Quote:
Originally Posted by jadis
On some definitions I guess I am: language is a crucial element in most nationalisms, though it also happens to be the only one I care about in this case.
The vast majority of Montreal anglos (there are distinctly working class Anglophone pockets in Quebec where it's not the case) have every opportunity to learn French yet choose to preserve their parochial monolinguism because they're damn proud of it. To me that's a much weirder choice than making the effort to learn a language that gives you access to both plenty of jobs and the prose stylings of Marcel Proust.
What makes Montreal special is the linguistic situation, a majority Francophone city on the margin of the most culturally hegemonic empire the world has ever known. That would be a shame to lose. Who needs another Toronto etc.
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So you're an effete university intellectual heaping scorn on the common folk who don't talk good. Charming.