Many English speakers have a similar question: can I move to Quebec or live in Quebec without speaking French? Today, I share my thoughts. #Canada #Quebec
Living in Québec without learning French is perceived as a lack of respect by the majority of Quebecers. Most would stay polite with you. Some would become aggressive and unpleasant. But almost everyone would perceive it as a profound disrespect. If that’s what you want then fine!
there is a guy in Texas who learned French by watching hockey on a Quebec channel on the internet, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of his French, it was great
I'd say this to Caleb: you can, but do you want to come and be a tourist or do you actually want to live here? If you come and live in Montreal temporarily speaking only English, for instance as an international student, you're gonna have a great time. But if you actually want to live here permanently, you're gonna have difficulties finding a qualified job in your field, and you're going to have problems interacting with the government and receiving some public services if you don't speak french.
I am from quebec city and it is the perfect city to learn french because everyone speak french here. If you visit as a tourist people speak enough english to get by. If you are not interest at all to learn french and want to live here and impose your english to the local, there are better provinces for you.
"Impose your English", not a great choice of words, many people have a hard time learning languages, I don't think anyone would try to impose one's language on others just by speaking their language in a place where another language is the de facto idiom, many expats throughout the world live like that. Ideally, for pragmatic reasons, one would master the language spoken in a certain location but it's not always easy or fast.
I am talking about people who have no intention to learn and I am not saying it is easy. If I want to live in Japan, but don't even try to learn the language because I find it too hard, then I am imposing my english to the locals... (and again, I'm not talking about tourists... ) @@valeria-militiamessalina5672
@@valeria-militiamessalina5672 I dont think speaking english is an issue, but people that systematically make you do all the effort to speak their language while they dont do any effort, is not cool whatsoever. And unfortunately a lot of people can be like that.
What's wrong with French? A new language is so much fun to do. Just as there are places to get fast food, to manage various personal things, there should also be a Quebecois network where people can get experience learning and speaking French. I kinda live in a foreign country where the language is really important, and I learn something new every day. So much interesting is to learn a new culture and language! Why not take part?
What is wrong is that people with a British colonial attitude who pretend to be open-minded settle here and would even learn Swahili but not French. French is easy when you want to use it for communication because we Quebeckers don't mind that anyone make mistake while trying to speak our language. No Quebecker will ever get angry for that. However, some of us become angry when you lack respect towards us.
Hey! I lived in QC city for a few years and it is almost impossible to live there without French. You would want to learn it because otherwise you will miss out a lot. What I found out is in Quebec city it can be challenging finding a circle of friends, as it is not the most open population (as compared to Montreal). It is a beautiful place though and definitely worth at least a visit. And not to mention that French is a beautiful language and not particularly hard :) Thanks for the vid!
As a French-speaking Québécois, in the greater Montreal area, a unilingual English person can easily live, 80% of Quebecers speak 2 languages or more, someone who makes an effort to try to speak French to me, I will have respect and I will speak to him in English but, but it is inconceivable that after several years in Quebec, a person does not communicate in French, that is a lack of respect
Si quelqu'un unilinguement anglophone, hispanophone, lusophone, russophone ou sinophone veut vivre/travailler/étudier au Québec, il faut se franciser/bilinguiser. Je suis anglophone et le français est ma quatrième langue, mais le fardeau d'être bilingue est sur mes épaules pas la majorité. Les anglophones qui sont vraiment bilingues bénéficient économiquement et culturellement. Les anglophones unilingues ne devraient venir que pour apprendre le français, si non, vous êtes pas les bienvenus et vous ne trouverez pas un emploi. Si Caleb veut faire une totale immersion française à Québec, il deviendrait bilingue beaucoup plus vite qu'à Montréal où tout le monde s'anglicise en écoutant un accent. Ce qui est au-delà de désolant/décevant est qu'un néo-brunswickois, la seule province bilíngue au Canada, n'est pas totalement bilingue. La seule façon de sauver la langue française au Québec et surtout à Montréal est de rendre la vie anglophone unilingue impossible. Un anglophone bilingue ou multilingue, comme moi, on n'est pas touché par les politiques linguistiques parce que l'on parle le français. Je suis montréalais depuis 17 ans, je ne connais aucun francophone qui n'est pas bilingue. Mon premier landlord ne pouvait pas parler l'anglais mais était trilíngue l'espagnol et l'italien. Il était italo-québécois de Québec et a voyagé à Cuba et Mexique. J'étais un étudiant à UdeM, une université francophone remplie des étudiants polyglottes. Moi-je n'ai aucune tolérance pour la francophobie/québécophobie des anglophones unilingues qui profitent du Québec. De vivre au Québec sans apprendre le français, c'est la francophobie. Mais, si un anglophone vient ici et apprend le français ça c'est une bonne chose. Il nous faut faire franciser les institutions d'enseignement dont les Cégeps et universités McGill, Concordia et Lévesque.
