.

that said, i have not heard one nice thing about french canadiens, and i wonder if they would be so gracious. i would love to visit the area just for the history but it's what i hear about the people keeping me away.

can you imagine the upheaval if the US banned all other languages and made english the official language?

and what's more, french people can't stand french canadiens.

[Jenny]

that said, i have not heard one nice thing about french canadiens, and i wonder if they would be so gracious. i would love to visit the area just for the history but it's what i hear about the people keeping me away.

I found everyone in Montreal to be very polite the two times I've visited. I started out trying to speak French, and most people could see I was struggling with it so they'd switch to English for me. Although I did get the distinct impression that if they thought I was from Anglo Canada instead of from the US they might not have been so accommodating, language-wise.

[evilmrt]

Ok, get your s*** right about Scotty Bowman. This is a Wings forum, so your opinion about the language issue is secondary to getting things like that right.

This is from mlive in 2009:

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the fact that former Red Wings coach and current Chicago Blackhawks consultant Scotty Bowman made the Blackhawks' pick, speaking in French to the host Montreal audience before doing what few teams did in congratulating the Pittsburgh Penguins on winning the Cup (it's considered a draft-day courtesy).

source

Scotty grew up in nearby Verdun, which in his day was a majority English-speaking part of the Montreal area (its not anymore). He knew some French, obviously, but admits that he wasn't that great at it until he was behind the bench:

When Bowman's playing career ended prematurely, he started coaching the Canadiens junior team in Hull.

"We had some young players -- Claude Ruel was one of them -- who couldn't speak English. I was interested in coaching and was able to get a pretty good knowledge of French. With the Canadiens, even Mario Tremblay, he came from up north and couldn't speak English. I spoke to him in French. I was able to communicate and basically talk hockey."

source

Says Bowman about Cunneyworth:

"It'll be pretty tough sledding without a grasp of French," said Bowman. "I'm sure he recognizes this opportunity. I don't think the people there expect more than a working knowledge. I think if he can pick up just a working knowledge, they'd welcome him with open arms.

"I hope he can do it."

[Kindl Surprise]

I've been around Québec quite a few times and from what I can tell, Montréal is actually a pretty English speaking city, but as soon as you get outside of the city it becomes very French, very quickly.

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk]

As a Montrealer, who is not fully fluent in french I expected some big push back like this. Montrealers complained about Gomez being an American Captain, etc. It's great that they hold the team so close to their cultural identity, but it can't be a team of locals and if they let such concerns guide their team it would handicap them.

[Hockeytown0001]

Please, please, please, let Homer retire and get a job as the Habs head coach.

They should have hired Don Cherry just for the lolz.

[The Secret]

The Quebecois are a really unlikable, prejudiced bunch, arne't they?

Yes they are... big time. But you forgot to add hypocrites also. They refuse to have a non-french speaking coach UNLESS its a coach like Mike Babcock?!?! So the language isn't all THAT important if you can bend for some people. What a bunch of idiots! You'd think their main concern would be having a team worth watching, who cares what language the coach speaks as long as he coaches the team to winning.

[Chelios57]

I don't think anyone here cares that Babcock isn't from Michigan...

I don't think anyone cared that Datsyuk couldn't speak english...

Grow up Quebec. The biggest concern about your team should be that they suck.

[Drake_Marcus]

This is just lip service. I see it as purely a political statement and nothing more substantive than that.

[kevotron]

...It's great that they hold the team so close to their cultural identity, but it can't be a team of locals and if they let such concerns guide their team it would handicap them.

Thats what I LOVE about the Habs, that they retain a sense of cultural pride\identity with the team. It seems kind of old school to me, something you wouldnt see in other sports: it's one of the little differences that makes hockey so great. Of course to be solely made up of French-Canadian players would appear to be xenophobic, as well as probably a handicap if they were ignoring better talent simply because they are not French-Canadian.

Further, I think the relations between non-French speaking people of Quebec ( are all people from Quebec considered Quebecois, or just the French???) and the people of French descent in Quebec has quite a history and is somewhat complex. An interesting side-note was years ago when I introduced my French-Canadian girlfriend to my father, who was an Irish kid that grew up in Montreal, she asked him if he spoke French and he said "enough to be very polite, or very rude". Funny

[Kindl Surprise]

Check out the front page of the Montréal paper this morning...
http://yfrog.com/z/mnf2jhj

[GMRwings1983]

Check out the front page of the Montréal paper this morning...
http://yfrog.com/z/mnf2jhj

I've never been to Montreal, but isn't hockey always on the front page news there?

[thedisappearer]

Check out the front page of the Montréal paper this morning...
http://yfrog.com/z/mnf2jhj

Y Frog dot com? Seriously? AWESOME.

[Kindl Surprise]

I've never been to Montreal, but isn't hockey always on the front page news there?

Well yea, but like they're making it seem pretty like outrageous and insulting.

[akustyk]

please don't get me started about Francophones and their approach to "ze-uerlzd", especially when ze-uerlzd is speaking English, towards which they
have an utterly prevailing small d* syndrome (not French per se, but Canadian Francophones are prime example here).

I live in Netherlands and am quite often in Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland or France. wherever there is a French speaking community there are people
who show zero effort to try any other language. even in bilingual Belgium (where there really is no escape from bilingualism) people in Wallon refuse to
speak Flemish which they learn in school. same goes to French part of Switzerland - where the German speaking part is generally modern, tech savvy
and open to other cultures, Francophones are just hopeless... they answer English or German emails in French, provide no translations of their web pages
(if they have one at all!) and generally show little effort to help you.

anyway, we do have some friends who are French here, and at personal level they are quite OK. zey onestly do spiik inglish diferónt, meehh... zey ah
generalement tres bien. unless they start complaining about things not being to their liking (very easy in spartan Dutch culture) - then you instantly get
the impression, that every French is raised in profound conviction that the only reason other people exist is to kiss Frencj in the *ss. and they sure bi* a lot...

Edited by akustyk, 20 December 2011 - 04:02 PM.

[Konnan511]

Idiots. If you win, who cares?

[rrasco]

Idiots. If you win, who cares?

Apparently the French Canadians.

[VM1138]

As a Montrealer, who is not fully fluent in french I expected some big push back like this. Montrealers complained about Gomez being an American Captain, etc. It's great that they hold the team so close to their cultural identity, but it can't be a team of locals and if they let such concerns guide their team it would handicap them.

It's not just that, though. In the grander scheme of things, considering their general social and ethnic attitudes, they are just, simply, assholes. Obviously not all of them, but they have this reputation for a reason. It's hard to judge based on anecdotes, though, there are good and bad people everywhere. But their public face is certainly prejudicial and comes off as the worst French stereotypes, even moreso than France itself.

[ami]

typical liberal. what's new?

[LeftWinger]

Well, now Ms. St-Pierre knows how I feel when I go into a party store!

"Marlboro! Marlboro! Smokey Smokey! You don't even speak English, how'd you get this job!?!"

kidding....

Edited by LeftWinger, 20 December 2011 - 08:01 PM.