rude retail person

[eastender]

The Mozambique Line

I fluently speak, read and write 4 languages. I was schooled in English and my mother tongue is Spanish. French is my third language... and yet, since French is the language of "public communications" then this is the language I use on Québec streets, in Québec stores, in Québec restaurants.. etc..

If you walk into a store in Mozambique would you walk out if you were not served in English? Quelle arrongance.... voyons donc... ici, au Québec, on parle français

---


Bonne journée tres cher merbiste!
Have yourself a great day!
¡Te deseo que tengas un feliz y bonito día!
Tenha um bom dia prezado merbista!

I am happy for you and your linguistic skills.

So now we have a baseline comparison for services in Quebec. The baseline is Mozambique. Everyone should be happy because Quebec health services, schools, roads,minimum wage, working conditions, infra structure, housing, and whatever else we can think of is better than in ....................... Mozambique.

 

[magasinage]

cute eastener... cute.... not sure if some things aren't actually better in Mozambique...

Question for you, would you expect to be served in Spanish in say New Hampshire, USA? Considering that immigrant native-language accommodations discourage immigrants from learning English, I am curious as to what your position is on having Spanish become an official language in the USA.

 

[eastender]

Missing the Point

cute eastener... cute.... not sure if some things aren't actually better in Mozambique...

Question for you, would you expect to be served in Spanish in say New Hampshire, USA? Considering that immigrant native-language accommodations discourage immigrants from learning English, I am curious as to what your position is on having Spanish become an official language in the USA.

This thread and its reasonable accommodations counterpart misses the point.The issue is not finding some obscure comparison but coming up with a Win/Win situation for all involved - the customer,the clerk,the business owner
and society plus whoever else is implicated.

When Rene Levesque helped create Hydro Quebec in the sixties it was a Win/Win situation for all - even the private owners received fair market value for their companies. The resulting growth and developement of Hydro Quebec
created jobs, economic growth, plus many other benefits.

In Cuba after the Castro led revolution there was an extremely high rate of illiteracy. A simple program "Each One Teach One" virtually eradicated illiteracy in slightly more than 10 years.

In Quebec the debate about a very basic human situation has been going around in circles for at least 30 years with no solution in sight.

When it comes to service all I care about is the result. I'll use sign language if necessary.

Your questions are pointless. During the Ice Storm, when help came from the Northeastern USA no one asked if the American Hydro Workers could speak French. If you or I were involved in a car accident neither of us would refuse immediate help because it was not offered in the "official language" or the language of our choice.

 

[knockermocker]

quebec

Some of u are missing some points.

I am bilingual ,but this is still Canada, Quebec is not a country yet.
It is not a communist regime here either.
It is a free country where the english have a second or third voice.

The immigrants that come here have more freedom than we do.

Lets have some french people learn some english for a change.

I don't care what laws we have, people break laws everyday from running red lights,drinking and driving,shootings, robberies, assault ,etc.
When someone says I am Quebecois first, hey look at your money my friend it says Canada on it ,not Quebec!!
U are still using the Canadian currrency my Quebecois people.

With those laws like Bill 101 , they spend money on french language cops, french signs only, etc while at the same time the roads in Quebec are awful and the hospitals are crowded.
One other thing are the tourists, poor them!
These people that have Quebec only flags in their backyard need their heads examined!!!!

Just my opinion.

 

[Gorsky]

Some of u are missing some points.

...

These people that have Quebec only flags in their backyard need their heads examined!!!!

Just my opinion.

Small question... where are you from?

I think the name (french canadians) that we receive from outside is fair...

You are also missing the point by being stubborn as stubborn Quebecers are missing the point. Diversity is something, liberty is something else, money is also something else...

As for french speaking people learning english, I think we do it much more often than english speaking people learning french outside of Quebec... So I think maybe you should rethink on what you've written.

BTW, I have no position on if Quebec should be a country or should stay in Canada but having this kind of stubbornness I know why some people want to quit Canada because yes there is a big bunch of rednecks. An american friend, which came in Canada a few times, saw that in Quebec we are more open than other provinces and specially when he was saying something about french canadians (not to say people of Quebec) and then he saw the real rednecks as if he was in the states (it is his saying out of the blue but still he told me that)... Don't be stubborn and be open...