Voilà un anglophone ouvert d'esprit, qui a compris l'importance des langues, surtout celle de la majorité, le français, pour une meilleure intégration, tout à son honneur et bonheur. J'ai fait pareil, quand j'ai vécu à Toronto et Ottawa, où l'anglais domine.
Monsieur, vous me touchez profondément. Merci du fond du coeur. Merci de faire partie de notre pays, de notre peuple. Nous sommes honorés de vous avoir!
It is nice Dan that you actually know that by not being able to read in French you might miss out on rules and regulations or from a more entertaining point of view you might end up missing out on the activities and cultural life of your borough. I wish you the best to be able to pick up the French language quickly as it will help you make the most of your summer by deciphering all those flyers that you have been inundated with.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you stay, you should learn French as it is part of the culture. If you move to Japan, you should learn Japanese. If you move to Italy, you should learn Italian. Same concept for Quebec. I don't condone the rude behaviour of some French Quebecois, but you have to understand where it's coming from.
Well it makes sense. You don’t go to an anglophone province and expect them to know or try to speak French to you. So good for Quebec for keeping their culture alive. Admittedly, I’ll go and probably be pissed until I can start having practical conversations in French… but that’s just the name of the game.
I recently read that 22% of Montrealers know more than 2 languages. I am in the process of joining this group as I am learning Spanish as my third language.
He lives in New-Brunswick. He has opportunity to learn French before going to Québec, he should do that. I live in NB and it's hard for me to fully respect anglophones in the Gloucester county (72% francophone as of last census) that don't even attempt to learn the language.
Living in Quebec without learning french is a big lack of respect, and a lack of curiosity/culture. If i was to go live in germany, of course i would learn german even if most people know some english in Berlin or Munich. There are so many places in north american where people don't speak french that insisting on living only in english in Quebec is absolutely lazy and a colonizer mindset. I couldn't imagine living somewhere and be so distant from the local culture.
Bonjour Dan. I love your content and find it really helpful. When you say that you speak French, what is your level (more or less)? I test at B1 but really only speak at A2. Is this good enough to get by in Montreal? In Quebec? I plan on continuing to study French, but am getting impatient to be there. Thank you!
I don't know, because I haven't been studying French in an academic setting. Maybe I'll make a video only in French and the comments can tell me what my level seems to be 🤣
Wherever you choose to live it's always best to try and learn the local language. Otherwise your life will be very limited and you'll find (as I have often witnessed) that you can become overly dependent on bilingual people to help you with simple day-to-day tasks. That's not good for you and, eventually, becomes tiresome for them.
/waves hi from Montreal suburb I get why there is La Loi 101. It dates quite far back, the reason. I think to really appreciate the culture of Quebec and enjoy everything this province has to offer, learning French to be able to get by and understand a bit is something I highly encourage. For a lot of jobs it's necessary too. But socially, even with an accent, Quebecquers qill appreciate the effort to learn the language. Many folks are bitter and even hostile towards me when I talk in English, especially on June 24th, and then I counter them in French lol So there will be a mix of feelings from different people, so anyone wanting to move here should be forewarned.
All I know is many years from now (2064) I'd like to retire in Quebec (specifically Val-des-Sources). That way I don't have to worry about the matter of a job if I have a good enough pension.
Je comprends qu'apprendre le français représente un effort certain pour quelqu'un dont ce n'est pas la langue maternelle, mais que pensez-vous que les francophones au Canada doivent faire depuis toujours ? Vous croyez que ça n'a pas demandé un effort particulier pour eux d'apprendre une langue qui leur était tout aussi étrangère que le français l'est pour vous? Beaucoup de gens au Québec parle non seulement deux langues, mais il n'est pas rare de rencontrer des polyglottes qui parlent plus de trois langues. Quand on est moindrement intéressé à voyager, il me semble évident que le fait de pouvoir communiquer à un niveau correct dans quelques langues est un avantage indéniable. Le français et l'espagnol sont probablement en dehors de l'anglais les deux langues qui vont ouvrir le plus de porte au niveau international. C'est vraiment un "no-brainer".
Root cause of the language problems is that Québec doesn't exist internationally. This create a situation where people want to move to canada, realize Toronto and Vancouver are overpriced and shitty places to live as a young adult, go to Quebec since they have that option and it's still "canada" in their heads, end up being forced to learn french because demographics and end up resenting the french language and the quebecois people.
C'est étrange de vouloir venir vivre dans un pays sans parler la langue, ce qui m'attire dans un pays c'est découvrir la culture les gens avec qui j'ai envie d'échanger autrement il faut rester chez soi.
...Ou aller s'établir dans une province ou un territoire anglophone (9 + 3), qui ne lui posera aucun problème d'intégration. Par contre, il devra se priver de ce qui fait le charme du Québec, soit sa langue et sa culture unique en français.
