Why Bother?

“When the Québécois are en vacances,” J.’s French teacher told the class, “they often go to countries like Morocco, Tunisia.” She hesitated and then qualified her statement: “Well, they don’t often go to Algeria!”

It’s true; both in spite of colonialism and actually because of it, the French have always had a close relationship with the Arab world. I’ve been startled at the volumes of Middle Eastern literature in the French bookstores – so much more in translation than is available in English, with the first translations of works by Arab authors often appearing in French. It as true in Lebanon as well: Beirut - Beyrouth - was the Paris of the Mediterranean, and Paris is where many expatriate authors, both Christian and Muslim, have gone to live upon leaving their homelands. Of course, as last year’s riots made clear, the situation for less-well-off, less-illustrious Arabs in France is not quite so happy. In Montreal it is more so. 

From Syria and Lebanon, Armenia and Alexandria, my in-laws always intended to come to America, and their second language was English. But French was my father-in-law’s third language and probably my mother-in-law’s as well, after their native Arabic and Armenian. English may have been the language of opportunity and commerce, but French was the language that proved you were sophisticated. In their New England home, French phrases often peppered the conversation. But when J. mentioned that he had started taking an intensive French course, his father was surprised.

“I admire you for taking it on at your age,” he said. “Are you learning to read, or to speak?”

“It's mostly conversational, but we do a lot of writing exercises, so we’re certainly learning to write to some extent.”

“Is it French French, or Canadian?"

"It's Canadian."

"You mean your teacher is Canadian?"

"She's French-Canadian. Quebeçoise."

"So you aren't learning real French?"

"Is American English 'real English?'"I put in.

He gave me a withering look, and didn't answer. Then he said, “Why bother?”

“What?” we both said at once.

“Why bother!” he repeated.

“That's where we live! We need to learn to speak the same French that is spoken around us." He was clearly unconvinced. "Why did you study French?” I asked.

“To read Molière, of course!” he announced haughtily. I had my doubts if he'd ever read any. There was no point explaining that the written language was essentially identical, or even that I had spent years learning to read French and it did me precious little good when I needed to call a plumber. Apparently we had just dropped through one of those unseen holes that tended to crop up in conversations like this, and our interlocutor was walking on.

“Oh. Well, we are just trying to do our grocery shopping and talk to our neighbors," J. said.

“I see,” he said, and shrugged; the conversation was over so far as he was concerned. “Well, good luck!”

Comments

[leslee]

Heh. Well, at least he's educated and understands the value of learning another language at all. My mother always asked why I wanted to learn Spanish if I was "never going to use it." My parents felt the same way about a liberal arts education, even though they paid for my Smith education anyway!

[Scott]

A devoted mother in a small town in Kansas once sent her son, then in the early days of grade school, to French lessons with a certain Madeleine Moody. Madeleine was a French immigrant, married to an American (was she a war bride?). The boy did not yet understand the structure of the English language, so French was double-trouble for him. Of course, there were no other French speakers his age in that town to stoke either the conspiratorial or competitive fires, and he exhibited already at that tender age the genetic predisposition of Americans against learning "foreign" languages. Five years ago that boy gained entry to the magic kingdom called "Montreal" by way of a sabbatical leave at one of the local English-speaking universities. Now he is imagining ways to gain permanent entry into that kingdom at age 55, and, still functionally-Frenchless, he has one more in an increasingly long line of proofs for that old American adage - "Listen to your mother!"

[Martine]

Ah, the many times I heard the famous "but it's not real French" line! I even had to argue with some friends of friends when I used to live in the U.S. They were trying to convince ME that the French spoken (and written) in Quebec had nothing to do with French and was rather close to creole.

Then again, so many people from France seem to believe the same thing...

I think you'll find your life in Montreal much more enjoyable if you speak some French. But you already know that! :-)

[Pica]

Yes, well, quite a few people in England think the same thing of American English, that it's not really "English." But where is the language evolving fastest? Los Angeles. For good or ill. My old Harvard boss and I once threw a party lamenting the supposed imminent demise of the circumflex accent in French (the academy apparently withdrew this threat, no doubt to massive public outcry). The theme of the party? The hat. Haha.

When you delight in language (like, say, Language Hat), all these arguments are grist to the mill of a good blog post. The grumpy can grump (and your father-in-law sounds like a champion), but I say it's better to throw a party and grouse about something that's more worthy of the effort... language is alive, it does its own thing. Let's celebrate that!

[marja-leena]

I agree with the other commenters about language. Another aspect of your story, Beth, that struck me is your honesty in portraying a parent's stubborness and grumpiness. Too often, some of us (me included) don't want to show this very human "imperfect" side that can appear at times in all of us, especially in writing about our loved ones. Doing so makes your writing so very honest and real, thank you.

[Mouse]

"A man who knows two cultures lives two lives" - Confuscius?
And the best way to know a culture is to learn its language since it is through language that we express ourselves...
American English/Nigerian English/Indian English are all different to British English because language belongs to the people and is evolving 'as we speak'
That's what makes it so fascinating a study

[leslee]

This happens with Spanish and Portuguese in the New World, too. The Europeans don't think the Latin Americans speak properly, introducing indigenous words into the language. Of course as a Nicaraguan aquaintance of mine said, well nobody asked them to come over and conquer us...

[Steve]

There's something to be said for learning what is considered the standard dialect of a language. J., because he's living in Montreal, is correct in learning Canadian French. But I suspect virtually all French speakers can understand Sorbonne French, just as most English speakers have no problem with BBC English.