Linguistic Situation in Canada-Qubc. The changing linguistic landscape of Quebec

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Linguistic Situation in Canada-Québéc

The period from the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century was a time of important social and cultural growth in Quebec. This time would play a vital role in the establishment of the respect of the rights of French Canadians. During this time many educational institutions were founded, these included universities such as Laval, the first francophone Catholic university in 1852. The policy development and establishment of educational institutions would allow for the maintenance and development of the French language in Quebec.

Challenges of the French language in Quebec

After Confederation in 1867, for economic reasons the English language held a strong position in Quebec. Business was conducted in English and this increased the need for French Canadians to become bilingual. Early in the twentieth century, two historic movements marked the progress towards bilingualism. The establishment of the postage stamps in 1927 and bank notes in 1936 as bilingual was seen as symbolic aspects towards bilingualism in the country (Ploudre in Conrick, 2000, p174).

The Quiet revolution and its effect on the language

The Quiet Revolution was characterized by the rapid political, institutional, social, and cultural changes that occurred in Quebec in the 1960s. Nationalist sentiment in the province grew and led to a greater sense of distinctiveness among Quebecers as a society. The change was symbolised linguistically as Quebecers abandoned the term ‘Canadiens français’, previously related to them and established the term ‘Québécois’ to describe themselves. They saw themselves as part of an emerging identity based on a common language, French, and a precise territory, Quebec. With this name change, the Québécois were establishing their sense of identity within the province. Given the importance of the French language to the Quebec identity, conflicts were triggered over strategies to protect and promote its use.

The sweeping societal changes which began in the 1960s in Quebec inevitably had a strong impact on language and language policy. The French language is an integral part of the Québécois identity, it is a central component, as it defines their distinctiveness. It was and still is a central element of the Québécois national character. The status of the language was shown through the establishment of the Office de la Langue Française in 1961, which allowed for a more focused structure to develop policy in relation to language issues in Quebec. ‘This institution played and continues to play, a leading role in the promotion and development of French in the province.’ (Conrick, 2007, p. 31)

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Language issues featured increasingly as a problem for Quebecers as they became more demanding in respect of their language rights. They worried about losing their language and how this inevitably could lead to a loss of identity. Therefore, they pursued a Quebec nationalist agenda. In response to these issues, the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism was set up in 1963. The function of this commission was to investigate and report on the existing state of bilingualism and biculturalism in Canada. It’s primary functions was to recommend what steps should be taken in order to develop the Canadian Confederation on ...

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