This will sound rude but, that was a stupid question. Would you go live in the UK without learning English? Go live in Germany, Italy, Japan, or anywhere for that matter, without having the intention of learning the local language? That is massive disrespect.
oh dear oh dear i for one is an example living in gatineau but cant speak in french sentences. i tried to learn words but making it in sentences is another level. I hope locals would consider talking to us non native F. speakers to speak slowly specially the accents can get fast and we cannot catch it anymore 😭 but idk. Someday when i feel my emergency finances are quite acceptable level then maybe i have to enroll to a basic class…
@Dan Vineberg Quebec city is indeed more french and more nationalist than Montreal MOSTLY because its people born in the province with less day to day interactions with english.. BUT Quebec City is a big city and do have more tourists than suburbs where those nationalists really come in.. It is also less expensive to live in Quebec city and the english language has really been expanding, I'd say from when the social medias started to pop; it really opened a door for us (French Canadians) to explore english without really searching for it or even trying to learn it so even French Canadians or Quebecois, really have more english in their lives without them realizing it or actively searching for it and it made nationalists def start to reconsider their views on how we should live. Learning more language or THE most used language in the world is a plus not a downside and people are realizing that more and more. The current province government is kind of nationalist but i prefer to say that it's not the reason why it got elected. The more nationalist party (Parti Québécois) has a hard time getting votes from people who you would think they would vote for them. And theres the federal Party (Bloc Quebecois) which will probably never get elected ever again but is there to put pressure on the federal government for our province which can be good in a situation where the federal government really is losing it (not saying that it is right now.. hell i dont know anymore.. even though its a trend but I would certainly try to vote Bloc or the opposition party to make sure Pierre Poilièvre never gets majority because I don't like the man and his views at all) but usually they just put pressure to isolate us from the rest of the world in really subtle ways (which is what some people want but it isnt a popular opinion these days) This basically explain my point of view of Quebec right now.. we do have an identity but we don't even know what it is because the old us is not us but nobody else in the world would have conversations the way we do with each other so we are somewhat nationalists whether we want the political side or not. (I would like to precise that it does not make outsiders completely unwelcomed) hell we are probably the place in all Americas where bilinguals are everywhere we have also a good amount of immigrants 1rst or 2nd or 3rd generation.
Sorry I really like to write in franch but i didn’t born in France or go to school in France that why I can only speak franch because it’s been ten years in Paris now so now I am going on this 17 may to work in Quebec,, but I love France so much
Québec City is FRENCH, Montreal is bilingual. Gatineau is Bilingual... But anything outside of that you will need to learn French pretty fast to connect with people.
just saying i live in gatineau with my wife as the principal applicant in our immigrant application wayback. My wife has the basic level but some accents are too fast to catch. I understand i have to learn french at a basic level unfortunately i cannot do a full time job while learning french at the same time since i’m just an average person but i tried to learn french words but listening in sentences gets me lost easily. The reality Gatineau is not bilingual it’s a miracle already for me if someone is friendly enough and speaks english back to me. Even in taking a bus some drivers don’t want to talk back in english or going to the clinics or going to do my blood tests, I feel nervous during my first few years. Yes i understand one day i need to enroll myself in basic french class but my priority for now is to find my footing to build an acceptable financial security like incase i get sick that can cover that… ✌️
The younger generation are more fluent in english because of web than the older generation. That's great for restaurants and retail stores having bilingual services. But the employers/administration are usually older generation which would make it harder to hire a anglophones especially since most clients are francophones. But Montreal has way more anglophones historically so it's easier for anglophone to find employment in Montreal.
You mean , educated people ( not age ) speak english and many other languages . Quebeckers work all over the world . I dont know where you are from but you comments show your ignorance .
Hi. I'm Korean. I'm learning English and enjoying good oversea' atmosphere on your channel lately. I just found out you had taught English in South Korea. I know foreigners in Korea is not easy to fit in with the culture and people. I think culture system should be open to people who don't speak their own language. I think I can say the same for Quebec. Thank you. Peace!
You comments show your ignorance about the history of Canada and the culture . French and english are both official languages of Canada .English language is not a superior language to the french language . The British occupation of the New France treated the French very poorly , including the banishment of the Acadians( deportation of the french and families) . French canadians were treated as a second class citizens , keeping them with basic jobs and poor . A group of anglophones burnt down the Canadian parliament when Montreal was the capital of Canada. The Queen moved the capital to Ottawa . Nothing to be proud of . Quebec is the only province in Canada where people are bilingual( french and english ) . The rest of Canada is very discriminatory towards the french language , cutting funds to french schools in Ontario and BC. . I cannot speak french in Toronto , nor in Vancouver or in Alberta or any other provinces . On the other end , anglophones can live all their life in english in Quebec from kindergarden to best CAnadian Universities , work , have a family , best night life and sens of communities ..... All Canadians should speak both official languages of Canada , not only in Quebec . So your comment is for english canada from coast to coast to coast ...not Quebec
@@jeanbolduc5818I guess I made a mistake. I understood your comment very well. Eventhough I've never been to Quebec, I think I judged too easy about that matter. I hope I go to Quebec someday and talk with people and feel the culture. 😊
I wish Canadians would embrasse its french heritage more , as opposed to wrangling with it in 2023 . The beautiful language and heritage add a richness to Canada , and not benefited by Anglos trying to appear superior . I am appalled by the lack of respect or ignorance by many anglos when visiting Quebec - in their lack of attempting the French language . Much of the British occupation of the New France treated the French very poorly , including the banishment of the Acadians . Nothing to be proud of .
