karmachameleon: saintstryfe: But the Language Police are still there. They still measure signs to make sure the French is X amount bigger then the English, and such. It's really their last desperate grasp, especially after the last national where the Bloc were decimated.

Thanks for the info.  To me this all sounds rather hilarious (and pathetically insecure).

Well, it's not entirely. For several generations, being francophone was a real limit to your ability to grow, And it wasn't just your language - it was the community you were raised in. Anglophones were people with British names, raised in British way, and they were expected to be the leaders. Francophones were not expected to ever achieve. To start, it was a reasonable response. You have 50+% of your population who speaks little or no English, why should all the signs be in English? (remember, back in the 70's we weren't so connected, people could be raised like that).

I agree today it is a little out of place. But it's historical roots make it a bit more clear why it started.

And it's not without precedence either - in France, theAcadémie française controls french language use - dictating what a hamburger is called for instance. In a world where French people and English people have been feuding since 1066, mostly with France being on the sad side of things, they are a bit defensive about English language getting a foothold.

/my parents were Anglophones who left in the early 80's, just as I was born. I was actually an Anchor Baby of sorts. I can't say Rene Lesveque (the first big leader of the PQ) to them without getting nasty looks.
//I say Rene Lesveque frequently.