Is Quebec really bi-lingual?
 

Two middle aged Aussies making our first visit to Quebec. with only some French phrases to call on, and hearing some horror stories regarding exceptance of English there, we are concerned as how we are going to make out???

Outside of Montreal and Gatineau (a suburb of Ottawa), Quebec is predominantly French-speaking. However in tourist areas (e.g. Quebec City) you will likely be able to find English-speakers.

The only officially bilingual province in Canada is New Brunswick.

My experience was the same as QyeScausJe's.

We selected a bed and breakfast because the owner spoke some English, at least she spoke much more English than I did French.

Some of our communications problems were downright comical, particularly trying to buy ice for our little ice chest.

Near the park for the Plains of Abraham there is a street with quite a few restaurants along it.

As I recall the visitor center was near the street, the name of which I cannot recall.

At any rate, each restaurant had a person standing out front to answer questions about eating in the restaurant. The ones I spoke with knew English fairly well. At least there was good communication on the topic.

They seemed to operate under a code that specified no touting. In other words, I could approach them with questions, but they could not approach me first, or so it seemed.

At any rate I picked a place that had the best scallops I ever ate in my life.

The restaurant was Louis Hebert.

Lots and lots of Canadians outside of Quebec speak little if any French, yet both Montreal and Quebec City are big tourist destinations for Canadians, Americans and international visitors.

You won't have any problem in the downtown and tourist areas of Montreal, or the main tourist area of Quebec City - the "Old Quebec" walled city. Most of the commercial establishments in these areas have bilingual speaking staff, and in any event there will always be someone within earshot who speaks English.

Now - people in Quebec do always seem to appreciate an attempt at their language, just a few words like Bonjour or Merci.

Outside these major tourist areas, there are many people who speak no English. Yet I have a number of friends who have travelled off-the-beaten track in Quebec, who speak little French, and they have never encountered a problem. Others have - but these incidents tend to be isolated and few in number. I think you don't have to worry.

Oh - the street, traffic and business signs "are" all French - a guidebook should help you with these.

The street with the restaurants is the Grande Allee.

Velox

I hope you have a wonderful time in Canada. Quebec is a wonderful place to visit.

Please remember that while knowledge of a different language can be very useful, a sense of humour is essential. Every Australian I have ever met would do just fine in Quebec.

I think that if you have a stab at speaking French, the person to whom you are speaking might produce some English. Thus, if you start off "Bonjour. Parlez vous anglais" your waiter or whoever might w3ll say "Yes"

The tension between French and English is among residents, and mostly in Montreal because that's where you find both in good numbers.

When you're surrounded by 300 millions Anglos (English-speaking), you get protective. When you're being served in English once or more a week even though you reply in French, it becomes irritating.

Nobody will jump on you for speaking English. A little "bonjour" and "merci" go a long way.

"Exceptance" of English? English is the exception in many parts of Quebec, but your efforts at communication will no doubt be accepted anyway.

I tried to speak my (very, very poor) French in Quebec City and was always answered immediately in English. I felt like an idiot for even trying, but as that feeling is nothing novel to me I kept it up anyway just in case. I am always looking for a chance to improve my foreign language skills. Darn.

A beautiful and interesting part of the world. Enjoy!

Hi velox,

You'll be totally fine in Montreal and Quebec city, you may need to practice a bit in the smaller towns but as long as you know some basics I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Enjoy your trip!


Layla %%-

Enjoy.

I just booked a room in Quebec City for September. After 'Bonjour' I asked ' Parley vous Englais?'
The answer was 'Oui'.

We love it that way. She spoke French and I spoke English and we both understood each other.

I have an email in Frenglais confirming the reservation.
Is that patronising or should it be Engench?

< The only officially bilingual province in Canada is New Brunswick>

Is that true? Please educate me. I thought all of Canada was officially bilingual, although my practical experience has been that English is much more prevalent in the western provinces with French being more so in Quebec. Do/can the provinces establish their own laws on "official" languages? Just curious - I'd like to know if I've been mistaken/ignorant for so long!

As a "country" Canada is officialy bilingual.

As a "province" New Bruswick is officialy bilingual.

Quebec is officialy "unilingual", (French)

Just to expand on bellaboo's statement, different levels of government (provincial/federal) define if they are unilingual or bilingual. What that distinction means in practical terms is what language(s) the government provides its services in.

All federal government services are available in English and French across the entire country. All provinces except Quebec and New Brunswick are English unilingual. Quebec is French unilingual and New Brunswick is bilingual.

I don't know about the territories, if they are unilingual or perhaps bilingual with Inuit as the second language. Maybe somebody else does?

Thanks bellaboo and ShelliDawn. Appreciate the education. I just wasn't aware that the provincial/local governments had that authority.

I have been living in the suburbs of Montreal for all my life. I have been going to English school for the last few years now. You'll have no problem with English/French in Montreal, that's a 100% sure. Whenever I go downtown, people in store and on the street will speak to me in English first. Especially in the summer when the city is taken over by tourists, you'll hear more English than French in Montreal. You'll soon forget it is even a French city (well, almost). Trying to speak French is always appreciated though, but you'll be answered in English most of the time.

Now when you get out of Montreal you'll start to see the difference. A lot less people will speak English in Quebec City. But I wouldn't worry about it too much. Attempt to speak French, don't be shy.

If you go in smaller cities further away, bring a good phrasebook and be imaginative. You might get into some people who don't speak a word of English.

General rule is: Montreal is totally bilingual, Quebec City tries to be, the rest isn't (aside from a few little cities, closer to the limit with Ontario and New Brunswick).

Don't let language stop you. Quebec is a truly wonderful place to visit. I hope you have a great time!

To ShelliDawn and others who are curious, I did a little googling, regarding official languages - the Northwest Territories has ELEVEN (! - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwe...ories#Language ), the Yukon has English and French, and Nunavut has four: Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, and French.