www.politiquebec.com

[Delenda]

Bilingualism doesn't unite Canada, poll finds

Majority of respondents outside Quebec don't think speaking two languages is important (vous nous apprenez rien! Ca été important juste un après-midi dans l'histoire: le 27 octobre 1995)

ELIZABETH THOMPSON, The Gazette

Published: 8 hours ago

Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau's dream of a Canada united by bilingualism appears to be fading everywhere in Canada except in Quebec, according to a new public opinion poll.

The Léger Marketing poll carried out for the Association for Canadian Studies found that only 40 per cent of Canadians polled agreed that bilingualism keeps the country united, compared with 58 per cent who disagreed.

"It's the ultimate paradox," said Jack Jedwab, executive director of the association. "There is this schizophrenia vis-à-vis Trudeau. On the one hand in terms of his view that everyone should be bilingual, that view is more widely endorsed in Quebec than in the rest of the country, even though there are some mixed feelings in Quebec (about Trudeau)."

But clearly it is not faring well outside of Quebec and it is also not faring as well as one would hope with the population that is neither English nor French mother tongue - which is a very crucial segment of the population."

The poll of 1,500 respondents across Canada found that francophones were twice as likely to agree that bilingualism keeps the country united than anglophone respondents by a gap of 63 per cent to 31 per cent. When it comes to allophone respondents, 49 per cent disagreed with the idea that bilingualism keeps Canada together, while 43 per cent agreed.

The poll also found sharp differences between regions in how important they say bilingualism is to Canadian unity.

While 63 per cent of Quebecers agreed bilingualism keeps the country united, that view was shared by only 20 per cent of respondents in Alberta and 27 per cent in British Columbia. The rate rose to 35 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 37 per cent in Ontario and 43 per cent in the Maritimes.

University-educated respondents were more likely to agree with that view than those without a university education by a score of 45 per cent to 38 per cent.

When it came to whether Canadians should be required to learn a second language, 52 per cent said it shouldn't be required, compared with 45 per cent who said it should.

Women were more likely than men to say Canadians should learn a second language, with 50 per cent of female respondents agreeing with the statement compared with 39 per cent of men - well beyond the poll's margin of error of 2.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Jedwab said the attitudes toward bilingualism that are revealed by the poll have important public policy implications.

"We need to change the psychology in Canada about the view of the importance of bilingualism. All of the measures in place and the investments we make on the (bilingualism) action plan risk not bearing fruit if the openness to bilingualism, the attitudinal dimension, isn't strong enough."

ethompson@thegazette.canwest.com




© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008

[Delenda]

Mandatory French dropped from BJ

by Ariane Melaven

Officially starting in September 2008, Carleton’s journalism program will no longer require a French credit for graduation. Instead, students can register in a language credit of their choice or choose a free elective if they can demonstrate second-language proficiency.

Christopher Waddell, associate director of journalism and communication at Carleton, said he believes students will benefit from the change.

“Most students in the journalism program come from Canada, but they come from a Canada that is increasingly ethnically diverse [...] where more and more languages other than English and French may be spoken in the home,” Waddell said. (mais c'est pas l'anglais qu'ils laissent tomber)

The presence of various ethnic communities within Canadian cities has allowed for the creation of new media outlets, which provide information to people in their own languages, he said.

Waddell explained journalism students’ choice of language depends on the type of journalism they want to do and where they want to work.

“I think students will be smart enough to make a decision,” he said.

“If they’re interested in politics [or] working in Quebec, obviously French is a very valuable language to have.”

According to Waddell, the fact that many students come from various linguistic backgrounds and that some graduates will decide to work in other countries has justified the change in the language requirement.

But Graham Fraser, Canada’s commissioner of official languages and a former reporter, disagrees.

“[It] reduces the opportunity for journalism students [to] acquire what I consider a critical skill to be able to do their job,” said Fraser.

“I hate to see a situation where young journalism graduates are unable to cover the prime minister giving a speech in Quebec.”

Not only should journalists be able to understand political leaders, he said, but they should also be able to understand Canadians when they speak the official language of their choice.

Fraser said he believes since Carleton is located within Canada’s capital, both the university and the journalism program should be a model of bilingualism and an inspiration for other Canadian universities.

Charles Doutrelepont, director of Carleton’s French department, said the change in the journalism program is “deplorable.”

“Since there are two official languages in Canada, I think it is reasonable that journalism students know both languages to a certain extent,” he said.

However, Doutrelepont pointed out that since Carleton is increasingly becoming international, it is difficult to impose French on students.

“If it is to force [students] to learn French even if they are not interested, then maybe it would be better to teach it to people who are willing to learn it,” he said.

http://www.charlatan.ca/index.php?optio ... Itemid=148

Le peu de français qui reste au Canada est en dégringolade!

[Sebb]

Bilingualism doesn't unite Canada, poll finds

Majority of respondents outside Quebec don't think speaking two languages is important (vous nous apprenez rien! Ca été important juste un après-midi dans l'histoire: le 27 octobre 1995)

ELIZABETH THOMPSON, The Gazette

Published: 8 hours ago

Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau's dream of a Canada united by bilingualism appears to be fading everywhere in Canada except in Quebec, according to a new public opinion poll.

The Léger Marketing poll carried out for the Association for Canadian Studies found that only 40 per cent of Canadians polled agreed that bilingualism keeps the country united, compared with 58 per cent who disagreed.

"It's the ultimate paradox," said Jack Jedwab, executive director of the association. "There is this schizophrenia vis-à-vis Trudeau. On the one hand in terms of his view that everyone should be bilingual, that view is more widely endorsed in Quebec than in the rest of the country, even though there are some mixed feelings in Quebec (about Trudeau)."

But clearly it is not faring well outside of Quebec and it is also not faring as well as one would hope with the population that is neither English nor French mother tongue - which is a very crucial segment of the population."

The poll of 1,500 respondents across Canada found that francophones were twice as likely to agree that bilingualism keeps the country united than anglophone respondents by a gap of 63 per cent to 31 per cent. When it comes to allophone respondents, 49 per cent disagreed with the idea that bilingualism keeps Canada together, while 43 per cent agreed.

The poll also found sharp differences between regions in how important they say bilingualism is to Canadian unity.

While 63 per cent of Quebecers agreed bilingualism keeps the country united, that view was shared by only 20 per cent of respondents in Alberta and 27 per cent in British Columbia. The rate rose to 35 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 37 per cent in Ontario and 43 per cent in the Maritimes.

University-educated respondents were more likely to agree with that view than those without a university education by a score of 45 per cent to 38 per cent.

When it came to whether Canadians should be required to learn a second language, 52 per cent said it shouldn't be required, compared with 45 per cent who said it should.

Women were more likely than men to say Canadians should learn a second language, with 50 per cent of female respondents agreeing with the statement compared with 39 per cent of men - well beyond the poll's margin of error of 2.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Jedwab said the attitudes toward bilingualism that are revealed by the poll have important public policy implications.

"We need to change the psychology in Canada about the view of the importance of bilingualism. All of the measures in place and the investments we make on the (bilingualism) action plan risk not bearing fruit if the openness to bilingualism, the attitudinal dimension, isn't strong enough."

ethompson@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008

Intéressant !
Le problème : sans le bilinguisme, le ROC est juste un autre État américain.