French Culture Essay

723 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of culture based in France

By: Brendan Kuny
------
OUR PAST
When discussing the French Culture, architecture and even politics, we don’t forget the influence of the history of France. The french way of life as and the government still show some major keys to the major historical events. Culture plays the most important role in the development of any country. The culture of France and of the French people has been shaped by geography, by profound historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups.
In 2014, there were about 274 million speakers of the French language, which inclined 25% since 2010, 212 million speak French on a daily basis. French is the second most studied language in the world, the fifth most spoken language, and the fourth language of …show more content…

The territories of New France were Canada, Acadia (later renamed Nova Scotia), and Louisiana. During the mid-18th century, Canadian colonists born in French Canada expanded across North America and colonized various regions, cities, and towns; the French Canadian settlers originated primarily from districts in the northwest of France, such as Normandy, Perche, Beauce, Maine, Anjou, Touraine, Poitou, Aunis, Angoumois, Saintonge and Gascony.
------
OUR CHALLENGES
There are many Challenges for the french culture in Canada such as, The social status of French Canadians has historically been lower than that of the English-speaking majority. Traditionally, they have not been as well educated and have suffered widespread discrimination. A major concern of French Canadians today is the preservation of their culture and language against the threat of assimilation into English-speaking North America. Serious concerns were raised regarding perspectives for the future and continuity. The summary of the consultation with national organizations explained that “Francophones are losing ground, both demographically and …show more content…

Quebec also has a large audience for English-language television and radio programming and magazines. Le Journal de Montréal and La Presse are the most widely read French-language newspapers.
Like Canadians of all backgrounds, French Canadians enjoy the beautiful scenery of their native land on vacation trips. Many families own small cottages in the country, which they visit on weekends and during vacations. Others travel to distant parts of the country for camping or other outdoor activities.
Today the French Canadian middle class occupies a prominent position in industry, finance, and other key economic areas. French Canadians work in government and the professions and own small businesses.

Education in Canada is administered by each province individually. In all cases school attendance is compulsory from the age of about six to sixteen. Quebec has two parallel systems, one of which is specifically for French-speaking, Catholic students. The Acadian populations of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are legally guaranteed access to French-language schools in predominantly French-speaking areas.

------
OUR

Show More
Related

  • A Comparison of Quebec to the Rest of Canada

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Quebec is in Canada, a majority of Quebecers do not identify with the national identity of Canada. Both societies create a sense of identity as well as nationalism (Hiller, 295). Hiller mentions two approaches to assessing Canadian identity; the unitary approach and the segmentalist approach (Hiller, 277). The unitary approach suggests that society consists of people who regardless of their ethnic back ground, identify as belonging to the national society, while the segmentalist approach concentrates on groups and communities that share racial, linguistic, occupational, or cultural similarities (Hiller, 28). While most Anglophones are more unitary or pan-Canadian, Quebec heavily identifies with the segmentalist approach. This dissimilarity of identity perspective may be problematic for the country, at the same time however, it can also be viewed as a struggle where contradictory parties find a way to compromise and reshape Canadian society together (Hiller, 277). Canada’s former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau made it his objective to unite Quebec with the rest of Canada. In 1969 Trudeau’s government implemented Bill C-120, otherwise known as the Official Language act, which made French an...

    Read More

  • Bilingualism and Biculturalism Within Canada’s Multicultural Framework

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Canada: The Quiet Revolution in Quebec

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, not all was going well in Quebec. The French-English relation was going bad. Many studies showed that French-Canadian Quebecers were earning the lowest wage in all of the ethnic groups in Canada. Other complaints were that the top jobs in Quebec were given to English speaking Canadians. Canada was going through the worst crisis in its history, and unless equal partnership was found a break-up would likely happen.

    Read More

  • Significant People in the Colonization of New France

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jacques Cartier was born in St. Malo, France on December 31st 1491. Jacques Cartier is significant to the contact and colonization of New France because he led three main French expeditions in to what is called Canada and made many of the land claims French had at the time. He is the European credited with naming Canada from the First Nations word “kanata” which means village or settlement. He is significant to French colonization because he was the one who originally laid down French claims in North America. In 1534, Francis I of French commissioned him to explore the northern part of what is now Canada, to look for gold and spices. His first journey took him, two ships and a crew of 61 to the St. Laurence seaway where he stumbled upon a First Nations tribe on July 7th. The two groups talked and swapped items, with is the first recorded trade between the French and the North American First Nations. Though the relationship wasn’t all sunshine and roses between the French and the First Nations tribes! The relationship was tarnished when Cartier “claimed” Gaspé Bay, put up a 30-foot cross at Pointe-Penouille, lied to Donnacona, the Native chief in the area saying the cross was...

    Read More

  • Everyday Life in Sixteenth Century France

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    The lifestyle in France, just like in all other European countries, has changed dramatically since the early 1700’s. People went from farmers to factory owners to all of the professions of today’s society. The main reason for the great changes in lifestyle that occurred in France was the Industrial Revolution, which urbanized most of France. But the Industrial Revolution was not the only thing that changed France. The monarchy fell the church changed, and the role people had in their jobs and family life change drastically.

    Read More

  • The American Influence in Canadian Popular Culture

    1937 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the last 20 years the penetration of the Canadian market by American cultural industries is still extremely strong. The United States is still the main source of culture products. American products represent 81% of all culture commodity imports. Canadians watch American TV shows, listen to American music, love American sports teams, drive American cars and buy American goods at American stores like Walmart. They eat American food, drink American beer (sometimes).