Who is the better idiot? The idiot or the one arguing with him!!!

 

[J. Peterman]

Do like I do.

Make complaints to the head office.

 

[magasinage]

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to continue to discuss and deliberate on this topic... and even if I did I won't be changing anyone's position as the language debate is one where emotions run high and where our positions are pretty much well anchored. This debate is simply futile...

à la prochaine chicane!

 

[knockermocker]

Hey John Henry - French people learn more english than English learn French- are u from Mars , where do u get this ?
Have u seen the English being taught in French schools?
What a joke.
Look around u need to get out more ,some of the Quebecois french don't seem to care about speaking English.

Immigrants come here and have job banks open for them and offices where they can take courses, etc.
Have u seen a English only office or job bank around in Quebec??????????
WAKE up!

I am talking about these laws Like Bill 101 ,etc that some have put on here to say that French is predominant and that is that, etc.
So that is what I mean when I say breaking the laws,stupid Quebec laws at that.
U.s dollar is used because of the high value and of tourism.
We are not talking about any separating in these countries u mentioned.
This has been going on in quebec for what 30 years.
Quebec is a province which is part of a nation called Canada and that is that!

If they choose to go their way and have their country ,well I sure as one won't pay taxes to Quebec or whatever else for whatever reason.

NHL players come on give me a break .can u come up with a better reason
for using American money.These guys are all over paid and have no care in the world about the little people here in Canada most move to the U.S, don't bother me with nonsense like NHL money!!!!


Outside Quebec , if they want to learn French than let them ,if they want to learn chinese ,let them, etc.
There is no law or obligation to learn any language outside Quebec except English.Don't be an idiot this is Canada not France.]

Do British people have to speak French?
Come on, French is a SECOND language in Canada and is not an obligation to speak,it is a free country!
I am living in Quebec the province and which is part of a country called Canada!!
I think a few of u who responded to me here should be more open to Canada and be less idiot than the guy with a big Quebec flag in his backyard ,where is the respect for Canada there??????????????????????

 

[magasinage]

Biting my tongue...

I type this whilst biting my tongue…

This is precisely why this debate will never end. Knockermocker, you have not been to Québec… you have been in Montréal. Montréal is not representative of the balance of Québec. You are living in a fantasy world... Québec is 1) francophone and 2) a NATION…

I too believed like you (growing up in a burb of MTL - going to an Anglophone school - where none of my friends had French as a mother tongue - heck, none of them had English as a mother tongue)... As a non-Francophone and non-Anglophone I can take a step back and look at the two groups as an outsider.

FYI.. what other states, like Canada, are multinational?

Belgium (Flemings, Walloons, and Germans)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs)
China, People's Republic of - (Hàn, Zhuàng, Mǎn, Huí, Miáo, etc.)
Cyprus (Greeks and Turks)
Ethiopia (Afars, Amhara, Somalis, Oromo, Tigray, etc.)
Pakistan (Baloch, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, etc.)
Singapore (Chinese, Malays, Indians, etc.)
Spain (Cataluña, Pais Vasco, Galicia etc..)
Sri Lanka (Sinhalese, Tamils, and Burghers)
United Kingdom - (Welsh, Irish, Scots, etc.)

and there are more certainly...


Brush up on your terminology... nation is not the same as state. Catalonia for example is a self-governing nation within a wider confederation. Much like the Québécois the Catalan people have a belief that they have a right to negotiate their own position within Spain.
Heck, even Stephen Harper has recognized that Québec is a NATION...

 

[Gorsky]

knockermocker, as I suggested previously, maybe you should open up and see there is a world around your belly button and keep an open mind about it.

Magasinage (btw really really good choice of countries that you made) even showed you places where they do talk different language than other parts of their countries... Now explain me why they kept their language? Are they as stupid as us in Quebec to try to keep their language alive?

Even UK, US, Canada speak a diffenrent english from one to the other (ok Canada is really really close to the one in the States). If you go to UK, would you ask them to talk your english not their english?

Talking about UK, a big chunk of the population do learn to speak french because the roasted beef are really close to their frog neighbours...