Quebec makes it hard for non French speakers. I've received alot of hate and discrimination from French speakers, even in my own family. That's the problem, if they accept English and make it easy for English, I would be willing to become fluent in French. Simply driving in Quebec is challenging if you don't know French I get important mail in French which I can't read so I ignore. I could be breaking the law but don't even know it. By accepting and embracing both sides it allows for French to be spread across Canada.
Not going to argue, but just wanted to point out an interesting fact which is in English part of Canada you see all the official signs, voice instructions etc in both English and French whereas in Quebec in 90% of cases it’s French only, so I am not sure of which side respects the second national language more.
@@CountryLifestyle2023Totally false. It the other way around. French speaking speak English as soon as a poor ignorant English speaking cannot speak French. So they never learn. That is the result of colonial domination for so many years…
Quebec City is my favourite city in Canada. Montreal’s cool too, but it’s to big for my preference, but hey that’s why we live in such an interesting world. It seems to me that like 10% of the people are English and over half can speak it. However, like everyone speaks French, all most. Lol
When I was growing up and living in Montreal until the late 1960's. We were English and didn't speak French as there was No need for it. We did have French neighbors who spoke English as well. Would not want to live there now. Seems they are trying desperately to save the French language. Not going to happen as it will only divide them from the rest of Canada and many parts of the world.
Perfect example of a racist Anglo-Saxon supremacist! Stay where you are, Quebec can very well do without you and your gang of contemptuous philistines.
Quebec has lived in French for 400 years and does it very well, even economically, since more than 65% of its products and services are exported to the United States, Europe and China. However, the massive arrival of immigrants, all categories combined, imposed by Ottawa in recent years to the detriment of the province's reception capacity, is not without harmful consequences, as we know. Quebecers care deeply about their language and culture, which justifies the linguistic laws adopted since the 1960s for their maintenance and protection. On this subject, the Rest of Canada (ROC) is already divided and it has been demonstrated that an independent Quebec is viable. Quebec's GDP/inhabitant is even higher than that of France, a country of 63 million inhabitants. Quebec's GDP/inhabitant is $42,804 USD ($58,642 CAD), compared to $40,886 USD for France, in 2023. Quebecers are aware of the world in which they live. Pragmatic, they are the most bilingual of Canadian citizens (46.4% of Quebecers are bilingual, compared to 9.5% in the ROC, according to the 2021 census) and submit to the requirements of the international markets with which they do business.
@@toughcookie128 The independence of Quebec is once again in the news. Although the Parti Québécois is favored by the entire electorate, remaining at the top of the polls (despite its five elected deputies/125 in 2022). If the trend continues, it could form a majority government in 2026. In this case, the PQ has promised to hold a referendum on sovereignty during its mandate. It's my dearest hope, During the 1995 referendum, Quebec had 7.219 million inhabitants; it now has more than 9 million, thanks to mass immigration imposed by Justin Trudeau's government in recent years. If, as in 1995 refendum, 60% of French speakers remain in favor of the independence of Quebec, this is not the case for the majority of English and allophone traditionally federalists, who are increasingly numerous in the province and concentrated especially in Montreal. metropolitan area (4.5 million inhabitants). In my opinion, it will be very difficult for Quebec to become an independent and prosperous country, even if it has all the assets to get there. However, I do not despair, long live a free Quebec and Alberta (if that is its wish).
Living in Québec without learning French is perceived as a lack of respect by the majority of Quebecers. Most would stay polite with you. Some would become aggressive and unpleasant.
But almost everyone would perceive it as a profound disrespect.
If that’s what you want then fine!
Exactly
Outside of Montréal and a handful of places in Quebec, it is nearly impossible to live here without speaking French.
Around Ottawa it's possible
@@CountryLifestyle2023 Ottawa is in Ontario....by the way
@@patrickbergeron332 I didn't say Ottawa, I said around Ottawa. Gatineau is just across a bridge from Ottawa, and guess what.... it's a city in Quebec
Good learn the language like I did as an immigrant I even learned yours English
@@lockhart1895 shouldn't be forced too learn it
there is a guy in Texas who learned French by watching hockey on a Quebec channel on the internet, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of his French, it was great
I'd say this to Caleb: you can, but do you want to come and be a tourist or do you actually want to live here? If you come and live in Montreal temporarily speaking only English, for instance as an international student, you're gonna have a great time. But if you actually want to live here permanently, you're gonna have difficulties finding a qualified job in your field, and you're going to have problems interacting with the government and receiving some public services if you don't speak french.
