Quebec's Preoccupation With French Is Limiting Its Startup Scene

http://mashable.com/2014/01/30/montreal-tech-industry/

by jrs99 • 12 years ago

4 2 12 years ago

"No word for entrepreneur", blah blah blah. Good on Quebec.

jonrx• 12 years ago

I'm a baby of the law 101. I learned French because my parents couldn't send to me English school. Living in Montreal, I can say there is a huge difference between where I work (right accross McGill University) and where I live (a few metro/subway stations east). Downtown Montreal is fully bilingual. The more you go East, the "francophone-er" it gets. The neighboors all have their distinct vibe and it's very impressive how walking half an hour will bring you into a culturally different part of the city.

I see Montreal in a completely different light than what is exposed in the article : the community is vibrant, everybody is very warm and welcoming. IMHO speaking French is a great perk if you want to discover Montreal (and the rest of Quebec :-) ), but the hatred is mostly an attitude thing : history classes are heavily skewed on the separation between "Haut Canada" and "Bas Canada" and the whole "speak white" period. Let's add that Harper doesn't really help bringing the Country together. If you try to speak French and struggle, you will most of the time be answered in English. The key word is "try" : language is a sensitive spot over here, so a little effort goes a very long way.

There was an indirect answer from the community to this article : http://wearemtltech.ca/ (and it's in both English and French)

Quebec's Preoccupation With French Is Limiting Its Startup Scene

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