Keep your mind open and you'll see much more than what you see thru your blinkers

 

[Bucky]

C'est triste Maria, ton pere a fait une erreur en ne t'enseignant pas ta langue maternelle, ca fait partie intégrale de ta culture, j,espere que tu vas pouvoir l'apprendre

 

[Bucky]

Even americans are taking mesures to protect their language, they we're insulting us in the 70's and 80's by calling us racists 'cause of the loi 101...now they look at it as a model for their laws to protect english in texas, california etc..from spanish, ironic isn't it ?

If i go to mexico, i will try to speak in spanish, in italia italian...what's wrong with that..nothing, so since the province of Québec is 80% french speaking...try it, french girls love it and you know how hot blooded they are..you might get lucky (ref : anglo co-worker who used to date a franco)

 

[Techman]

This is not a language question...it's a business question. If you are the owner of a business all you are interested in is selling your product or service and making a profit from that. If a customer comes in speaking whatever language, you serve him to the best of your ability so that he will leave some of his money in your store. You do not let politics, religion, language...whatever, interfere in that goal. If you do, you are a poor business man and you deserve to go bankrupt. If you have employees who let personal opinions or values interfere in your company's ability to make a profit, they should be fired! It's not rocket science we're talking about here, it's just common sense as well as good business practice. And anyone that thinks Quebec could survive being unilingual French and refusing to deal with anyone in English is either fooling themselves or is simply an idiot. If one business won't serve a customer in English, there are others who will and they will get that person's business.

And Gorsky and magasinage...show me one other country that has laws that effectively outlaw other languages the way we try to do to English in Quebec. Just one.

Techman

 

[jacep]

In CEGEP, I was going out with someone who was French Canadian. Her English was not the best but she went to an English CEGEP. I think it was because of some government assistance programme that was offered at that time (maybe it is still offered) where if someone was schooled almost entirely in French and decided to continue their higher education (CEGEP or university) in English, they got some money out of it. The reverse was also true where if someone was schooled entirely in English and wanted to continue their higher education in French, they also got some money out of it. As I mentioned, I'm not sure if it is still offered.

In any event, since she felt more comfortable speaking to me in French, she almost always spoke to me in French. She also preferred watching American movies in the original non-dubbed versions. I didn't have issues with watching American movies in either language although because of my schooling, I preferred watching French (France-dubbed) American movies as opposed to Quebec-French-dubbed American movies. Even though I understand French very well, I almost always spoke to her in English. She didn't have any issues with it since it helped her to understand English. When I went to Ste-Foy and Sillery (Quebec City) to visit her parents, I always spoke to them in French since it would have been rude to speak to them in English when they were speaking to me in French (their command of English was also almost non-existant).

French is the official language in the province of Quebec. Even in English universities like Concordia and McGill, all papers can be submitted in French unless the paper is for a language course. If it is a language course (Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, English, etc.), the paper obviously has to be submitted in that language but when I was taking courses at university, French papers were accepted for all my classes with the exception of my English composition and literature courses. I believe that papers submitted to all other universities in North America must be submitted in the language of the institution. In a French university in a different province, even if the official language of the province is English, I'm not sure if they would accept a paper in English.

 

[metoo4]

Same old, same old... WIth the same hard core proponents, me included...

Dear unilingual anglo, in Québec, the majority of the population live in french, no matter if you like it or not. In a perfect universe, with perfect business sense, it would require customers to be addressed in their own language, no matter who they are, where they are and where they're from. That's true but impossible.

An unilingual french-speaking person in Québec have every right to work in french, again no matter if you like it or not. If that person want to work with the public, it's still THEIR choice and you don't even have any right to even voice any negative comment about this person. Your "priviledge" of being served in english is in their hands only and likely, you're attitude will dictate a lot of the type of response you'll get.

