It does get a bit silly, as in the eample I mentioned where restaurants in Montreal's Chinatown (a fairly large one) were being told that at least half of the signs they put up had to be in French. I see it as a case of a population that has been persecuted getting a bit paranoid about cultural encroachment. However.
When the Canadian content laws came out (these are federal and say that a certain percent of what is broadcast must be canadian written or canadian produced or canadian performed) most people were very much against it. All the good stuff was American, we said. If there were any good Canadians they would get broadcast. This turned out to not be the case and on the whole those laws have been very good for canadian culture.
Yeah, it's a crutch, I agree, but it is a crutch which has done some good.
I see these language laws as something similar. They protect a smaller culture, which *does* want to continue to exist, from a barrage of foreign infiltration. Remember, all of these laws were enacted by governments which were elected.
Dana
> On the other hand, if no one wants to buy the goods that don't have
> French labels, I am all for that sort of marketplace decision.
>
> I just don't think it should be institutionalized.
>
> Jerry Johnson
>
> >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 04/01/04 03:10PM >>>
> you don't think it is understandable that a group of French speakers
> would say that your marketing materials must be in French if you want
> to sell here? Whyever not?
>
> Dana
>
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