According to a report by the Office québécois de la langue française, young people between the ages of 18 and 34 use English more in social networks and in the workplace. The Montreal and Catino areas are particularly targeted by this trend.
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These are the two areas where French is weakest because of their proximity to English-speaking areas.
The important file, called the report on the evolution of the linguistic situation in Quebec, was tabled in the National Assembly in Quebec on Wednesday morning.
In an interview with 100% Nouvelles, French language minister Jean-François Roberge declared, “I expected it a bit.”
Always French-speaking workplaces
The proportion of individuals who mostly use French at work is the majority for the entire province. The proportion rises to 95% in the census metropolitan areas (CMA) of Saguenay, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières, Quebec and Sherbrooke.
Statistics Canada
However, this number drops to more than 40% on the island of Montreal, where 59% of respondents speak mainly French. In the metropolitan area this number has decreased slightly.
Statistics Canada
The Gatineau CMA has a similar percentage of 62%.
For immigrants who use French at work, this number increases from 56 to 62%.
Being bilingual is a fashion
English language is mostly used in chats and text messages. Less than half of the publications are mainly written in French. English and bilingual are often found in social networks.
Screenshot, LCN
Mr. For Roberge, the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) still has its limits. “We all have a responsibility, the government will not come and control our conversations, our speeches and our publications, frankly,” he insists.
However, CAQ’s action plan includes an immediate bill on digital entertainment platforms.
For example, teenagers prefer series and movies on streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video. If the traditional TV viewing language is mainly French, English almost narrows the gap: 40% of people watch content on streaming sites in English, compared to 42% in French.
Screenshot, LCN
“When we become Americanized and consume culture only in English, without thinking about it, we use all these English words and make cultural references to the English-speaking culture. So this is a very important issue,” explains the minister.
The government intends to introduce a bill soon in this regard.
Mr. Roberge reiterates that bilingualism is an asset. “We teach English in our schools from Year 1 to Secondary 5,” he adds. If we didn’t want Quebecers to be bilingual, we wouldn’t teach [le cours] English as a Second Language.”
A vulnerability in Quebec
French is widely used in all four corners of the globe, with about 320 to 321 million people speaking it worldwide this year, Mr. Roberge says. The decline is therefore limited to Quebec.
“We’re a French-speaking island lost in an English-speaking sea in North America,” he explains. But French is healthy in Europe. In Africa, there is tremendous growth.
So it is very important for the minister to convey this message to the youth that French is popular internationally.
Some statistics show an increase in the decline among young people. The proportion of adults who use French mostly outside the home has a 10% gap between those aged 18-34 and those aged 70 and over.
Quebec Office of the French Language
Domestically, French continues to dominate, but has lost some points: it goes from 81% in 2016 to 79% in 2021.
Screenshot, LCN
Influence of temporary migrants
From English-speaking students to foreign workers and asylum seekers, more than 560,000 people are currently temporarily settled in the province. Of this number, a third lack the ability to converse in French, the minister says.
Watch the full interview with Jean-François Roberge in the video above
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