What is Manitoba’s other language?
[[I had to take a business trip to Montreal a few months ago, and what bugged me was how much French everyone tried to speak to me. I can deal with someone starting a conversation in French, but even after I responded in English (with a pronounced New York accent), they insisted on continuing in French.
Example: When I walked into a McDonald’s for lunch, the counter-person said some words. I took this to be a request for my order, which I gave in English. She then asked a question in French. I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Her response was to repeat the same sentence, still in French, but slower and louder.]] Auraseer
Odd – my experience in Mount Royal has been the opposite – that pretty much everybody speaks English, and that most people who don’t speak to you in English do so because they just don’t wanna deal with you (e.g., hot babe who thinks you’re trying to pick her up). Pretty much every time I try to use my )fairly rudimentary --OK, VERY rudimentary) French, they immediately start speaking to me in English.
Outside of the big city, though, the Anglophones get a lot fewer and farther between.
Ukrainian.
You’re welcome.
I’ve seen milk in a bag, but only once and in Michigan. I was working at summer camp and the dairy farm in our area delivered milk in bags. I just remember thinking, you drop this bag and SPLAT. At least with a plastic jug there is a better chance of survival.
I think BC is officially bilingual too. At least, they teach us French starting in grade 4. All provincial and federal goverment forms come in English and French. Every box, package, and can comes with both French and English on it.
And all that I retained is “May I go to the bathroom, please?”
Est-ce que je peut aller a la salle de bain, SVP? (I think)
Zulu
Aura: let me see if I have this right. You went to someone else’s country and were offended that they tried to speak to you in their language?
If you encounter a rude Canadien who apparently refuses to speak English, say “I’m sorry. I don’t speak French. I’m from the US.” Usually they only resent Canadian anglophones. Once they realize you’re not a Canadian they’re usually happy to speak English with you.
As for the ability to speak English, I would guess (based on my own experience) that virtually everyone in Montreal knows the English language, regardless of whether or not they are willing to speak it. However (again based on my own experience) I would estimate that something like 90% of Montreal residents speak French as their native language.
If I remember correctly the ratio of Anglophones to Francophones
in Canada is 4 to 1 (anglo. ratio increasing)
in Québec, 1 to 4 (franco. ratio increasing)
in Montréal, 2 to 3 (franco. ratio increasing).
Other interesting Canadian facts:
The words ‘Anglophone’ and ‘Francophone’ are Canadianisms.
Québec City is the only walled city north of México;
Montréal is the second biggest French-speaking city in the world after Paris.
Only humans commit inhuman acts.
I met quite a few folks (including some heartbreakingly beautiful women) in New Brunswick who didn’t speak a word of English. On second thought, they might have been pretending…
But I digress. Because some of the cable TV systems in NB carry the public television stations in French, they simulcast the audio on FM radio in English.
This led me to the wonderfully weird interlude of driving to the mill I was working on one morning after an all-nighter in the control room, and having the search button on my radio alight on the local public broadcasting channel… in the middle of a Sesame Street sketch. Imagine you’re driving down the road along the Miramichi River, no TV in sight, and hearing in Cookie Monster’s unmistakable pidgin:
“This is Alistair Cookie for Monsterpiece Theatre. Next week, on Monsterpiece Theatre, we present William Shakespeare’s HAMLET.”
“Hamlet is prince of Denmark. Which make him Danish. Me love Danish. Especially… PRUNE DANISH”
“Mnummughmnummmghummmm”
I nearly drove into the ditch.
a few points:
New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province. That means it has a constitutional obligation to provide services equally to its residents in both official languages. See the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 16 to 20: http://canada.justice.gc.ca/Loireg/charte/const_en.html
Quebec and Manitoba are not officially bilingual in this sense. They are constitutionally required to enact all laws in bilingual format, French and English (sorry Wally, Ukrainian isn’t on the list - yet). Both languages can be used in their Legislatures, and both languages can be used in their provincial courts, at the option of the individual. (I sue you in English, you file your response en français - gets fun!).
Other provinces (e.g. - Ontario) have enacted similar bilingualism provisions as part of their ordinary statute law, not as part of the Constitutuion.
As far as I know, every anglo province teaches the kids French as a second language, while Quebec teaches English as a second language. As well, all provinces are constitutionally required to provide minority language education (French in the anglo provinces, English in Quebec - see the Charter, s. 23).
And, I’ve lived in Quebec - never encountered the rudeness that other people refer to. Maybe that’s just my sunny personality, or the fact that I always tried to speak French first. But I did see people come in and speak in English, and when the shop person did not understand, simply speak LOUDER ENGLISH. Then I saw some rudeness. (The most recent stat I saw suggested that well over half of all Québécois(e) are unilingual.)
Zulu: you’re right. B.C. is officially bilingual: English and Japanese 
I’m not.
[BOLD]Banff, Alberta[/BOLD] is commercially bilingual, English and Japanese, to satisfy the tourist trade. This fascinated me when I was there.
Vancouver, however, lives in English and Chinese, with a multitude of Other languages. But once you get out of the big cities, anywhere outside Quebec, it’s mostly English with some French.
Roachman, I am sorry, I was the heartbreakingly beautiful woman in New Brunswick, and yes, I could understand you…I was just playing hard to get!