Think about a store clerk who, days after days, see a flood of english speaking customers who are incapable, for one reason or another, (read mostly too lazy or, in their head, too "proud"...) to even speak a single world of french, even if these customers are surrounded by french, often from birth. And this poor sales guy should be forced to learn english in order to "accomodate" those peoples doing no efforts. Would you be mad if you were that store clerk? How about if, as of 2008, YOU now have to speak Cantoneze or you'll have to find a new job? Would you be mad? In Québec, they can't fire you for that but, the pressure is on and lots of employers will insist and, if you don't comply, will find excuses to fire you. Would that make you mad if you were the one being pushed? Damn! If I would't be bilingual, I would't have the job I have, and I work 90% of the time in Québec!

Think about revising YOUR attitude towards french-speaking peoples and maybe you'll see way more helpful peoples than you currently meet, mind you, it will be the same peoples, but not pissed by your arrogant "YOU speak to me in english, I command you!" attitude. This thread, with 2 example of uniligual anglo being insulted not getting help in english, demonstrate the superiority attitude of some anglo. Not a hint of "Bonjour", not a hint of "Désolé. Je parle pas français." not a hint of understanding the position of french language versus where you are, only an attitude of "I dare you speak to me in french, you bast..." Even with a 1 mile-thick accent, a few french word, said in a sincere fashon, with a smile instead of a "I'm going DOWN to your level now..." grin can do miracles. And almost as important, think of who you really are versus where you are. Are you as "big" and important as you think you are? Do you really hold the supreme truth? I bet you're not!

You don't want to do business with a company who won't serve you in english? No big deal, your choice! Sometimes, principles have more weight than money and, your principles are as good as those of a french-speaking clerk who don't speak english, and as good as the one from the companies who suggest you go elsewhere if you're offended.

Personally, if I ear of a clerk getting fired because he could't speak english, I will boycott that store. I did it before and will do it again. And every time, I spreaded the word around and went to see the manager to let him know. It must be working somehow because, one restaurant I stopped going rehired somebody who wasn't bilingual and was officially fired for a "reprehensible conduct". That person's attitude didn't change and she's still not bilingual! Only they discovered talent and good work didn't have a language! Customers were asking for the girl more than for anybody he ever fired! After I learned the girl was back, I went back and again talked to the manager. He agreed making a mistake and later hired other staff who didn't speak much english. When an "english table" show-up, they just assign somebody bilingual!

 

[Techman]

I have to disagree. When someone is an employee, they do not have any choice as to how they will conduct business for the establishment they work at. If a clerk is too much of a poor business person to serve a customer in the language of their preference then he shouldn't be serving the public. Remember the old saying 'The customer is always right'? Well guess what...it still applies. When I am the one spending the money it is my privilage to be served in the language I choose, and the clerk's duty to do so. I have the same attitude whether the client is French or English. It is the duty of the seller to make me want to buy his product and to do whatever it takes to convince me to do so. If not, I will go elsewhere. I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

And by the way...there is a difference between someone who can't speak a language and someone who refuses to. If the clerk clearly understands what you are saying and refuses to answer you in the same language that is an example of rudeness plain and simple. And people like that can kiss my ass as I walk out the door with my money. Trust me, if someone is ready to spend $100,000 on a high end car a salesclerk will kneel down and blow you in whatever language you want to get your business. But they will rudely refuse to speak to you in your language if all you are spending is $100 on a pair of sunglasses.

As I said before...this is not a question of language. It's a question of good business practices. You serve your customers, you don't expect them to serve you.

Techman.

 

[eastender]

Propose a Win/Win Solution

Same old, same old... WIth the same hard core proponents, me included...

Dear unilingual anglo, in Québec, the majority of the population live in french, no matter if you like it or not. In a perfect universe, with perfect business sense, it would require customers to be addressed in their own language, no matter who they are, where they are and where they're from. That's true but impossible.

An unilingual french-speaking person in Québec have every right to work in french, again no matter if you like it or not. If that person want to work with the public, it's still THEIR choice and you don't even have any right to even voice any negative comment about this person. Your "priviledge" of being served in english is in their hands only and likely, you're attitude will dictate a lot of the type of response you'll get.

