Quebec government, specifically. Other provinces only require government services to be provided in both French and English but private businesses can mostly do what they want. Quebec requires private business to be conducted in French unless the customer requests service in a different language. Any non-French text or speech made to a customer before they request it can be seen as a violation. They can be a little overzealous at times.
What happened with that change to signage laws that was going to require tens of millions of dollars to update eg “Canadian Tire” to “Magasin Canadian Tire” and whatnot?
There are certainly stories of overzealous enforcement, but the context of Loi 101 and its amendments is worth considering.
Québecois is really interesting. It has a lot of old, outdated French in it due to the colonial connection with France being severed hundreds of years ago, where it evolved distinctly and the locals made different decisions on what to change and how to adapt to new concepts.
One could argue the French government has been obsessive about policing language much longer with the académie française.
The government eventually said exotic dishes with no French name are allowed as an exception. Looking up menus of Indian places in Montreal shows they have completely Indian names for many of their dishes.
Quebec government, specifically. Other provinces only require government services to be provided in both French and English but private businesses can mostly do what they want. Quebec requires private business to be conducted in French unless the customer requests service in a different language. Any non-French text or speech made to a customer before they request it can be seen as a violation. They can be a little overzealous at times.
Damn, I’ve heard jokes about quebecios being snobby with their French but that seems excessive.
Which makes it all the more hilarious that the French people I know have joked about Quebec speaking “garbage French”
It’s not snobby. From an anglo perspective, here’s how it plays out in reality:
WAITER: Qu’est-ce que vous voudrais? ME: Huh? WAITER: What would you like? ME: {proceeds to order}
…And life goes on.
What happened with that change to signage laws that was going to require tens of millions of dollars to update eg “Canadian Tire” to “Magasin Canadian Tire” and whatnot?
I mean that’s fine, but the fact that it’s required under penalty of law is absolutely excessive
There are certainly stories of overzealous enforcement, but the context of Loi 101 and its amendments is worth considering.
Québecois is really interesting. It has a lot of old, outdated French in it due to the colonial connection with France being severed hundreds of years ago, where it evolved distinctly and the locals made different decisions on what to change and how to adapt to new concepts.
One could argue the French government has been obsessive about policing language much longer with the académie française.
What’s the menu like for Indian restaurants in Quebec? Are there French names for Biryani, Paratha, Paneer etc?
At a certain point I have to assume they just slap a bunch of "le"s on and call it a day
The government eventually said exotic dishes with no French name are allowed as an exception. Looking up menus of Indian places in Montreal shows they have completely Indian names for many of their dishes.