    Read More

  • Haitian Culture Essay

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    The two cultures that I identify myself with Haitian culture and American culture. The American culture is more dominant and I identify myself most with this culture. Although I was born in Haiti and Haitian culture was once my dominant culture, it is now my co-culture. Nonetheless, a combination of these two cultures would be Haitian-American culture.

    Read More

  • Canada and Quebec's Conflict

    1972 Words  | 4 Pages

    Canada and Quebec have always been in conflict from the confederation of 1867 to the Supreme court judgement on the secession of Quebec in 1998. Quebec faces several challenges in terms of constitutional relations with the rest of Canada. Quebec is seeking a special status to preserve and protect its culture and language, while the rest of English-speaking Canada accepts the view of provincial equality. There have been attempts to recognize Quebec's concerns through constitutional amendments, but these attempts have not lived up to Quebec's expectations and for the most parts have failed. Quebec has threatened Canada throughout history with separation from Canada. These threats have not been ignored, the rest of Canada realizes the devastating impact economically and politically if Quebec did separate but they cannot reach a compromise. Canada has as tried to encourage Quebec not to separate from Canada. In 1995 Quebec held its second referendum on sovereignly and the separatists narrowly lost the province wide. The province brought the case to the Supreme court of Canada to rule on the legal guidelines of unilateral secession under Canadian and international law, in the end some say the federalists (those not wanting to separate) came out on top. In this essay I will discuss the various historical attempts made by government to keep Quebec a part of Canada. I will also attempt to explain the impact of the Supreme Court Ruling on the Quebec secession. Many argue that the federalist won in the decision but that statement is debatable. Both Quebec and the rest of Canada won in the ruling. I believe that English Canadians should spend some time getting to know their French neighbors and vice ...

    Read More

  • French and Indian War

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    The French and the English had coexisted relatively peacefully in North America for nearly a century. But by the 1750's, as both English and French settlements expanded, religious and commercial tensions began to produce new frictions and new conflicts. The French had explored and claimed a vast region of the continental interior, ranging from Louisiana in the South to the Great Lakes in the North. To secure their hold on these enourmous claims, they founded a whole string of communities, missions, trading posts, and fortresses. The region was enclosed by the four major cities: Montreal, Detroit, New Orleans, and Quebec, the center of the French empire in North America.

    Read More

  • North America´s Development

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...nlike Quebec, English Canada was far more apt to reform. The power of the Catholic Church was an essential in the struggle to preserve the traditional culture. When change came it came quickly in Quebec. In the 1960s the revolution tranquille, in which traditional values and ways of life gave way to a new secularism that reduced the power of the church. Quebec in society, work, and politics has become much like the rest of Canada and the United states.

    Read More

  • Diasporic Language In California

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    When compared to other countries, the United States may be considered as a relatively new country. In the 1800’s, there were many waves of immigration from countries in Europe. Many immigrated due to better economic opportunities and other groups sought religious freedom. Along with those waves, the immigrants’ languages were also brought and spread. One of the languages among them is French. French descends from Latin, which descends from Italic, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. Although this language comes from France, the heritage language is commonly spoken today throughout the US, with many speakers residing within California. Ultimately, I based my decision to research this diasporic language on the sources I found, the US Census, a book by Adrian Battye and the Modern Language Association. I found it interesting how, in California, we find French speakers concentrated in major cities. Although not as widespread as Spanish, French has a fair amount of speakers and there is plenty of information on this language.

    Read More

  • Quebec And Canada

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    Already before the first Europeans came to Canada, people had been living there for about 20 000 years1. These early settlers are the predecessors of the native people of Canada that are known as the Inuit. It was not before 1633 that the first Europeans, the French, came to Canada and established the first permanent European settlement there. By 1754, settlements in Canada greatly increased, causing French Canada into war with the British Colonies. This war was known as the Seven Years’ War resulting in mostly British rule in Canada. However, on the 1st of July 1867, Canada achieved its independence from Britain and became its very own country. Today Canada is the second largest country by area with an abundant amount of natural resources such as fish, hydroelectric power and wood. The ...

    Read More

  • Government And The French Revolution

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    Looking back at the history of the French Ancien Regime, some sort change was needed to happen. Unfortunately the French went about it in a wrong way, because the French revolution failed. The French did not need a Revolution, but reform. Human Rights, the economy and religion all suffered at the hands of the revolution. Until Napoleon Bonaparte, France was in revolution chaos without any direction. It has had lasting effects on this country that is still present over 200 years later.

    Read More

  • French Culture

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gofen, Ethel and Reymann, Blandine. Cultures of the World: France. New York: Times Media Private Limited, © 2003.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Maintaining Mother Tongue

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    Playing an integral part in our society, Canada is known for the multiculturalism that is encouraged within the various types of religions and cultures. This has given the citizens of Canada a push for our society to grow as a whole. Canada is a multicultural country in many aspects and with that being said, this means Canada is populated with a large number of immigrants. This gives us a variety of concepts such as maintaining first languages to help students with English, barriers that are set due to first languages, but also the strong support that is given to the citizens of ethnic first languages. Given these statements, there are personal experiences that are relatable through this piece.

    Read More

More about French Culture Essay

Open Document