Think about a store clerk who, days after days, see a flood of english speaking customers who are incapable, for one reason or another, (read mostly too lazy or, in their head, too "proud"...) to even speak a single world of french, even if these customers are surrounded by french, often from birth. And this poor sales guy should be forced to learn english in order to "accomodate" those peoples doing no efforts. Would you be mad if you were that store clerk? How about if, as of 2008, YOU now have to speak Cantoneze or you'll have to find a new job? Would you be mad? In Québec, they can't fire you for that but, the pressure is on and lots of employers will insist and, if you don't comply, will find excuses to fire you. Would that make you mad if you were the one being pushed? Damn! If I would't be bilingual, I would't have the job I have, and I work 90% of the time in Québec!

Think about revising YOUR attitude towards french-speaking peoples and maybe you'll see way more helpful peoples than you currently meet, mind you, it will be the same peoples, but not pissed by your arrogant "YOU speak to me in english, I command you!" attitude. This thread, with 2 example of uniligual anglo being insulted not getting help in english, demonstrate the superiority attitude of some anglo. Not a hint of "Bonjour", not a hint of "Désolé. Je parle pas français." not a hint of understanding the position of french language versus where you are, only an attitude of "I dare you speak to me in french, you bast..." Even with a 1 mile-thick accent, a few french word, said in a sincere fashon, with a smile instead of a "I'm going DOWN to your level now..." grin can do miracles. And almost as important, think of who you really are versus where you are. Are you as "big" and important as you think you are? Do you really hold the supreme truth? I bet you're not!

You don't want to do business with a company who won't serve you in english? No big deal, your choice! Sometimes, principles have more weight than money and, your principles are as good as those of a french-speaking clerk who don't speak english, and as good as the one from the companies who suggest you go elsewhere if you're offended.

Personally, if I ear of a clerk getting fired because he could't speak english, I will boycott that store. I did it before and will do it again. And every time, I spreaded the word around and went to see the manager to let him know. It must be working somehow because, one restaurant I stopped going rehired somebody who wasn't bilingual and was officially fired for a "reprehensible conduct". That person's attitude didn't change and she's still not bilingual! Only they discovered talent and good work didn't have a language! Customers were asking for the girl more than for anybody he ever fired! After I learned the girl was back, I went back and again talked to the manager. He agreed making a mistake and later hired other staff who didn't speak much english. When an "english table" show-up, they just assign somebody bilingual!

Alot of words,nothing new. No Proposal of a Win/Win nature.

The living in French myth reflects the everyday contacts that people have within their community.Once they go outside their community they adapt and integrate the positive features into the Quebec experience. This is not possible if someone is strictly unilingual French. If you want to learn football from the best you adapt.

About twelve days ago I returned from a trip to the Mauricie and Lac St. Jean regions of Quebec. Met with many youth football players and coaches.
All follow the NFL via the internet and satelite or cable TV. They speak and understand English. Satelite dishes and the internet is common in these areas
and throughout the province from the Gaspe to the Abitibi. Yet everything that was essential to my trip and the presentations was conducted in French.

Point being that a Win/Win situation was allowed to arise and a synergy developed. Over a few beers one evening I talked with some of the coaches
about how football has changed. One of them stated that his biggest regret was that in the seventies he refused a FB scholarship to a small US university
but went to school at one of the English universities in Quebec. His point was that he had denied himself the opportunity to learn about football at a higher level. English was not the issue rather it was exposure to the best in a chosen field.

 

[eastender]

Propose a Win/Win Solution Part II

I have to disagree. When someone is an employee, they do not have any choice as to how they will conduct business for the establishment they work at. If a clerk is too much of a poor business person to serve a customer in the language of their preference then he shouldn't be serving the public. Remember the old saying 'The customer is always right'? Well guess what...it still applies. When I am the one spending the money it is my privilage to be served in the language I choose, and the clerk's duty to do so. I have the same attitude whether the client is French or English. It is the duty of the seller to make me want to buy his product and to do whatever it takes to convince me to do so. If not, I will go elsewhere. I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

And by the way...there is a difference between someone who can't speak a language and someone who refuses to. If the clerk clearly understands what you are saying and refuses to answer you in the same language that is an example of rudeness plain and simple. And people like that can kiss my ass as I walk out the door with my money. Trust me, if someone is ready to spend $100,000 on a high end car a salesclerk will kneel down and blow you in whatever language you want to get your business. But they will rudely refuse to speak to you in your language if all you are spending is $100 on a pair of sunglasses.

