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French, the Normal and Usual Language of Work: Comments presented to Le Conseil supérieur de la langue française

December 12, 2003

TOWNSHIPPERS ASSOCIATION.
Townshippers Association will celebrate its 25th anniversary in June 2004. Its mission is to promote the interests of the English-speaking community in the historical Eastern Townships, to strengthen the cultural identity of this community, and to encourage the full participation of the English-speaking population in the community at large.

EASTERN TOWNSHIPS.
The Association serves a territory measuring 16,000 square kilometres. It covers the Estrie region and parts of the Montérégie, Centre-du-Québec and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. It extends from Philipsburg and Drummondville to Lac Mégantic, and from Stanstead to Inverness and Thetford Mines.

ENGLISH-SPEAKING COMMUNITY.
In this territory, 41,000 English speakers live (Canada Census, 2001). In 1971, English-speaking Townshippers numbered about 57,800. Our communitys population decreased by almost 30% over a 30-year period. In 1971, we were 11% of the total Eastern Townships population; now we are but 6%. This is evidence of the huge number of young English speakers who have left the region.

The legacy of this sustained exodus is two-fold. The Townships English-speaking community as a whole is much smaller, and it has changed shape, too. A much larger proportion of our community is over age 65 than ever before, and many of these people have great gaps in their social support network because their children have left the region. The community has lost many of its institutions and businesses.

But we have not disappeared. Our community has deep roots and a strong cultural identity. Some 66% of the English-speaking people in the Eastern Townships are bilingual. We love the Eastern Townships and want to contribute to the Townships community at large. Perhaps better than you may imagine, many in our community understand the underlying motivation for the francisation (Frenchification) initiative and promotion of the French language. As a linguistic minority within a minority, we understand the pressures the linguistic majority brings to bear, by its very existence, on linguistic minorities. We are Quebecers, and we want the French language to flourish in Canada.

THE COST OF LANGUAGE LEGISLATION.
But we want our community to flourish, as well. Language legislation over the past 30 years has had a high cost for the English-speaking minority in our region. The manner in which the French language is promoted should not and need not be at the expense of the livelihood and vitality of the English-speaking minority in Quebec.

For example, if English speakers use English in the context of internal communications in their own business, it does not in any way impinge on the quality or use of the French language in Quebec, nor does it impact on the survival of the French language and culture in Quebec. It is unquestionable that French is the official language in Quebec, and the minority communitys use of English does not threaten that status.

What aggressively enforced language legislation does achieve, however, is to demotivate English speakers from learning French, and demotivate French speakers from perfecting it. No one likes to be told what to do.

Offering seals of approval for quality use of French, with enticements, is equally de-motivating. Those who are unable to achieve the required level will lose out and be excluded from economic opportunity. Those who can achieve the required level will do the minimum required, and stop there.

Both approaches focus on extrinsic motivators, and detract from the intrinsic motivation inherent in the pleasure and achievement of using and mastering a language that opens doors to new opportunities, be they cultural, social or economic.

OBSERVATIONS.
We noticed a number of interesting points in the consultation document of the Conseil supérieur de la langue française. For example:

In Table 1 and 2, we noticed that in 1995, unilingual English speakers in Quebec earn lower incomes than unilingual French speakers. And this was so despite the fact that a larger proportion (25%) of English speakers have a university diploma, compared to French speakers (15%). The trend that is identified suggests that the incomes of unilingual English speakers will go even lower in future, relative to French speakers. It is clear that French is an essential tool in todays business world in Quebec, particularly in this age of information technology and information manipulation.

In Table 3, we noticed that, in the Montreal area, proportionally more English speakers use French in the work place (32%) than do French speakers use English (12%).

In 1992, 77% of small businesses were owned by French speakers. According to the 2001 census, 92% of French speakers throughout Quebec say they work most often in French. So what is the problem?

The fact that only 45% of workers in Montreal who use neither French nor English at home use French most often at work is cited as a problem. How much do we understand about this phenomenon? Why is this so? How many people are concerned in actual numbers, relative to the actual numbers of French speakers? How much of an impact, if any, does this really have on the quality and use of French throughout Quebec society?

Overall, the statistics cited in the consultation document suggest to us that enormous progress has been made in the past 25 years in increasing the use of French in the workplace, among people of all linguistic groups. The points we raise are the following:

BILINGUALISM IS A JOB SKILL.
In the context of the global marketplace, how will the economic profile of French speakers evolve over the next 25 years if they are discouraged from learning English and using it in external business transactions? Average income is relatively higher for bilingual people, whether their mother tongue is English or French. For both English and French speakers, bilingualism is surely an asset in todays world, considering both the Quebec and the global economic contexts.

