For most who reside in the country of their birth, language can seem inconsequential, something innate, natural, and comfortable. Interactions between both people and things are simply a matter of semantics, skipping seamlessly over the basic foundations of comprehension. However, for immigrants, language colours and shapes every aspect of life, and one’s knowledge of a language, or lack thereof, has the ability to dramatically affect their livelihood. The province of Quebec has always been in a unique position in terms of multilingualism, perpetually involved in a power struggle between the two official languages, in the midst of which stand immigrants, whose allegiance is up for grabs. Five decades ago, the golden age of capitalism and the …show more content…
The same global processes are at play, as well as newer processes that gained their roots in the sixties. Antonio concluded the interview with his thoughts on the linguistic difficulties immigrant children face today, expressing that he believes the most notable changes come from deindustrialization. Deindustrialization, which began after Antonio finished school and is still in motion today, has resulted in the transformation of the composition of work in the global north, namely that there are fewer industrial, manual labour driven jobs, while white-collar work has become ubiquitous. When he was growing up, “companies would hire immigrants, even though they didn’t speak French or English, because they saw them as good workers, and they could get away with paying them less, too” whereas nowadays, if cheap manual labour is required, corporations turn overseas to countries with less stringent — or nonexistent — labour laws, and therefore there is no longer an incentive for companies to hire immigrants if they lack knowledge of English or French. Antonio added that this is increasingly true on a local level in Montreal, where, as a result of the rising competitiveness in the labour market as well as French revitalization, it is becoming indispensable to not only know either official language, but to be bilingual, in order to have any hopes of a prosperous future. With that said, Antonio believes this …show more content…
However, due to the complicated relationships between the global and local processes present in Montreal, particularly the powers of American influence and Anglophone supremacy, he embarked on the more difficult challenge of having to learn English at school wholly without external assistance. Antonio triumphed, and having overcome the challenge, he was enabled to find a secure, well-paying job soon after his belated graduation, and eventually moved west, where he started a business and remained relatively
Au Canada on compte probablement plus de 60 langues autochtones. La plupart des autochtones possède l’anglais ou le français comme langue maternelle et parlent à la fois une langue autochtone, d’autres n’ont qu’une connaissance passive de leur langue ancestrale. On estime qu’au moins 80 % des langues autochtones du Canada seraient actuellement en voie d’extinction. Les efforts menés pour sauver les langues autochtones sont cruciaux pour la protection de l’identité culturelle et la dignité des membres des Premières Nations du Canada ainsi que pour garder de leur héritage.
Quebec’s social identity and defining characteristics contradict and conflict with those of rest of Canada. Since the genesis of our country, the political, social disagreements, and tensions between Quebec and the rest of Canada have been unavoidable. Utilizing Hiller’s key contradictions in the analysis of a Canadian society, we will compare and contrast the nature of the societal identity in Quebec compared to that of rest of Canada, emphasising on the major differences and tensions between the province and the rest of the country.
...to identity with at least one of the countries predominate languages, English or French, dictated the degree in which they could participate in Canadian life. According to the Commission, this participation was real under two conditions: “that both societies, the French-speaking as well as the English-speaking, accept[ed] newcomers much more rapidly than they have done in the past; and that the two societies willingly allow other groups to preserve and enrich, if they so desire, the cultural values they prize[d]” (RCBB Book 1 xxv). It creates an interesting take on the acceptance of those “othered” groups, as change was necessary not only on the part of the minorities but also from Canada’s French and English-speakers. The Commissions work remains focused on language and culture, more so than ethnicity amongst a bilingual, bicultural and “othered” Canadian society.
This research paper will be looking into and discussing, whether or not the French language in Quebec is still under threat. This project will discuss the existence of a threat to French language, and its culture. Also look into possible reasons why people may believe that there is a threat or not.
For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America, creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy. To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions, frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, the author describes the social, cultural and linguistic difficulties encountered in America as he attempts to assimilate to the American culture. Richard Rodriguez by committing himself to speaking English, he lost his cultural ties, family background and ethnic heritage.
Most people who grow up with a foreign language spoken in there house grow up with an advantage in society. This advantage can only occur once the individual learning that foreign language also learns the dominant language spoken in that country. Once both of these languages are learned and mastered, the individual has now placed them se...
While reading this article, one of the most shocking sections was when the students were talking to Monzó and sharing their outlook on their place and their language’s place in society. These students, even at this early age, are feeling how devalued their first language has been. They feel like they have to speak the right* English, only use English in public places, never their first language, and that they must assimilate to the American culture as much as possible. This reminded me of a chapter in Lippi Green (2012)’s text. Within this chapter, Lippi-Green (2012) discusses how in the United States Spanish speakers are not only expected to learn English, but they are expected to learn and utilize the right* English determined by the majority and assimilate entirely to American culture.