As I said before...this is not a question of language. It's a question of good business practices. You serve your customers, you don't expect them to serve you.

Techman.

Your point is somewhat dated. Effectively you are limiting the transaction to making the sale. Once the customer is out the door evrything seems to be forgotten.

A transaction is a learning experience. Granted selling a pack of gum is far from the same as selling a $100,000 custom designed computer system but certain points remain constant.

Knowledge is the key to buying or selling effectively.The more some one knows about a product the greater the productivity or net result.A salesperson cannot afford to limit their knowledge nor can a consumer afford to limit theirs. If each choses to frame the transaction according to their limitations or biases then the transaction is much closer to failure than to success.Specifically if a customer is not flexible and insists on English and the clerk does a poor job of explaining the product in English what is achieved?

Essentially both parties should be willing to do what is necessary to maximize benefits to all concerned.

 

[knockermocker]

I agree with Techman

And Gorsky and magasinage...show me one other country that has laws that effectively outlaw other languages the way we try to do to English in Quebec. Just one.

Exactly my point!!!!
See the world my ass!!
Where is the protection of the English language in Quebec??????
Always the same kind of people sticking up for this whole open mind thing.

Have u spoken to a Francophone only person lately??
They look at u like we (English ) are from Mars.They have no idea what is going on around them and the laws and people they vote for.

An example:
Where I used to work an engineer who has a wife and 3 kids always voted for The PQ , his choice.
The last election though he found out a few points that were brought up during the election.He had no idea about what was going on in the schools with if raised French(mother tongue) ,that child had to go to a French school.
Anyways we all know the laws, he had no idea about this until he wanted to send his kids to an English school.He had big problems on the way.
He voted ADQ that time!
My point is he was blind to what was happening to the freedom we have here in Canada ,except Quebec.He a francophone was disappointed in his ex gov't and in the laws in general they have here in Quebec.
I have spoken to many francophones who do not even know that some contests for example exclude Quebec because of these stupid laws we have.

Anyways where it comes down to is exactly what Techman said:

show me one other country that has laws that effectively outlaw other languages the way we try to do to English in Quebec. Just one.

That is what u(Gorsky and magasinage.) do not get what about the English language????
Open up your minds and see what is going on ,forget about these other countries the problem is here not in
Singapore (Chinese, Malays, Indians, etc.)


I have to go to Montreal or near the area to take classes or courses because where I am English course are barely existent.
Nation my ASS .
Je me Souviens de crosser des Anglais!!! That is where that came from.
Unbelievable!!!!!!!!

 

[magasinage]

language not business.... IDENTITY not BUSINESS

This is not a language question...it's a business question.

.... neoliberalislm at its best.... “it's a business question” can also apply to exploitation and slavery. The little Chinese girl tied to her sewing machine, with a potty under her station ensures a lower cost t-shirt is produced which is good for my bottom line. Gorsky, identity is deeper than dollars. It is a question of principles, values and priorities. There are those that will forego the extra buck so long as they are able to feed, house and provide physically and emotionally their children, if making the extra buck means losing their integrity. Please remember, again, I am neither Francophone nor Anlgophone. I am just trying to put the situation at hand into perspective. This is NOT a language issue… it is an IDENTITY issue. It is a ‘who are you’ issue. Even Maria Divina is trying to come to grips with her own identity, feeling that she somehow needs a grasp on Castilian Spanish. (Maria, I will do some digging when I get a split second and will PM you... p.s. Maria, Québec has one major language not two - 8% of the population speaks English - over 80%% speak French and 8% speak something else). Identity and ethnicity is very deep and a ‘people’s’ fight to survive can be a painful and sometimes bloody one.

And Gorsky and magasinage...show me one other country that has laws that effectively outlaw other languages the way we try to do to English in Quebec. Just one.

