Who Speaks Canadian French?
French and English are both the official languages of the country of
Canada. While you may know that French is the official language of the
Quebec providence, it might surprise you to learn that there are millions
of French speaking Canadian citizens across Canada. There are over 9 million
Canadians who speak French, and while they are the most concentrated within
Quebec, approximately one third are located in the other smaller Canadian
providences.
A person who speaks French, in an area where multiple languages are commonly
spoken, is referred to as a Francophone. With nearly 6.7 million Francophones,
Quebec is the heart of the Francophonie in the Americas. Quebec is followed
by, in descending order, Ontario, Atlantic Canada, Western Canada, and the
three Canadian territories in the number of Francophones who reside there.
The French language has been spoken in the Americas since the 16th century
right along side English, making Canada a truly a bilingual country. With
its history under both the British and the French, Canada has a very strong
cultural heritage and is dead-set on safeguarding this legacy for generations
to come.
Canadian French is the Law
The government and law of Canada recognize both
French and English equally through the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act. Only in Quebec, under their
Charter of the French Language,
do you find
a government which conducts most of its business in French only.
The most common language of business in Canada is in fact French.
The Charter of the French Language in Quebec was enacted in 1974
to insure that nearly all government and business within its providence
be transacted in French. And, in addition, that French and English
translation of all documents, product instruction manuals, and
product labels are provided by companies transacting business in
Quebec.
French and English
When one visits Canada you quickly observe that everyday
communications, including radio and television, are readily available
in both French
and English. This is in direct opposite to other countries who generally
broadcast
only in one language.
Canada has the distinction of being the country where the largest
two linguistic communities converge together to live side-by-side
with one another. This allows for the generations of today and
in the future to mature learning both French and English. They
are thus
able to go out into the world as bilingual citizens of the world.
Many companies use French Translation software to help bridge the
communication gap.
Learn more about the Canadian French culture and business requirements from
additional articles on the subject.
Related Articles on Canadian French and Quebec
How to Use
Translation Software
10 Tips on Doing Business
in Quebec, Canada
What you should
know about marketing your products in Quebec Canada
French Dialects
How to type
French Accents |
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