Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

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mijbil
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Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by mijbil »

I note that on many job applications for federal positions or federally regulated companies there is often a box about French and the ability to speak it (or not). It gets you more points from the HR people. Clearly it really isn't a requirement after all. I know I only used mine 3 times in the RCAF. Once for a test and twice on vacation in France, where they actually do speak French instead of the 16th century variant called 'joual' that is practised in QC.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal ... -1.6236356
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rudder
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by rudder »

I don’t recall Hollis Harris ever speaking French. Not sure that I would want to have listened to it with a Georgia drawl…..

Robert Milton and Monte Brewer? Don’t think so either, although I suspect RM did read some prepared remarks in French and did try to learn the language.

Calin became a Montrealer and over decades of residency achieved bilingual competency.

Rousseau is a victim of his last name. It sounds French, so he should speak French. Unfortunately, he was an Ontario native. The remarks however played directly into the linguistic insecurity that plagues some political corners of QC.

There is a reason that many large corporations vacated their head offices from Montreal after 1976.

“plus ca change……”
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a220hereicome
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by a220hereicome »

mijbil wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:16 am I note that on many job applications for federal positions or federally regulated companies there is often a box about French and the ability to speak it (or not). It gets you more points from the HR people. Clearly it really isn't a requirement after all. I know I only used mine 3 times in the RCAF. Once for a test and twice on vacation in France, where they actually do speak French instead of the 16th century variant called 'joual' that is practised in QC.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal ... -1.6236356
Languages evolve over time and geography. The French spoken in France has more anglicisms than over here. 'Le parking', 'le shopping', etc. So your comment "where they do actually speak French" is an opinion, in my opinion. Ever been to Tennessee? Ever been in a cab in St. John's? Show me, "The arse is out of 'er" in Websters.
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Last edited by a220hereicome on Thu Nov 04, 2021 7:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
mijbil
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by mijbil »

Years ago when in the RCAF, we were doing a "Eurotrainer". This was basically flying around Europe to get exposure to all the different wrinkles in each countries airspace plus to 'enjoy' the intricacies of filing with Eurocontrol (Jetplan was our very very good friend but I digress). We were were in RAF Lyneham (now closed) and planning to go do some practise approaches in L'Orient Lann-Bihou. The standards pilot with us (from QC) called over to their base ops just to make sure that this would work if we came and clogged their pattern for an hour or so. He used his very best QC French. When he got off the phone he said to us (in English) "The guy thought that I was English trying to speak French". He was (and is) a great guy, especially for telling us the story. We did our thing over there and finished up in Germany that day IIRC. I did note, all over Europe that the primary language in use over Europe in all the countries is English. It truly is the international language of commerce and communications. I shudder to think how much money we have wasted on official bilingualism over the years. In the RCAF the great majority of all the manuals were translated into French. What did the French maintainers and pilot tend to read? The English version, because it made sense. The translation had been done at great expense by some language expert with often zero technical background so the translated version was garbage. Thanks Pierre.
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a220hereicome
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by a220hereicome »

mijbil wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:56 am He used his very best QC French. When he got off the phone he said to us (in English) "The guy thought that I was English trying to speak French".
I've heard the same story from a Scot talking to a phone agent in London.
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Last edited by a220hereicome on Thu Nov 04, 2021 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Chips&Pops
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by Chips&Pops »

mijbil wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:16 am I note that on many job applications for federal positions or federally regulated companies there is often a box about French and the ability to speak it (or not). It gets you more points from the HR people. Clearly it really isn't a requirement after all. I know I only used mine 3 times in the RCAF. Once for a test and twice on vacation in France, where they actually do speak French instead of the 16th century variant called 'joual' that is practised in QC.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal ... -1.6236356
U mad bébé?
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by Inverted2 »

Such a nice welcoming people and accepting culture. No wonder the rest of Canada loves the québécois so much. :roll:
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by charlo »

Inverted2 wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 12:43 pm Such a nice welcoming people and accepting culture. No wonder the rest of Canada loves the québécois so much. :roll:
such an ignorant comment can't believe it....accepting culture ? You're seeing this backwards : the guy's been living in OUR province for 14 years, he should accept our culture and learn some basic french, it doesn't have to be perfect but at least showing a tiny bit of effort would be appreciated. That is respect and accepting the culture of others. It's so easy to throw stones when your first language is english and you never have to make an effort wherever you go ! Maybe spending some time in quebec or any other country and learning a new language would open your mind.

by the way, lots of toronto based captains at transat learned to speak french just by chatting with their french FO in the cockpit..hats off to them, that's impressive. So yeah, Rousseau's had lots of time to learn a few sentences here and there...
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2112
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by 2112 »