I am from quebec city and it is the perfect city to learn french because everyone speak french here. If you visit as a tourist people speak enough english to get by. If you are not interest at all to learn french and want to live here and impose your english to the local, there are better provinces for you.
"Impose your English", not a great choice of words, many people have a hard time learning languages, I don't think anyone would try to impose one's language on others just by speaking their language in a place where another language is the de facto idiom, many expats throughout the world live like that. Ideally, for pragmatic reasons, one would master the language spoken in a certain location but it's not always easy or fast.
I am talking about people who have no intention to learn and I am not saying it is easy. If I want to live in Japan, but don't even try to learn the language because I find it too hard, then I am imposing my english to the locals... (and again, I'm not talking about tourists... ) @@valeria-militiamessalina5672
@@valeria-militiamessalina5672 I dont think speaking english is an issue, but people that systematically make you do all the effort to speak their language while they dont do any effort, is not cool whatsoever. And unfortunately a lot of people can be like that.
What's wrong with French? A new language is so much fun to do.
Just as there are places to get fast food, to manage various personal things, there should also be a Quebecois network where people can get experience learning and speaking French.
I kinda live in a foreign country where the language is really important, and I learn something new every day.
So much interesting is to learn a new culture and language!
Why not take part?
What is wrong not to learn french in a french speaking society ? That would be a better question
What is wrong is that people with a British colonial attitude who pretend to be open-minded settle here and would even learn Swahili but not French.
French is easy when you want to use it for communication because we Quebeckers don't mind that anyone make mistake while trying to speak our language.
No Quebecker will ever get angry for that. However, some of us become angry when you lack respect towards us.
Hey! I lived in QC city for a few years and it is almost impossible to live there without French. You would want to learn it because otherwise you will miss out a lot. What I found out is in Quebec city it can be challenging finding a circle of friends, as it is not the most open population (as compared to Montreal). It is a beautiful place though and definitely worth at least a visit. And not to mention that French is a beautiful language and not particularly hard :) Thanks for the vid!
Toronto and Vancouver are the worst cities with no sense of community and no identity . You could fall on the street and nobody will help you .
It's more like: why do you want to live here if you have no intention to learn French.
As a French-speaking Québécois, in the greater Montreal area, a unilingual English person can easily live, 80% of Quebecers speak 2 languages or more, someone who makes an effort to try to speak French to me, I will have respect and I will speak to him in English but, but it is inconceivable that after several years in Quebec, a person does not communicate in French, that is a lack of respect
Si quelqu'un unilinguement anglophone, hispanophone, lusophone, russophone ou sinophone veut vivre/travailler/étudier au Québec, il faut se franciser/bilinguiser. Je suis anglophone et le français est ma quatrième langue, mais le fardeau d'être bilingue est sur mes épaules pas la majorité. Les anglophones qui sont vraiment bilingues bénéficient économiquement et culturellement. Les anglophones unilingues ne devraient venir que pour apprendre le français, si non, vous êtes pas les bienvenus et vous ne trouverez pas un emploi. Si Caleb veut faire une totale immersion française à Québec, il deviendrait bilingue beaucoup plus vite qu'à Montréal où tout le monde s'anglicise en écoutant un accent. Ce qui est au-delà de désolant/décevant est qu'un néo-brunswickois, la seule province bilíngue au Canada, n'est pas totalement bilingue. La seule façon de sauver la langue française au Québec et surtout à Montréal est de rendre la vie anglophone unilingue impossible. Un anglophone bilingue ou multilingue, comme moi, on n'est pas touché par les politiques linguistiques parce que l'on parle le français. Je suis montréalais depuis 17 ans, je ne connais aucun francophone qui n'est pas bilingue. Mon premier landlord ne pouvait pas parler l'anglais mais était trilíngue l'espagnol et l'italien. Il était italo-québécois de Québec et a voyagé à Cuba et Mexique. J'étais un étudiant à UdeM, une université francophone remplie des étudiants polyglottes. Moi-je n'ai aucune tolérance pour la francophobie/québécophobie des anglophones unilingues qui profitent du Québec. De vivre au Québec sans apprendre le français, c'est la francophobie. Mais, si un anglophone vient ici et apprend le français ça c'est une bonne chose. Il nous faut faire franciser les institutions d'enseignement dont les Cégeps et universités McGill, Concordia et Lévesque.
Merci énormément pour votre commentaire précieux et nécessaire.
Voilà un anglophone ouvert d'esprit, qui a compris l'importance des langues, surtout celle de la majorité, le français, pour une meilleure intégration, tout à son honneur et bonheur. J'ai fait pareil, quand j'ai vécu à Toronto et Ottawa, où l'anglais domine.
Monsieur, vous me touchez profondément. Merci du fond du coeur. Merci de faire partie de notre pays, de notre peuple.
Nous sommes honorés de vous avoir!
