Top 20 Quebecers in the NHL

[The Gr8 Dane]

I don't understand your point at all.
You mean you don't care if Quebecers disappear because they're not a country?

Why would Quebecers disappear? You don't have to speak french or have a french last name to be Quebecois , do you think greeks italians indians africans are not quebecois when they live and are born here? Regardless if they speak french or english.

Is Mike Matheson less of a Quebecois than Joshua Roy? Is Mike Ribeiro less of a Quebecois than Jonathan Drouin?

 

[Bocephus86]

Per my father, Quebec doesn't even speak real French anyway, just garbage French.

 

[Montreal Shadow]

Per my father, Quebec doesn't even speak real French anyway, just garbage French.

Your father is simply ignorant. Quebec French is still French. It just has its own accents, expressions, and quirks, just like any other language. An American from Texas most certainly doesn't speak the same kind of English as a Brit from Liverpool, yet they're both English.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Per my father, Quebec doesn't even speak real French anyway, just garbage French.

Your father's a dunce.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Why would Quebecers disappear? You don't have to speak french or have a french last name to be Quebecois , do you think greeks italians indians africans are not quebecois when they live and are born here? Regardless if they speak french or english.

Is Mike Matheson less of a Quebecois than Joshua Roy? Is Mike Ribeiro less of a Quebecois than Jonathan Drouin?

Of course they are. But that's a big part of why the nationalist movement has often struggled - whether they realize it or not (I think a lot of them do) is that it's been pretty exclusionary, something that a portion of them are obviously trying to fix.

I'm not a language freak at all (I'm francophone but work/live most of my life in English. Married to an Anglophone with a mixture of Francos and Anglos as a social circle) but you'd really have to have your head in the sand not to understand why the French language is important in the city/province and why steps are taken to preserve it (as much as they can overdo it at times, especially politically) when they live in a sea of English.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Of course they are. But that's a big part of why the nationalist movement has often struggled - whether they realize it or not (I think a lot of them do) is that it's been pretty exclusionary, something that a portion of them are obviously trying to fix it.

I'm not a language freak at all (I'm francophone but work/live most of my life in English. Married to an Anglophone with a mixture of Francos and Anglos as a social circle) but you'd really have to have your hand in the sand not to understand why the French language is important in the city/province and why steps are taken to preserve it when they live in a sea of English.

Yup , don't get me wrong I totally agree , I also want the conservation of the language but not at the expense of our economic growth , its a tough rope to walk.

I'm just saying the *them against us* mentality is not the right way to go about it.

Obviously its easy for me to take both sides somewhat since i grew up completely bilingual and am very happy about knowing both

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Yup , don't get me wrong I totally agree , I also want the conservation of the language but not at the expense of our economic growth , its a tough rope to walk.

I'm just saying the *them against us* mentality is not the right way to go about it

100%. Going after Concordia and McGill is a spectacularly poor decision as well. Same with the product labeling from overseas. I'm hoping that stuff gets worked out.

OTOH, having a privileged relationship with France and offering good rates for French students to come abroad and study/work is a positive. I know a lot of Quebecois don't realize it and they sometimes get annoyed by it but having such a big diaspora from French that's formed in the last 10-20 years is a boom for the preservation of the language. Their English tends to be really poor and they come to Montreal specifically to live a new life in French.

 

[Plastic Joseph]

Your father is simply ignorant. Quebec French is still French. It just has its own accents, expressions, and quirks, just like any other language. An American from Texas most certainly doesn't speak the same kind of English as a Brit from Liverpool, yet they're both English.

its also closer to French dialects spoken hundreds of years ago - like a "time capsule" of language.

Its similar to those places that still speak in old fashioned English accents in a way. Many phrases that have been phased out over the past few generations are still spoken in Quebec. In some ways, its closer to historically spoken French than what is currently being spoken in France.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

its also closer to French dialects spoken hundreds of years ago - like a "time capsule" of language.

Its similar to those places that still speak in old fashioned English accents in a way. Many phrases that have been phased out over the past few generations are still spoken in Quebec. In some ways, its closer to historically spoken French than what is currently being spoken in France.

And the French also use a shit ton of anglicisms.

 

[Bradely]

I truly don’t understand the desperate need to protect the language

My grandfather came from Europe in 1925 speaking only french. My dad remembers his first day of school and only understanding french in an English elementary school . Im not sure when grandma learned English but she was fully bilingual

Growing up my dad’s family would generally speak English but when things got heated it would switch to French

My brother and i only spoke English. Never heard my family comment on it.

Maybe someone can help me understand. If my family had to move to china for example, id fully expect that within 3 generations my ancestors would speak only Chinese, and the only reason to retain English would be for global communication

At least your first sentence is honest and I respect that.

By my POV, I truly can not understand how anyone could not understand a nation willingness to protect its language.

The second bold part is related to immigration. You move and live in China then you speak Chinese. You live in Québec you speak French!. If you understand the second point, you should have an idea of why we are willing to protect our language.

IMO your understanding and opinion of Quebec's context seem to be based on a colonial, imperialist thought. Dominant population not understanding the minority population ain't new.

Take care.

 

[Montreal Shadow]

And the French also use a shit ton of anglicisms.

Which is funny considering that something like 30% of English words are derived from French. We’ve come full circle.

I truly don’t understand the desperate need to protect the language

You don't understand why a people want to protect their language, arguably the most important cultural aspect of any distinct group. Really?

As for the rest, it's a completely different thing. If you move from a different country to a new one, you adapt and accept the new country's language. French is very much the language of the Quebecois people. If English started massively declining in the US (or anywhere where it's the native language), I bet you they'd do anything to protect it. Quebecois do it, and then we pretend that they're unreasonable for wanting to protect what might be the most important aspect of their cultural heritage. Come on.

