Why is Quebec the only mainly “French” province?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by LakeLocker

Even if Canada was never under British rule you'd still seem english as the dominate language.

.

I don't know why you'd make that assumption. Barring conquest of some type, I am not aware of many places on the planet where borders are in place and where they've completely switched over to their neighbours' language.

If Canada had remained a French colony the most likely scenario would be for it to be totally French linguistically at the moment.

Even really small places next to very large neighbours always retain their own language for internal affairs, provided there is some type of border between them and their neighbours.

I mean even the Canada of 2020, with very large and robust French-speaking areas within it in spite of having no international borders between them and "Anglo-Canada", is a pretty good example that people don't switch languages in the absence of some type of coercion (usually not-so-nice). There are even areas outside Quebec such as NW and NE New Brunswick that reinforce the point.)

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Throughout the great migratory period from 1600 to 1900, France also had a lot more room geographically for a population that was roughly equivalent to that of England.

There was much less of a need for a colonial demographic release valve to address overpopulation in France.

France is also a (relatively) delightful country compared to the UK, at least climatologically.

If you lived on the Cote d'Azure, I'm sure it would have been quite difficult to coax you to resettle in Chibougamau. If however you were a Brit living in Liverpool, subject to a wet, cold climate without central heating in your house, a relocation to Winnipeg might be a touch less daunting.......

[Luisito]

Happy Louis Riel Day!!

Celebrating the life of a true Canadian heroe.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Acajack

If Canada had remained a French colony the most likely scenario would be for it to be totally French linguistically at the moment.

Or it could have been bundled in with the Louisiana Purchase

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Doug

Or it could have been bundled in with the Louisiana Purchase

That too. So then the entirety of the territory north of the Rio Grande would be the USA.

[kwoldtimer]

The most likely of the alternative scenarios, istm.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Acajack

That too. So then the entirety of the territory north of the Rio Grande would be the USA.

Except possibly Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. It might have survived as a British colony and eventually an independent country.

[isaidso]

To answer the thread question, Nova Scotia expelled most of its francophone population. If it hadn't happened Nova Scotia might look more like New Brunswick linguistically.

[jd3189]

^^^ Yeah, it would have been interesting if Quebec and all the Atlantic provinces were Francophone and Ontario and the rest of Canada westward maintained a Anglophone culture. That would possibly make the representation of both languages more equal. Could that have ever been possible, and if not, why not?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by jd3189

^^^ Yeah, it would have been interesting if Quebec and all the Atlantic provinces were Francophone and Ontario and the rest of Canada westward maintained a Anglophone culture. That would possibly make the representation of both languages more equal. Could that have ever been possible, and if not, why not?

This would just lead to a Belgium situation where half of us are one language and half of us the other.

People always talk about NB as being the de jure bilingual province but in de facto it's a province where English people live in one area and French in another with very limited actual bilingual areas. It's more of a province that has both people instead of a province that's billingual, if that makes any sense.

For a truly, truly bilingual country both languages would have to have an impact in all areas and regions with the same relative weighting.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by JHikka

For a truly, truly bilingual country both languages would have to have an impact in all areas and regions with the same relative weighting.

Does this exist anywhere in the world? The closest thing that comes to mind is the former Yugoslavia, though that was still more of a linguistic patchwork geographically. And, uh, we all know how that turned out.

The more I think about it, the more I think that a "truly bilingual" society without regionally discrete linguistic strongholds is basically an impossibility.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Does this exist anywhere in the world? The closest thing that comes to mind is the former Yugoslavia, though that was still more of a linguistic patchwork geographically. And, uh, we all know how that turned out.

The more I think about it, the more I think that a "truly bilingual" society without regionally discrete linguistic strongholds is basically an impossibility.

I tried to rattle my brain thinking of one and couldn't...you could maybe do this in the Middle East if you consider Standard Arabic separate from local languages. Singapore might count but it's less a country and more of a city state.

Switzerland is close but the regional languages still have pretty solid boundaries and divisions between them. It's common for most Swiss to know three or for languages but I don't think it qualifies as all of them having consistent presence in all areas.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by JHikka

I tried to rattle my brain thinking of one and couldn't...you could maybe do this in the Middle East if you consider Standard Arabic separate from local languages. Singapore might count but it's less a country and more of a city state.

Switzerland is close but the regional languages still have pretty solid boundaries and divisions between them. It's common for most Swiss to know three or for languages but I don't think it qualifies as all of them having consistent presence in all areas.

Singapore is an interesting case in that English has been forced/promoted as a second language, but the first languages are still Malay, Mandarin, Hokkien and Tamil according to ethnicity. So it's language X + English, making it effectively bilingual overall in a sense, but with many languages participating, not just two.