Big old nothing burger, have to laugh at Quebecers getting pissed off about an anglophone living almost undetected in their midst for so long. Maybe that sense of discrimination and disrespect you are feeling will make you reconsider bill 21 (Quebec's secularism law) and its effect on religious minorities. Get over yourselves whether you like it or not you are part of this confederation, there are francophones living in provinces that speak primarily English and there will continue to be anglophones living in La Belle Province.
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charlo
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by charlo »

francophones living in english provinces have to speak english to get around, not the even remotely the same. And yeah I don't care at all about Rousseau and all those anglophones in mtl, but I hate quebec bashing like the redneck's comment that prompted my reply. And bill 21 rocks btw. You see what's happening to France ? They're getting ruled by the minority, we have to stand our ground, immigrants are welcome as long as they respect our customs, pretty fair deal if you ask me. We can't even say merry christmas nowadays, don't tell me bill 21 is discriminatory...
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altiplano
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by altiplano »

charlo wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:01 pm They're getting ruled by the minority,
Ain't that the truth!

Story of Canada.
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RippleRock
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by RippleRock »

This is yet another form of "tribalism". He is not of "our" tribe. How dare he live among those not of his tribe.

Quebecers against Anglos, blacks against white, indigenous against colonials, LGBTQ against straight, Antifa, women against men, Muslims against Christians, BLM, language police, left against right, systemic racism, critical race theory......it goes on and on and on.

Gene Roddenberry's dream of a Star Trek "utopia" in the 23rd Century with people of all races and cultures living in harmony is just science fiction fantasy, and will very likely forever remain so. I don't think humanity has gotten any smarter over the centuries.

There are only signs of things getting worse, not better. Humanity is a mess. The level of intolerance, and the recent rise of tribalism on all fronts is very apparent. Every group is a guilty as the next. One has to only look back as far as Rwanda in the spring of 1994 to see where "tribal intolerance" eventually leads.

I feel bad for our children. Just maybe the idea of "cultural and racial integration" is a bad one. We can't seem to pull it off, and we certainly don't like it being forced. If it's something we wanted, wouldn't we just naturally gravitate toward it? It seems the opposite is true.
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by ayseven »

A couple of words here and there go a long ways, in any language. The AC guy could have said "my French is terrible, je m'excuse" and he would have been accepted. Quebec is bilingual, no matter what certain people want you to believe. And you can get by very well in English if you want to restrict yourself to a limited number of friends. It is just getting along with people, and politics is not anything but rabble rousing on both sides.
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2112
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by 2112 »

charlo wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:01 pm don't tell me bill 21 is discriminatory...
Bill 21 is discriminatory.
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by alkaseltzer »

:lol:
charlo wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 6:16 pm
Inverted2 wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 12:43 pm Such a nice welcoming people and accepting culture. No wonder the rest of Canada loves the québécois so much. :roll:
such an ignorant comment can't believe it....accepting culture ? You're seeing this backwards : the guy's been living in OUR province for 14 years, he should accept our culture and learn some basic french, it doesn't have to be perfect but at least showing a tiny bit of effort would be appreciated. That is respect and accepting the culture of others. It's so easy to throw stones when your first language is english and you never have to make an effort wherever you go ! Maybe spending some time in quebec or any other country and learning a new language would open your mind.

by the way, lots of toronto based captains at transat learned to speak french just by chatting with their french FO in the cockpit..hats off to them, that's impressive. So yeah, Rousseau's had lots of time to learn a few sentences here and there...
Will you Quebecers mandate ICAO to use French and English across the world?
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by LittleNelly »

charlo wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:01 pm francophones living in english provinces have to speak english to get around, not the even remotely the same. And yeah I don't care at all about Rousseau and all those anglophones in mtl, but I hate quebec bashing like the redneck's comment that prompted my reply. And bill 21 rocks btw. You see what's happening to France ? They're getting ruled by the minority, we have to stand our ground, immigrants are welcome as long as they respect our customs, pretty fair deal if you ask me. We can't even say merry christmas nowadays, don't tell me bill 21 is discriminatory...
Quebec is absolutely an institutionally discriminatory state. Bills like 21 and the language ones, openly violate the constitution while also creating a caste system enshrined in law. All with different degrees of rights. The "Quebecoise nation" on top, "historic anglo" in the middle, and immigrants on the bottom.
Quebec needs to take a page from the rest of Canada and learn to accept everyone for who they are. The world is becoming a smaller more interconnected place.
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by TeePeeCreeper »

LittleNelly wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 4:39 pm
charlo wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:01 pm francophones living in english provinces have to speak english to get around, not the even remotely the same. And yeah I don't care at all about Rousseau and all those anglophones in mtl, but I hate quebec bashing like the redneck's comment that prompted my reply. And bill 21 rocks btw. You see what's happening to France ? They're getting ruled by the minority, we have to stand our ground, immigrants are welcome as long as they respect our customs, pretty fair deal if you ask me. We can't even say merry christmas nowadays, don't tell me bill 21 is discriminatory...
Quebec is absolutely an institutionally discriminatory state. Bills like 21 and the language ones, openly violate the constitution while also creating a caste system enshrined in law. All with different degrees of rights. The "Quebecoise nation" on top, "historic anglo" in the middle, and immigrants on the bottom.
Quebec needs to take a page from the rest of Canada and learn to accept everyone for who they are. The world is becoming a smaller more interconnected place.
You couldn’t be any more closed minded and/or full of yourself if you tried.