“Multiculturalism” entered public speech in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Canada that focused on unique cultural diversity, nationalities, and ethnicity across the nation. Multiculturalism and Immigration are important factors in the development of Canada to attain a strong multicultural example of economic stability, social and political growth which leads to the emergence of Canada’s identity and culture.
However, in this era of multiculturalism, could the current immigration flow help us determine what is a Canadian and, to an extent, what is Canada? Is multiculturalism a core part of Canadian identity? In the 1970s, Pierre Elliott Trudeau decided to use multiculturalism as a “way of dealing with discontent over the report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism1.”. According to some groups, this report dealt primarily with French and English linguistic issues and did not pay enough attention to issues referring to other groups within the Canadian population. To a more general extent, “multiculturalism policies in Canada have attempted to assist cultural groups in overcoming barriers so as to allow them to integrate more fully in society”.
Canada, being recognized as one of the best destinations for immigrants, has been and will be attracting more residents through immigration. Meanwhile, with its accelerated development, an increasing number of Chinese residents decide to move to Canada to experience a completely new way of living. Along with these immigrants are the dependent children that are bought Canada by their parents. New immigrants face challenges from all aspects, such as English being the new language, different culture and traditions, and an unfamiliar way of living (Pottie et al., 2008). To help immigrants through this difficult transition period, the government offers free English lessons to adult immigrants and many communities and organizations offer help with administrative tasks such as applying for health care and registering in local clubs and community centre. From the tremendous amount of effort by different organizations and sectors, it is easy to see how difficult it is to face the impact for adult new comers can be.
According to the 2011 census, over 20.8 percent of the United States population spoke another language other than English (www.us-english.org). Language barriers, cultural differences, and immigration have been a part of life in the United States for decades. Language is considered a vital tool in the construction of someone’s identity and an expression of culture. In the last 200 years immigrants have chosen to make the United States their home, but some proceeded with caution by slowly adapting to the English language and culture.
The industrial revolution began in Europe in the 18th century. The revolution prompted significant changes, such as technological improvements in global trade, which led to a sustained increase in development between the 18th and 19th century. These improvements included mastering the art of harnessing energy from abundant carbon-based natural resources such as coal. The revolution was economically motivated and gave rise to innovations in the manufacturing industry that permanently transformed human life. It altered perceptions of productivity and understandings of mass production which allowed specialization and provided industries with economies of scale. The iron industry in particular became a major source of economic growth for the United States during this period, providing much needed employment, which allowed an abundant population of white people as well as minorities to contribute and benefit from the flourishing economy. Steel production boomed in the U.S. in the mid 1900s. The U.S. became a global economic giant due to the size of its steel industry, taking advantage of earlier innovations such as the steam engine and the locomotive railroad. The U.S. was responsible for 65 percent of steel production worldwide by the end of the 2nd World War (Reutter 1). In Sparrows Point: Making Steel: the Rise and Ruin of American Industrial Might, Mark Reutter reports that “Four out of every five manufacturing items contained steel and 40 percent of all wage earners owed their livelihood directly or indirectly to the industry.” This steel industry was the central employer during this era.
"Lost Language, Lost Culture." Government of Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Canadian Foreign Service Institute, Centre for Intercultural Learning. 24 Nov 2013.
...ents go on addressing them in their natural language, but the children reply in English. What the children of immigrants end up with is not a compromise, not a blend. They end up pure and simple with the language and culture of their peers” (pg. 30).
To commence this discussion, it is first essential to establish an understanding surrounding the role of language in relation to national identity. Theoretically, the more power language has in this relation, the more powerful language planning may be when creating a national identity. However, the role language plays in this respect is somewhat problematic to define and has proven to be a debatable topic among nationalists, sociologists and sociolinguists. For instance, May demonstrates that ‘sociological commentators, unlike sociolinguists, have generally been loath to apportion a prominent role to language in the explanation of minority ethnic and national identity claims’ (2001: 8). Consequently emulating distaste from sociologists to credit language with significant power in a national identity. In a similar sense, de Vries notes that, in relation to a language community, ‘social scientists have generally ignored the systemic properties of language’ (1991: 39), thus, concurrently suggesting with May, a disagreement from the social sciences over the role of language in terms of identity and national identity. Similarly, circa the French revolution, the concept