It is nice Dan that you actually know that by not being able to read in French you might miss out on rules and regulations or from a more entertaining point of view you might end up missing out on the activities and cultural life of your borough. I wish you the best to be able to pick up the French language quickly as it will help you make the most of your summer by deciphering all those flyers that you have been inundated with.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you stay, you should learn French as it is part of the culture. If you move to Japan, you should learn Japanese. If you move to Italy, you should learn Italian. Same concept for Quebec. I don't condone the rude behaviour of some French Quebecois, but you have to understand where it's coming from.
Well it makes sense. You don’t go to an anglophone province and expect them to know or try to speak French to you.
So good for Quebec for keeping their culture alive. Admittedly, I’ll go and probably be pissed until I can start having practical conversations in French… but that’s just the name of the game.
Really interesting video Dan! Thanks so much! 🙂
I recently read that 22% of Montrealers know more than 2 languages. I am in the process of joining this group as I am learning Spanish as my third language.
He lives in New-Brunswick. He has opportunity to learn French before going to Québec, he should do that. I live in NB and it's hard for me to fully respect anglophones in the Gloucester county (72% francophone as of last census) that don't even attempt to learn the language.
Living in Quebec without learning french is a big lack of respect, and a lack of curiosity/culture. If i was to go live in germany, of course i would learn german even if most people know some english in Berlin or Munich. There are so many places in north american where people don't speak french that insisting on living only in english in Quebec is absolutely lazy and a colonizer mindset.
I couldn't imagine living somewhere and be so distant from the local culture.
Bonjour Dan. I love your content and find it really helpful. When you say that you speak French, what is your level (more or less)? I test at B1 but really only speak at A2. Is this good enough to get by in Montreal? In Quebec? I plan on continuing to study French, but am getting impatient to be there. Thank you!
I don't know, because I haven't been studying French in an academic setting. Maybe I'll make a video only in French and the comments can tell me what my level seems to be 🤣
@@thoughtsontravelandlife bonne idée!
I live in Toronto, and I’m always perplexed when people move here and speak no English 🤷🏾♂️ it just makes sense.
Wherever you choose to live it's always best to try and learn the local language. Otherwise your life will be very limited and you'll find (as I have often witnessed) that you can become overly dependent on bilingual people to help you with simple day-to-day tasks. That's not good for you and, eventually, becomes tiresome for them.
/waves hi from Montreal suburb
I get why there is La Loi 101. It dates quite far back, the reason. I think to really appreciate the culture of Quebec and enjoy everything this province has to offer, learning French to be able to get by and understand a bit is something I highly encourage. For a lot of jobs it's necessary too. But socially, even with an accent, Quebecquers qill appreciate the effort to learn the language. Many folks are bitter and even hostile towards me when I talk in English, especially on June 24th, and then I counter them in French lol So there will be a mix of feelings from different people, so anyone wanting to move here should be forewarned.
All I know is many years from now (2064) I'd like to retire in Quebec (specifically Val-des-Sources). That way I don't have to worry about the matter of a job if I have a good enough pension.
Je comprends qu'apprendre le français représente un effort certain pour quelqu'un dont ce n'est pas la langue maternelle, mais que pensez-vous que les francophones au Canada doivent faire depuis toujours ? Vous croyez que ça n'a pas demandé un effort particulier pour eux d'apprendre une langue qui leur était tout aussi étrangère que le français l'est pour vous?
Beaucoup de gens au Québec parle non seulement deux langues, mais il n'est pas rare de rencontrer des polyglottes qui parlent plus de trois langues. Quand on est moindrement intéressé à voyager, il me semble évident que le fait de pouvoir communiquer à un niveau correct dans quelques langues est un avantage indéniable.
Le français et l'espagnol sont probablement en dehors de l'anglais les deux langues qui vont ouvrir le plus de porte au niveau international. C'est vraiment un "no-brainer".
Root cause of the language problems is that Québec doesn't exist internationally. This create a situation where people want to move to canada, realize Toronto and Vancouver are overpriced and shitty places to live as a young adult, go to Quebec since they have that option and it's still "canada" in their heads, end up being forced to learn french because demographics and end up resenting the french language and the quebecois people.
C'est étrange de vouloir venir vivre dans un pays sans parler la langue, ce qui m'attire dans un pays c'est découvrir la culture les gens avec qui j'ai envie d'échanger autrement il faut rester chez soi.
...Ou aller s'établir dans une province ou un territoire anglophone (9 + 3), qui ne lui posera aucun problème d'intégration. Par contre, il devra se priver de ce qui fait le charme du Québec, soit sa langue et sa culture unique en français.
Incroyable n'est-ce pas?