Actually, China is like that, with Mandarin being universal while still sharing linguistic space with local dialects. Because schooling is in Mandarin and media in local dialects is sparse (or even nonexistent?) you now have hundreds of millions of people who speak Mandarin and their local dialect equally effortlessly.

[misher]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Singapore is an interesting case in that English has been forced/promoted as a second language, but the first languages are still Malay, Mandarin, Hokkien and Tamil according to ethnicity. So it's language X + English, making it effectively bilingual overall in a sense, but with many languages participating, not just two.

Actually, China is like that, with Mandarin being universal while still sharing linguistic space with local dialects. Because schooling is in Mandarin and media in local dialects is sparse (or even nonexistent?) you now have hundreds of millions of people who speak Mandarin and their local dialect equally effortlessly.

Mandarin for most of the nation, Cantonese for Hong Kong and Guangdong. Whats funny is that they both write the exact same so its just that you say the characters differently.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by isaidso

To answer the thread question, Nova Scotia expelled most of its francophone population. If it hadn't happened Nova Scotia might look more like New Brunswick linguistically.

FWIW, Nova Scotia has communities that would be considered to be mainly francophone. Not as high of a percentage as New Brunswick, but significant enough, I think.

https://acadien.novascotia.ca/en/community

After the war ended in 1764, small numbers of Acadians were allowed to return to Nova Scotia. With their homes gone and farmlands taken over, they resettled in areas along the coast. Many made their living off the sea, establishing strong communities that exist to this day including Chéticamp and Isle Madame on Cape Breton Island; Pomquet near Antigonish; Wedgeport and Pubnico and the communities of Clare along the Baie Sainte-Marie in southwestern Nova Scotia.

Acadians prospered through the 1800s, contributing much to Nova Scotia. They gained new rights, took up positions of power and founded educational institutions. In 1881, the first Acadian convention was held, establishing August 15th as National Acadian Day. In 1884, the Acadian flag and national anthem, Ave Maris Stella, were adopted.

The Acadian and francophone community in Nova Scotia includes 34,585 people with French as a mother tongue (3.8% of the population), according to 2011 Census Data from Statistics Canada.

Nova Scotia’s French-speaking population is dispersed throughout the province, from the southwestern tip to the far reaches of Cape Breton Island. Traditionally based in rural areas, recent years have seen rising numbers of Acadians and francophones in urban areas.

Acadians make up the majority of the population in the municipalities of Clare and Argyle. In Cape Breton, French is the dominant language on Isle Madame and in Chéticamp.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by misher

Mandarin for most of the nation, Cantonese for Hong Kong and Guangdong. Whats funny is that they both write the exact same so its just that you say the characters differently.

There are actually a dozen or so major local dialects and hundreds of minor variations on them. Cantonese is not the only one.

It's not accurate to say that they write the exact same way. The local dialects have never had standardized forms of writing, but when they are written they use different characters and syntax that make them mostly unintelligible to a Mandarin speaker.

Hong Kong is notable for how much written Cantonese gets into its media, at least when it comes to entertainment. It is mostly impossible for a non-Cantonese speaker to understand the Cantonese subtitles in a Hong Kong movie, for instance. The subtitles need to be changed to Mandarin for release in China or Taiwan.

[TorontoDrew]

What I want to know is "Why there is not a single French U.S state?'

Also if we had lost the war of 1812 would Quebec even be a mostly French speaking territory anymore or would it have ended up like Louisiana?

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by JHikka

This would just lead to a Belgium situation where half of us are one language and half of us the other.

People always talk about NB as being the de jure bilingual province but in de facto it's a province where English people live in one area and French in another with very limited actual bilingual areas. It's more of a province that has both people instead of a province that's billingual, if that makes any sense.

For a truly, truly bilingual country both languages would have to have an impact in all areas and regions with the same relative weighting.

Thinking about it now, Haiti sorta functions like that if you want to consider French and Haitian Creole two distinct languages. French was the main formal language spoken in schools and public for a good chunk of Haitian history while Creole was more of an informal patois that people spoke at home or less strict settings. Now, both are respected at the same level and there are many Haitians who can speak both French and Creole.

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

What I want to know is "Why there is not a single French U.S state?'

You could ask that in the US section or the City Discussion thread, but I can tell you now that the closest thing we have is Louisiana.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by jd3189

Thinking about it now, Haiti sorta functions like that if you want to consider French and Haitian Creole two distinct languages. French was the main formal language spoken in schools and public for a good chunk of Haitian history while Creole was more of an informal patois that people spoke at home or less strict settings. Now, both are respected at the same level and there are many Haitians who can speak both French and Creole.

In Luxembourg you have a kind of generalized trilingualism whereby the exact same local native population (not so much expats or immigrants though) uses French for certain aspects of life, German for others and Luxembourgish for others.