THE RIGHT TO LEARN FRENCH.
We applaud the idea that speaking French is a right, and we encourage the Government of Quebec to make French language courses available to those who can and wish to take them. But rather than focus on French language courses only, we suggest that businesses be encouraged to offer courses on a variety of relevant topics in French. Beyond learning how to speak a language, learning it in the context of mastering a skill or enlarging ones cultural repertoire will enhance students mastery and enjoyment of the language and the process of learning it.

LEGISLATING LANGUAGE.
We do not believe that further legislation will be productive in encouraging the use of French in the workplace. If, as the Conseils document indicates, le rattrapage des inégalités sociolinguistiques est largement accompli, (the sociolinguistic inequalities have been largely rectified) we suggest it is time to take a different approach. The Conseils document says Il reste à faire de la langue française la langue normale et habituelle des milieux de travail mixtes linguistiquement. (Still to be accomplished: to make French the normal and habitual language in work settings that are linguistically mixed.) Why not, rather, accept the presence of a certain number of linguistically mixed work settings as a normal aspect of a heterogeneous society with linguistically mixed markets?

USE OF FRENCHIFIED TOOLS.
We would like to see French being used, and used well, in the world of business as well as the arts. We would like to see a French-speaking population that cherishes the refinement and development of Quebecs own official language. A pro-active approach could include creating and supporting venues where participants are encouraged to speak and write French correctly. It could also involve fostering more cultural activities that encourage and reward creative language use, vocabulary development, correct grammatical structure and writing skills. The internet is a wonderful tool which can be used to promote the use of proper terminology. Pedagogical tools can be developed to assist in the promotion of language skills.

FRENCHIFY MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES.
Certification of enterprises and requirements or campaigns to buy in French may, on one hand, aim to reward businesses who adhere to the established French language standards. On the other hand, however, such initiatives penalize businesses which are owned by linguistic-minority citizens, and seem to openly encourage discrimination against them, regardless of their overall quality of service. We heartily object to any such measures. It seems counterproductive to discriminate against top quality products which may be more cost effective than those produced by companies which have the Seal of Language Quality.

In addition, the measures the Conseil proposes would seem to add considerably to the fiscal burden of small businesses in general (77% of which were owned by French speakers in 1992). We suggest that the government not take measures that will augment the fiscal and administrative hurdles which already exist for this essential segment of our economy.

In a 1993 brief to the Commission on Culture, Townshippers Association suggested a number of pro-active measures to strengthen the French language and culture. These are no less pertinent today, although some are already being implemented. They are as follows:

Promote the artspublishing, writing, cinema, theatre, among othersand provide more funding for them.

Schedule a theme month to promote the French language and culture, perhaps in June, with one week focusing on theatre and films, another on poetry and prose, a third on music and dance, and a fourth on heritage and culture.

Promote libraries in municipalities and schools, and provide additional funding for them.

Increase funding for archives to include acquisitions and exhibitions.

Raise the basic requirements for proficiency in French at all levels in the French and English educational systems.

Make curriculum changes to emphasize Quebecs historical, artistic, literary and other cultural traditions.

Expand school exchange programmes to include exchanges between francophones in Quebec and those in the rest of Canada.

Provide for translation of basic textbooks at the CEGEP and undergraduate university levels, many of which are currently available in English only.

Increase funding for research into all aspects of French language and culture.

Provide additional support to museums for the acquisition of display materials, exhibits, audio guides and catalogues.

Augment television programming aimed at heightening knowledge about and pride in Quebec, its history, languages and cultures.

One of the growth industries in the English-speaking community is English language teaching. It is our experience that young French-speaking parents are clamouring for improved English Second Language courses in the school system. It is unfortunate that, for the vast majority of parents, better English Second Language teaching is available only to those who can afford to send their children to private schools. It is also unfortunate that it is not a goal of Quebec society to see that all young people have a good command of both English and French by the time they finish high school.

The English-speaking community has changed. Most people in the workforce have a knowledge of French which permits adequate communication. The older segment of the English-speaking community will need caregivers who can communicate well in English. We acknowledge that, to many, the need for bilingual positions is an affront. However, until these senior members of the English-speaking community have left us, there will be a need for bilingual workers. It is our opinion that, particularly in the health care system, the right to service in English is more important that the right to work in French. Lives are at stake. This is a concern that we hope you will appreciate and which has motivated our visit to you today.

Thank you.

Heather Keith (Past-President) , Kevin Craft and Peter Whitcomb
Members of the Board of Directors

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