This will sound rude but, that was a stupid question. Would you go live in the UK without learning English? Go live in Germany, Italy, Japan, or anywhere for that matter, without having the intention of learning the local language? That is massive disrespect.
oh dear oh dear i for one is an example living in gatineau but cant speak in french sentences. i tried to learn words but making it in sentences is another level. I hope locals would consider talking to us non native F. speakers to speak slowly specially the accents can get fast and we cannot catch it anymore 😭 but idk. Someday when i feel my emergency finances are quite acceptable level then maybe i have to enroll to a basic class…
@Dan Vineberg Quebec city is indeed more french and more nationalist than Montreal MOSTLY because its people born in the province with less day to day interactions with english.. BUT Quebec City is a big city and do have more tourists than suburbs where those nationalists really come in.. It is also less expensive to live in Quebec city and the english language has really been expanding, I'd say from when the social medias started to pop; it really opened a door for us (French Canadians) to explore english without really searching for it or even trying to learn it so even French Canadians or Quebecois, really have more english in their lives without them realizing it or actively searching for it and it made nationalists def start to reconsider their views on how we should live. Learning more language or THE most used language in the world is a plus not a downside and people are realizing that more and more.
The current province government is kind of nationalist but i prefer to say that it's not the reason why it got elected. The more nationalist party (Parti Québécois) has a hard time getting votes from people who you would think they would vote for them. And theres the federal Party (Bloc Quebecois) which will probably never get elected ever again but is there to put pressure on the federal government for our province which can be good in a situation where the federal government really is losing it (not saying that it is right now.. hell i dont know anymore.. even though its a trend but I would certainly try to vote Bloc or the opposition party to make sure Pierre Poilièvre never gets majority because I don't like the man and his views at all) but usually they just put pressure to isolate us from the rest of the world in really subtle ways (which is what some people want but it isnt a popular opinion these days)
This basically explain my point of view of Quebec right now.. we do have an identity but we don't even know what it is because the old us is not us but nobody else in the world would have conversations the way we do with each other so we are somewhat nationalists whether we want the political side or not. (I would like to precise that it does not make outsiders completely unwelcomed) hell we are probably the place in all Americas where bilinguals are everywhere we have also a good amount of immigrants 1rst or 2nd or 3rd generation.
Have you done a video about Gatineau? I am moving there soon and i think its an interesting case bordering Ottawa and Ontario
QC I like so much and I speak franch n English so I hope and so excited to move from Paris
Pourquoi ne pas commenter en français, en tant que Parisien, surtout si tu viens t'installer au Québec ? Bienvenu au Québec !
Sorry I really like to write in franch but i didn’t born in France or go to school in France that why I can only speak franch because it’s been ten years in Paris now so now I am going on this 17 may to work in Quebec,, but I love France so much
Québec City is FRENCH, Montreal is bilingual. Gatineau is Bilingual... But anything outside of that you will need to learn French pretty fast to connect with people.
just saying i live in gatineau with my wife as the principal applicant in our immigrant application wayback. My wife has the basic level but some accents are too fast to catch. I understand i have to learn french at a basic level unfortunately i cannot do a full time job while learning french at the same time since i’m just an average person but i tried to learn french words but listening in sentences gets me lost easily. The reality Gatineau is not bilingual it’s a miracle already for me if someone is friendly enough and speaks english back to me. Even in taking a bus some drivers don’t want to talk back in english or going to the clinics or going to do my blood tests, I feel nervous during my first few years. Yes i understand one day i need to enroll myself in basic french class but my priority for now is to find my footing to build an acceptable financial security like incase i get sick that can cover that… ✌️
Learn the basic french before going to Quebec city if you really want to stay there a couple of years
The younger generation are more fluent in english because of web than the older generation. That's great for restaurants and retail stores having bilingual services. But the employers/administration are usually older generation which would make it harder to hire a anglophones especially since most clients are francophones. But Montreal has way more anglophones historically so it's easier for anglophone to find employment in Montreal.
You mean , educated people ( not age ) speak english and many other languages . Quebeckers work all over the world . I dont know where you are from but you comments show your ignorance .
Specifically for low-paid jobs and as cheap labor, exploited by an English-speaking employer, only interested in the profit of his company.
You can move to Montreal without speaking French tbh.
Some ethno-nationalist Quebecois will cope and seethe about it but there's nothing they can do.
Hi. I'm Korean. I'm learning English and enjoying good oversea' atmosphere on your channel lately. I just found out you had taught English in South Korea. I know foreigners in Korea is not easy to fit in with the culture and people. I think culture system should be open to people who don't speak their own language. I think I can say the same for Quebec. Thank you. Peace!
