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The language switch (#214)

10 June 2011 by OffQc

In Montreal, it isn’t unusual to hear English-speaking learners of French lament the fact that French speakers keep switching to English on them. Those darn Montreal francophones!

Guess what?

It isn’t unusual to hear French-speaking learners of English (in particular those from Europe) lament the fact that English speakers keep switching to French on them. Those darn Montreal anglophones!

It goes both ways… You gotta love Montreal!

OK, so what to do about it when you’re a learner and want to practise?

1. Don’t sweat it. Understand the other person is just trying to ease the communication, not make an overt comment on your language skills (even if it feels that way). The other person may even be looking for an opportunity to speak in his or her second language, just like you. Relax! Let it go, and keep working on your French on your own time.

2. Improve your accent. Perceived accent is probably the biggest reason for the language switch. If you’re serious about improving your accent, you’ll need to put in serious time. Listen to at least a couple hours of French every single day. Pick a voice you like and imitate what you hear. You may not eliminate your accent entirely, but it isn’t necessary either. Slight accents are far less likely to provoke a language switch; strong ones frequently do.

3. Increase your confidence. When the other person switches to English instead of continuing in French, it’s easy to become disheartened and slip into English. Speak French more often to become assertive in this language; you won’t back down as easily and the other person will take a hint. If, however, the other person still insists on speaking English, reread #1 above.

4. Appreciate Montreal for what it is — a big mess of languages. I’m guilty of committing the language switch myself. I may even switch to Spanish if I sense you’re a Spanish speaker, lo siento, it’s a habit. But if you tell me to speak to you in French instead, I will, of course. 😉

It’s just the way Montreal is… Learn to love it!

I sometimes get the language switch in Toronto. When people there learn that I live in Montreal, it’s funny how some people suddenly get the urge to start brushing off their French!

And you, have you been on the receiving end of the language switch in Montreal? How did you handle it?

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Posted in Entries #201-250 | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on 10 June 2011 at 14:33 Bruno Ribeiro

    I did suffer that a lot when I was studying french back in 2009. It did feel like I was being criticized… The only place where I could practice freely was in the Quartier latin.

    Now I’m going back as an immigrant and I hope that employers prefer English 🙂


    • on 10 June 2011 at 16:47 OffQc

      Being in a French-speaking workplace is a very effective strategy. No escape from French and little or no language switching.

      Coming to Montréal to study only, but not live and work, makes it harder to become integrated in the language. The temptation is also there to spend a lot of time with other learners.

      Good luck with your return to Montréal, Bruno!


  2. on 13 June 2011 at 14:39 Rebecca

    I definitely get the language switch a lot when I’m in Montreal but I learned some tricks. I found that at restaurants they’ll stay in the language you want no matter your accent (they want a nice tip right!). Even if the person I was eating with spoke English to the waiter/ess I never had anyone switch back to English with me despite my poor accent or their superb English. The other trick was knowing where they don’t speak English well. I found a Tims and a Premiere Moisson where the people never seemed to know good English so they were very willing to stick it out in French with me.


    • on 13 June 2011 at 16:15 OffQc

      Thanks for sharing your tips with other readers, Rebecca. You may be right about the restaurant thing. When I order in Spanish in a restaurant in the Plaza St-Hubert area, they’ll continue in Spanish with me. In a Spanish-language bookshop though, they’re more likely to speak to me in French.


  3. on 27 November 2011 at 20:01 NormanD

    Here is the reverse situation. I am an anglophone from Toronto, but in our Montreal office the linguistic pattern is very strange. Everyone understands the second language, but many do not speak it well. (“Sesqui-lingual”?) I often hear extended two-language discussions where person A speaks solely in French and person B speaks solely in English. I have never heard this anywhere else in the world, and it is a remarkable skill. Just try it! It is extremely hard to do without slipping into one language or the other after two or three sentences.



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