I am proud to live in a region of Québec that is known as being 99.9% French speaking. Its so french that my head literally spins around when I hear ANYONE speaking in another language! (which typically isn’t English either… Go figure!)

Although I am bilingual my significant other isn’t. I was sure that she would struggle after we moved here. I even predicted that she would eventually force me to accept employment and relocate us elsewhere.

Guess what!?! EVERYONE has bent over backwards to converse with her in English and in most cases (our neighbours, post man, etc) know only a few English words.

The point I am attempting to make is that my better half whom didn’t speak a lick of French when we moved here feels accepted by a predominantly unilingual French speaking community. She in turn has started French immersion lessons during her time off… if an unilingual gal from Western Canada can… *wink wink, nudge nudge* you can too!

Quit bitching, pull your head out of your arse, déniaise toi et songe donc à apprendre l’autre langue officielle au lieu de radoter sans un ajout positif.

All the best,

TPC

PS: The charter clearly states “where needs warrant” Francophones have to deal with this in most provinces.The irony that one would forget the flip side of the charter in another province only leads me to believe that your interpretation of said charter is lacking.
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by Eric Janson »

a220hereicome wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:45 am Languages evolve over time and geography. The French spoken in France has more anglicisms than over here. 'Le parking', 'le shopping', etc. So your comment "where they do actually speak French" is an opinion, in my opinion. Ever been to Tennessee? Ever been in a cab in St. John's? Show me, "The arse is out of 'er" in Websters.
When they show programs from Quebec on French TV - they add French subtitles.

Quebecois is a language that hasn't evolved - French has.

Similar situation with Afrikaans and Dutch.
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by Old fella »

TeePeeCreeper wrote: Sat Nov 06, 2021 12:17 am
LittleNelly wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 4:39 pm
charlo wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:01 pm francophones living in english provinces have to speak english to get around, not the even remotely the same. And yeah I don't care at all about Rousseau and all those anglophones in mtl, but I hate quebec bashing like the redneck's comment that prompted my reply. And bill 21 rocks btw. You see what's happening to France ? They're getting ruled by the minority, we have to stand our ground, immigrants are welcome as long as they respect our customs, pretty fair deal if you ask me. We can't even say merry christmas nowadays, don't tell me bill 21 is discriminatory...
Quebec is absolutely an institutionally discriminatory state. Bills like 21 and the language ones, openly violate the constitution while also creating a caste system enshrined in law. All with different degrees of rights. The "Quebecoise nation" on top, "historic anglo" in the middle, and immigrants on the bottom.
Quebec needs to take a page from the rest of Canada and learn to accept everyone for who they are. The world is becoming a smaller more interconnected place.
You couldn’t be any more closed minded and/or full of yourself if you tried.

I am proud to live in a region of Québec that is known as being 99.9% French speaking. Its so french that my head literally spins around when I hear ANYONE speaking in another language! (which typically isn’t English either… Go figure!)

Although I am bilingual my significant other isn’t. I was sure that she would struggle after we moved here. I even predicted that she would eventually force me to accept employment and relocate us elsewhere.

Guess what!?! EVERYONE has bent over backwards to converse with her in English and in most cases (our neighbours, post man, etc) know only a few English words.

The point I am attempting to make is that my better half whom didn’t speak a lick of French when we moved here feels accepted by a predominantly unilingual French speaking community. She in turn has started French immersion lessons during her time off… if an unilingual gal from Western Canada can… *wink wink, nudge nudge* you can too!

Quit bitching, pull your head out of your arse, déniaise toi et songe donc à apprendre l’autre langue officielle au lieu de radoter sans un ajout positif.

All the best,

TPC

PS: The charter clearly states “where needs warrant” Francophones have to deal with this in most provinces.The irony that one would forget the flip side of the charter in another province only leads me to believe that your interpretation of said charter is lacking.
Way back in the early’90s I was passed over for a promotion at theTC HQ level because during the interview process I didn’t show an inclination to undergo language training at some point down the future path. It’s was a decision that I regretted to this very day, not the job itself but the fact I would be given the opportunity to learn French to the B level(written and conversational). I am university educated and with hard work would have been successful. I would have been required to take year off but job classification and salary was protected, yes I was sore and pissed over not getting promoted and that to be honest followed me during my tenure. Again I regretted not taking the opportunity to learn a second language(French).
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digits_
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Re: Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

Post by digits_ »

2112 wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 7:28 am
charlo wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:01 pm don't tell me bill 21 is discriminatory...
Bill 21 is discriminatory.
Is Bill 21 the one that says government employees can't wear religious symbols? Or is there more to it?
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