Techman, you cannot compare the situation in Québec/Canada with other states and their nations. Here under I have taken the liberty of quoting directly from an article from the ECONOMIST that sums up the 'language' situation worldwide. Québeckers are not the only ones worried about the protection of their language (say culture). If the Poles, the Germans need to legislate to protect their language (from the English language threat)... imaging the 6 million Francophones amongst the 300 million English-speakers of North America.... If the Spaniards need a governmental body to ensure the integrity of Spanish because of the threat that is the ubiquity of English... how can you possibly not understand that Québec is in a much more fragile position and needs heftier protection and more severe legislation?

Here are some excerpts from the said article.

Those who feel pity for the French, however, should feel much sorrier for the Quebeckers, a minority of about 6 million among the 300 million English-speakers of North America. It is easy to mock their efforts to defend their beleaguered version of French: all those absurd language police, fighting franglais, ensuring that all contracts are written in French and patrolling shops and offices to make sure that any English signs are of regulation size.

But it is also easy to understand their concern. After all, the publishing onslaught from the United States is enough to make English-speaking Canadians try to put up barriers to protect their magazines in apparent defiance of the World Trade Organization: Canada's cultural industries are at stake, they say. No wonder the French-speakers of Quebec feel even more threatened by the ubiquity of English.

Germans, Poles and Chinese Unite
French-speakers are far from alone. A law went into effect in Poland last year obliging all companies selling or advertising foreign products to use Polish in their advertisements, labelling and instructions. Latvia has tried to keep Russian (and, to be more precise, Russians) at bay by insisting on the use of the Latvian language in business. Even Germany, now the pre-eminent economic and political power in Europe, feels it necessary to resist the spread of Denglisch.

Three years ago the Institute for the German Language wrote to Deutsche Telekom to protest at its adoption of "grotesque" terms like CityCall, HolidayPlusTarif and GermanCall. A year earlier, an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in which a designer had been quoted using expressions like "giving story," "co-ordinated concepts" and "effortless magic" so infuriated Prof. Wolfgang Kramer that he founded the Society for the Protection of the German Language, which now awards a prize for the Sprachpanscher (language debaser) of the year.

In Hong Kong, the new, Chinese masters are promoting Cantonese, to the concern of local business. And in India some people see English as an oppressive legacy of colonialism that should be exterminated. As long ago as 1908 Mohandas Gandhi was arguing that "to give millions a knowledge of English is to enslave them." Ninety years later the struggle was still being fought, with India's defence minister of the day, Mulayam Singh Yadav, vowing that he would not rest "until English is driven out of the country." Others, however, believe that it binds a nation of 800 tongues and dialects together, and connects it to the outside world to boot.

Some countries try, like France, to fix their language by fiat. A set of reforms were produced in Germany a few years ago by a group of philologists and officials with the aim of simplifying some spellings ; Spagetti instead of Spaghetti, for example, Saxifon instead of Saxophon ; reducing the number of rules governing the use of commas (from 52 to nine), and so on. Dutifully, the country's state culture ministers endorsed them, and they started to go into effect in schoolrooms and newspaper offices across the country. But old habits die hard, unless they are making way for English: in Schleswig-Holstein the voters revolted, and in due course even such newspapers as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung abandoned the new practice.

Spain strives for conformity too, through a Spanish Royal Academy similar to the French Academy. The job of the 46 Spanish academicians is to "cleanse, fix and give splendour" to a language that is very much alive, although nine out of ten of its speakers live outside Spain. The academy professes a readiness to absorb new words and expressions, but its director admits that "changes have become very rare now." No wonder Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America ; as well as the Philippines and the United States ; have set up their own academies.

Keeping Tiny Tongues Alive
Rules alone may be unable to withstand the tide of English, but that does not mean it is impossible to keep endangered languages in being. Mohawk, for instance, spoken by some indigenous people in Quebec, was in retreat until the 1970s, when efforts were made first to codify it and then to teach it to children at school. Welsh and Maori have both made a comeback with the help of television and government interference, and Navajo, Hawaiian and several languages spoken in Botswana have been reinvigorated artificially.

Perhaps the most effective way of keeping a language alive, however, is to give it a political purpose. The association of Irish with Irish nationalism has helped bring this language back from its increasing desuetude in the 19th century, just as Israeli nation-building has converted Hebrew from being a merely written language into a national tongue. ​

The above is taken from an article from The Economist.