 

[Bradely]

I guess my question is why is there a need or desire to intervene with the natural evolution of language in Quebec. To “protect “ the language.

If you come down here in Quebec City.. post me. I will volunteer to make you a city tour, invite you and yours for supper and discuss.

I think while not understanding our situation, you are an open minded person. And that is missing between the angle and franco. BTW we will do it in English

Them speaking French isn't going to appreciably improve the complete disaster that's happening. Your culture is more than a language, and it will be lost regardless.

People are saying this for more than 400 years. Hope you learn Spanish... train is coming!

 

[Bradely]

Per my father, Quebec doesn't even speak real French anyway, just garbage French.

You should learn and read outside your family. lol. That explains the intellectual quality of your post.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

Hope you learn Spanish.

Buddy, I'm from Miami.

 

[Frank Drebin]

If you come down here in Quebec City.. post me. I will volunteer to make you a city tour, invite you and yours for supper and discuss.

I think while not understanding our situation, you are an open minded person. And that is missing between the angle and franco. BTW we will do it in English

I appreciate that brother and while the chances of that happening are slim i have no doubt that we would have a good time together and find common ground

I am also glad one of us is bilingual

 

[Bradely]

Yup , don't get me wrong I totally agree , I also want the conservation of the language but not at the expense of our economic growth , its a tough rope to walk.

I'm just saying the *them against us* mentality is not the right way to go about it.

Obviously its easy for me to take both sides somewhat since i grew up completely bilingual and am very happy about knowing both

Bold part ..... please give me an economic course!

Buddy, I'm from Miami.

That's what I'm saying... start learning Spanish! South is moving north....

 

[Bradely]

And the French also use a shit ton of anglicisms.

How could it be different... our neighbours are + 380M.....

 

[Frank Drebin]

You don't understand why a people want to protect their language, arguably the most important cultural aspect of any distinct group. Really?

Of course I understand. I think its the cost that the people are willing to incur in order to do so. Thankfully its not much of an issue with our hockey team anymore.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

How could it be different... our neighbours are + 380M.....

I mean people in France.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Of course I understand. I think its the cost that the people are willing to incur in order to do so.

Yep, that's the rub. The government initially went after McGill and Concordia. Then after pushback...

McGill, Concordia in the dark over Quebec plan to cut international students

Quebec's higher education minister says English universities won't be specifically "targeted" by a coming bill.

montrealgazette.com

Still reeling from last year’s overhaul of Quebec university funding, McGill and Concordia say they don’t know yet whether they’ll be affected by a new plan to limit the number of international students allowed to study in Montreal.

Premier François Legault announced on Tuesday that his government will introduce legislation in the fall to cut down on students from other countries.

In response to a reporter’s question, Legault would not say whether McGill and Concordia would be affected, noting details will be made public in the coming weeks. On Wednesday, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry said the two English institutions would not be “targeted.”

Among Quebec universities, McGill and Concordia have the highest number of international students.

As of fall 2023, McGill had 10,700 students from other countries, while Concordia had 9,200. Université de Montréal is the French university with the highest international enrolment — 7,300.

But then the Legault government says 'Oh, we wanted to target private colleges who charge tens of thousands to foreign students who want permanent residency' but that's a hell of a lot different than what was initially tabled months ago.

 

[WatchfulElm]

Why would Quebecers disappear? You don't have to speak french or have a french last name to be Quebecois , do you think greeks italians indians africans are not quebecois when they live and are born here? Regardless if they speak french or english.

Is Mike Matheson less of a Quebecois than Joshua Roy? Is Mike Ribeiro less of a Quebecois than Jonathan Drouin?

What you say doesn't make sense. All the players you talk about speak French. It doesn't matter one bit what your origin is. My wife is Thai, she learned French as a 3rd language. She's as much a Quebecer as I am, and nobody suggests otherwise.

But language does matter to define a nation's identity. Would Italy as a nation still makes sense if nobody could speak nor understand Italian anymore?

You think Americans would be happy is English was threatened and kids stopped reading Hemingway, Poe and Twain in school? Fictional scenario of course, English is the dominant language. But that's the exact threat Quebec is facing.

 

[abo9]

Sad to see this list compared to how it looked 50 years ago

You're going way far. Look at it 15-20 years ago.

As a kid in the early 2000s I used to created "Team Quebec" in video games and they were generally competitive, with a few top guys and a lot of good depth. And amazing goaltending.

We also used to compare "Team Quebec" to other teams in the Olympics (as kids). It was not on part with Team Canada, but could probably have competed for a medal.

Nowadays "Team Quebec" is looking like the worst team in the NHL. In 5 years it's going to look even worst without guys like Marchessault and Letang, declining Huberdeau, Danault, Matheson, Duclair. No Perron, no Killorn, Fleury.

 

[abo9]

Couturier played his youth hockey in NB (and Saskatchewan because of Hockey Quebec).

If anything, he exemplifies the issues.

More examples too. QC-born players doing well usually go the US route.

Devon Levi comes to mind.

 

[TheBeard]

Preserving the French language in Quebec shouldn't mean eliminating any traces of English out of fear. Evolution through elimination fear tactic hasn't really worked out well in history.

 

[Statto]

Do you think Quebec is a country or something lmao , small nation trying to survive is insane.

A nation is a group of people defined by history and culture, which is typically a country but it doesn’t have to be. Quebec can legitimately be defined as a nation, but it obviously isn’t a recognised country. Nation is one of those words where context determines its meaning. So England is the country I live in, but the United Kingdom is the nationality. Yet England could also called a nation in its own right. I could go on but most people stopped reading already.

Sorry, I’m a nerd.