I've taken some time to reflect on the language situation in Québec because it is a very complex situation - both for me personally and in the society. As an Anglophone Western Canadian, I have seen the conflict between Canada's two official languages from both sides: the perspective of a sometimes bitter French Canadian population who feels oppressed and dominated by English and cheated out of their rights, and from an English speaking population who thinks the French language should not be "forced" down their throats. I have felt the conflict personally as someone "on the outside" wanting to learn the language and become a part of the"group". Now I must say that living in Vancouver and Edmonton (the West), this attitude did not manifest itself on a daily basis, but once French began to count for something in my life and in my career, it certainly was evident that even Anglophones who could speak French were not held in equal esteem to the Francophone population. While I was a student at university, I had classes with a combination of professors: European (French, Romanian, British), Canadian Anglophones (including a certain Professor Allan Ballah) and French Canadians (both from Québec and Alberta). Tensions sometimes came from the French Canadian professors who insisted their expressions and ways of speaking were the "right" way, even though it may deviate from standard French. In general the French speaking academics co-existed harmoniously and tolerated differences in the language, but it was the students who had the disadvantage because what was allowed in Prof. Dubé's class was corrected and penalized in Prof. Thornberry's. One expression which was (maybe still is) the most contentious was the use of "Bienvenue". This expression means "Welcome". It is on the door mats in both France and Québec, but the French Canadians also use it to mean "you're welcome". This bothers many Europeans and Anglophones because (I'll say it) IT IS NOT CORRECT!! Okay, I got that out of my system. One European professor in my department would get extremely upset when students would use this expression in this way that he would yell out: "I've been here for 25 years, do not say "Welcome" to me". Needless to say, I still have this ringing in my ears and have not been using it here on this trip, but it is still alive and well and it doesn't freak me out like it used to. In fact I have a different take on it now and I am embracing these sorts of things as a language professional. As a teacher, it is incumbant on me to bring these differences to the attention of my students, rather than to deny them. This is what exists in the real world; languages change and evolve whether we like it or not due to all sorts of different influences. (I suddenly feel very evolved myself!)
All of this preamble serves as a background to my expectations about French in Québec this time around. When I have been here in the past, the reception has been mixed. As a student, when I was still mastering the language, in general, the people in Québec City were good. They were patient and encouraging for the most part, but still sometimes proprietory over "their" language. In Montréal however, things were different. Montréalers have the reputation of being intolerant, impatient and condescending to Anglophones speaking French - regardless of their fluency level. I experienced this back then and so have many of my students in Alberta in subsequent years when they went on immersion programs there. Rather than speak French with a non-Québecois, it is their habit to switch into English and "refuse" to speak French. Now while this may happen in Paris (I have never seen this personally but heard that it can), in Montréal it is quite commonplace, even today. We were prepared for this. As soon as we checked into the motel and Allan said "Bonjour", the hotelier began speaking English. We were taken aback and I admonished myself internally for not better practising my "drawl" and my "dts" before arriving. The accent always gives it away! Anyway, we refused to back down and finally at the end of the conversation, she returned to French. This can be very frustrating, even if you are expecting this. In my opinion, this is a big reason not to have a study abroad program in Montréal. Exchanges like this went on like this throughout the day, but I was happy to see that almost all of the time that I began in French, the conversation remained in French.
In Québec City this week, things were the opposite. Not only did I speak French all of the time, in every situation, but I was complimented several times on my French. To me this was a giant leap forward. Someone even asked if I was from France because of course I don't have l'accent québecois. Now, naturally, I am 20 years older and my language skills have improved. But, I sensed a more relaxed, confident French Canadian population this time who is ready to interact and share their language more readily with Anglophones. Sophie was able to speak French and not feel self-conscious as I was concerned she might be. I even had some discussions with people about expressions and accents and they were very open with me about their use of English words and structures often out of laziness. I have also noticed that the more informal "tu" is not used in public like it used to be. When I was here almost 20 years ago, it was normal to have a sales clerk or waiter address you in the informal "tu" instead of "vous" which is for people you do not know. I was surprised, but glad, to see that this had changed because it corresponds with what we teach in class as standard French. I feel much better now about language matters here both personally and on behalf of my future study abroad students.
Since arriving in la belle province, I have been on the look out for interesting expressions, translations and equivalences. I have some great photos of street signs and other written language samples as well as a nice little list of things I've heard this week. These will make wonderful additions to my language classes as well as some preparatory materials for the study abroad students.
Here's one that serves as a fitting end to this post: "Occupez-vous bien" - used here to mean: "Take care" This would not be used in France and might give some Académie members une crise cardiaque, but they say it here!
Niagara Falls are stunning, breathtakingly beautiful during the day as well as lit up at night in the colours of the rainbow. Naturally, there were huge crowds all along the walkway overlooking both sets of falls, but this didn't take away from the majestic views. I must admit that I was surprised by the commercial, neon mecca that has taken over the city. Now, I haven't been here since I was a kid, but the whole town has become a sort of Las Vegasesque strip with carnival attractions, over priced food, casinos and cheap souvenir shops. While interesting to walk through once, I was cringing at the amounts of money that some families would be spending on their vacation. I guess tourism is definitely alive and well in the province of Ontario.
We stopped over for a day and night in Toronto after Ottawa. Our original intention was to visit the Canada's Wonderland amusement park, but it was a rainy dreary day and I had a better solution. I had discovered that the travelling Harry Potter exhibition was in Toronto at the Ontario Science Centre until September 2, its only Canadian stop. I had missed the exhibit in Chicago so I was excited to find it was here at the same time as us. I am a big HP fan and this was quite a thrill to see original props, costumes and sets from the movies. Even though the exhibit has been running since the beginning of April, there were still sell-out crowds - a real testiment to the popularity of this franchise. 
Leaving Québec and entering Ontario today was immediately marked with bilingual road signs (English being first). I didn't think it would be so difficult to switch back into English because it had only been about 6 days in Québec. I guess because the transition was so short (unlike the plane ride from France back to USA) and the landscape seemlessly transitioned between provinces. We spent the day and tonight in Ottawa - about 1.5 hours from Montréal. It was nice for Sophie to see the Parliament Buildings, the Prime Minister's and governor general's houses, the changing of the guards at Rideau Hall, the Canadian War Memorial, the Château Laurier and the Rideau Canal which is filled with ice skaters in winter.
About two hours by car separate Québec City and Montréal. This trip can also be done very nicely by train or bus, which many students do on the weekends. During the summer, Montréal is very much "festival city". In our first day here, I counted five different festivals currently advertised for this month, including an international film festival and two different ones about music. Unfortunately, along with the summer festivities comes road construction - a common phenomenon in Canada when you have to take advantage of the warm, dry weather to do as much as possible. This makes driving and parking quite a challenge, especially in a large city like Montréal. We were lucky to find a central spot today and kept returning to it to feed the metre every 2 hours. Much like any big city, Montréal has its blatant contrasts - rich/poor, old/new, dirty/clean and of course English/French. Walking down the streets, you hear an equal amount of French and English, although most all of the signs are French since we are still in the unilingual province of Québec. Because of this widespread presence of English, coupled with the large size and more "international" flavour of Montréal, I would not choose this city for a study abroad program, although I like it very much. The Mérici College program in QC offers an excursion to Montréal and I think this would be good, but optional, as the $$$ here are very steep. Students who want to take in some of the world famous Jazz Festival may want to spend the bucks as well as those who want to bask in the big city atmosphere and check out the famous McGill University, Notre Dame Basilica and the Vieux Port. From a language point of view, however, it is completely possible to spend time in Montréal and not speak any French at all.