You comments show your ignorance about the history of Canada and the culture . French and english are both official languages of Canada .English language is not a superior language to the french language . The British occupation of the New France treated the French very poorly , including the banishment of the Acadians( deportation of the french and families) . French canadians were treated as a second class citizens , keeping them with basic jobs and poor . A group of anglophones burnt down the Canadian parliament when Montreal was the capital of Canada. The Queen moved the capital to Ottawa . Nothing to be proud of . Quebec is the only province in Canada where people are bilingual( french and english ) . The rest of Canada is very discriminatory towards the french language , cutting funds to french schools in Ontario and BC. . I cannot speak french in Toronto , nor in Vancouver or in Alberta or any other provinces . On the other end , anglophones can live all their life in english in Quebec from kindergarden to best CAnadian Universities , work , have a family , best night life and sens of communities ..... All Canadians should speak both official languages of Canada , not only in Quebec . So your comment is for english canada from coast to coast to coast ...not Quebec
@@jeanbolduc5818I guess I made a mistake. I understood your comment very well. Eventhough I've never been to Quebec, I think I judged too easy about that matter. I hope I go to Quebec someday and talk with people and feel the culture. 😊
@@TheKeaton91저는 Google 번역을 사용하고 있기 때문에 몇 가지(많은) 오류가 있을 수 있지만 문화는 확실히 매우 따뜻하고 환영합니다. 언젠가 저희를 방문하신다면 좋은 여행이 되시기를 바랍니다.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
The Govt is not making hard to Allophones . Just to people living in Québec who do not make the effort to learn french .
Just learn the language.
I live in Quebec and dont know French, but its a very bilingual area. Yet still find challenges due to not knowing French.
I wish Canadians would embrasse its french heritage more , as opposed to wrangling with it in 2023 . The beautiful language and heritage add a richness to Canada , and not benefited by Anglos trying to appear superior . I am appalled by the lack of respect or ignorance by many anglos when visiting Quebec - in their lack of attempting the French language . Much of the British occupation of the New France treated the French very poorly , including the banishment of the Acadians . Nothing to be proud of .
French sucks
Quebec makes it hard for non French speakers.
I've received alot of hate and discrimination from French speakers, even in my own family.
That's the problem, if they accept English and make it easy for English, I would be willing to become fluent in French. Simply driving in Quebec is challenging if you don't know French
I get important mail in French which I can't read so I ignore. I could be breaking the law but don't even know it.
By accepting and embracing both sides it allows for French to be spread across Canada.
Not going to argue, but just wanted to point out an interesting fact which is in English part of Canada you see all the official signs, voice instructions etc in both English and French whereas in Quebec in 90% of cases it’s French only, so I am not sure of which side respects the second national language more.
@@and1597Totally false!
@@CountryLifestyle2023Totally false. It the other way around. French speaking speak English as soon as a poor ignorant English speaking cannot speak French. So they never learn. That is the result of colonial domination for so many years…
Quebec City is my favourite city in Canada. Montreal’s cool too, but it’s to big for my preference, but hey that’s why we live in such an interesting world. It seems to me that like 10% of the people are English and over half can speak it. However, like everyone speaks French, all most. Lol
When I was growing up and living in Montreal until the late 1960's. We were English and didn't speak French as there was No need for it. We did have French neighbors who spoke English as well. Would not want to live there now. Seems they are trying desperately to save the French language. Not going to happen as it will only divide them from the rest of Canada and many parts of the world.
Perfect example of a racist Anglo-Saxon supremacist! Stay where you are, Quebec can very well do without you and your gang of contemptuous philistines.
Québec will go its own way as Alberta will in a few years
Quebec has lived in French for 400 years and does it very well, even economically, since more than 65% of its products and services are exported to the United States, Europe and China. However, the massive arrival of immigrants, all categories combined, imposed by Ottawa in recent years to the detriment of the province's reception capacity, is not without harmful consequences, as we know.
Quebecers care deeply about their language and culture, which justifies the linguistic laws adopted since the 1960s for their maintenance and protection. On this subject, the Rest of Canada (ROC) is already divided and it has been demonstrated that an independent Quebec is viable. Quebec's GDP/inhabitant is even higher than that of France, a country of 63 million inhabitants. Quebec's GDP/inhabitant is $42,804 USD ($58,642 CAD), compared to $40,886 USD for France, in 2023. Quebecers are aware of the world in which they live. Pragmatic, they are the most bilingual of Canadian citizens (46.4% of Quebecers are bilingual, compared to 9.5% in the ROC, according to the 2021 census) and submit to the requirements of the international markets with which they do business.
@@toughcookie128 The independence of Quebec is once again in the news. Although the Parti Québécois is favored by the entire electorate, remaining at the top of the polls (despite its five elected deputies/125 in 2022). If the trend continues, it could form a majority government in 2026. In this case, the PQ has promised to hold a referendum on sovereignty during its mandate. It's my dearest hope,
During the 1995 referendum, Quebec had 7.219 million inhabitants; it now has more than 9 million, thanks to mass immigration imposed by Justin Trudeau's government in recent years. If, as in 1995 refendum, 60% of French speakers remain in favor of the independence of Quebec, this is not the case for the majority of English and allophone traditionally federalists, who are increasingly numerous in the province and concentrated especially in Montreal. metropolitan area (4.5 million inhabitants). In my opinion, it will be very difficult for Quebec to become an independent and prosperous country, even if it has all the assets to get there. However, I do not despair, long live a free Quebec and Alberta (if that is its wish).