Xref: utzoo can.francais:87 can.politics:1992
Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!csri.toronto.edu!clarke
From: clarke@csri.toronto.edu (Jim Clarke)
Newsgroups: can.francais,can.politics
Subject: Re: Notwithstanding clause -- truly a sad day for Canada
Message-ID: <8812211552.AA18692@ellesmere.csri.toronto.edu>
Date: 21 Dec 88 15:52:38 GMT
References: <1988Dec13.133220.28851@lsuc.uucp> <4321@hcr.UUCP> <809@auvax.UUCP> <230@electro.UUCP> <2521@looking.UUCP> <560@cavell.UUCP> <165@ecicrl.UUCP>
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Organization: University of Toronto, CSRI
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In article <165@ecicrl.UUCP> clewis@ecicrl.UUCP (Chris Lewis) writes:
> ...
>Impossible - half the signs in downtown Toronto are Greek or Italian or
>Cantonese or Vietnamese already.
>
>I even patronize some of stores being advertised.
>
>Nor do I feel that my "Anglais" culture is leaking.

Let's show a little imagination here.  There's no way "English culture"
could possibly be threatened by any other, for at least the next several
decades.  It's very easy to be tolerant of other languages on signs in
Toronto.  It wouldn't be so easy if the other language on the signs had
the same influence compared with ours as English does compared with French.

No, I don't think French is going to vanish in Quebec; after all, it's
survived about 80 years of British occupation, followed by 120 of minority
status in Canada.  But would you like to bet on the survival of French in
Canada outside Quebec?  compared with the likelihood English will survive
inside Quebec?  If I were Quebecois, I'd be concerned too, though I'd be
optimistic.

Disclaimers:  (1) I still don't know what I think about Bourassa's new
law; and (2) I don't read can.politics, only can.francais.
-- 
Jim Clarke -- Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto, Canada M5S 1A4
              (416) 978-4058
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