Language Problems and Language Planning - Volume 43, Issue 2, 2019

Abstract

Census data are used to monitor the efficiency of Bill 101 in reorienting language shift more favourably for French. Immigration from former French colonies or Romance-language countries is shown to be the major factor driving the increase in the share of French in the assimilation of Allophones since 1991. The schooling provisions of Bill 101 are seen to play a significant supporting role in this respect, but not those promoting French as language of work. It is further shown that the corresponding trend towards a greater share for French in overall assimilation has become seriously compromised by a growing Anglicization of Francophones themselves, notably in the Montreal metropolitan area. The resulting consolidation of the superiority of English as language of assimilation in Quebec is seen to explain in large part the emergence of a new language dynamic since 2001, combining a record decline in relative weight of Quebec’s French-speaking majority with a mild but equally historic increase in weight of its English-speaking minority.

Résumé

Centré sur la langue d’enseignement, ce bilan de la Charte de la langue française (loi 101) fait état de la connaissance, de l’apprentissage et de l’usage du français. Il montre que cette loi s’est avérée très efficace pour conduire les enfants des immigrants dans les écoles françaises plutôt que dans celles du réseau scolaire anglophone. Malgré cette réussite, illustrée par des comparaisons avec l’Ontario, l’anglais exerce encore une forte attraction. C’est le cas notamment des jeunes qui, entreprenant des études collégiales, profitent d’une pleine liberté pour poursuivre leurs études en anglais. L’auteur aborde également la politique de sélection d’immigrants francophones, ainsi que le programme de francisation des immigrants ne connaissant pas le français. Absentes de la loi 101, ces importantes mesures sont les éléments les plus faibles de la politique linguistique québécoise. Enfin, l’auteur constate que l’apprentissage de l’anglais chez les francophones s’est poursuivi comme prévu, mais note que de nombreux francophones bilingues s’expriment spontanément en anglais devant des personnes sachant pourtant parler français. Inspiré par Max Weber, l’auteur conclut que « l’honneur linguistique » n’est pas encore au rendez-vous.

Résumé

Après un bref examen de certains problèmes conceptuels (partie 1), nous présentons les principales mesures introduites par la Charte de la langue française en matière de langue de travail, de langue du commerce et des affaires, et de langue d’affichage, et faisons état des modifications apportées depuis l’adoption de ces mesures en 1977 (partie 2). Nous analysons ensuite (partie 3) l’évolution entre 1977 et 2018 des indicateurs pertinents. En conclusion (partie 4), nous tentons de dégager les principales implications de cette évolution.

Abstract

This article examines the economic situation of language groups in Quebec since the 1970s. Particular attention is paid to the contexts of economic globalization, where English has become the most used world lingua franca, and of immigration now being the major source of population growth. Viewing language as a market where supply and demand determine outcomes, the purpose of Bill 101 was to increase the value and the use of French. The relative economic position of Francophones has improved and they now have better purchasing power and control of the economy. However, the number of Francophones in the population is not expected to increase much and their proportion in the population will drop significantly. Due to immigration, the number and proportion of Allophones will increase, but Anglophones will also benefit since the proportion of immigrants who assimilate to English is larger than the proportion of Anglophones in the population. In the labor market, working in English pays more than working in French for immigrants. In spite of the progresses made by Francophones, the situation of French in Quebec remains a concern. The challenge is to integrate more immigrants into the French-speaking majority.

Abstract

Though forty years of language policies much improved the status and use of French in Quebec, laws such as Bill 101 played a role in reducing the demographic and institutional vitality of the English-speaking communities of Quebec (ESCQ). Pro-French laws maintained Francophones at close to 80% of the Quebec population and ensured that 95% of the Quebec population acquired knowledge of French. Language laws contributed to the decline of Anglophone mother tongue speakers from 13% of the population in 1971 to 7.5% in 2016, while increasing to 70% French/English bilingualism amongst Anglophones. With a net interprovincial loss of over 310,000 Anglophones who left Quebec for the rest of Canada (ROC), results show that Anglophones who stayed in Quebec are less educated and earn lower income than Quebec Francophones. Language laws limiting access to English schools succeeded in reducing the size of the English school system from 256, 251 pupils in 1971 (100%) to only 96,235 pupils in 2018 (37%). While the Anglophone minority bemoan their demographic and institutional decline in education, health care, and government services, many Francophones remains concerned about threats to French by bilingualism in Montreal and their minority status in Canada and North America.

This article reviews Normative Language Policy: Ethics, Politics, Principles

This article reviews Language and Canadian Media: Representations, Ideologies, Policies