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Being pegged as an anglo by Montréal sales clerks (#520)

12 December 2012 by OffQc

Philippe asks about the shop clerks in Montréal:

I am not shy about speaking French in stores, coffee shops, etc., but the problem is that most clerks peg me for an anglo immediately and respond in English.

Should I just continue to stumble through in French (at the linguistic level of a three year old) or is there some sort of polite “signal” I can give them that tells them I am taking French immersion and forbidden to speak English?

My advice: Try not to worry about it for now. By all means, continue on in French if you have the desire and nerve for it in these situations. There’s nothing stopping you, and Montréal is your playground for learning French. As for signals, continuing on in French yourself is a pretty good one, I think.

But if the exchange ultimately slips into English, don’t beat yourself up. It doesn’t mean that you’re a failure in French. Just let it go and try again next time.

Besides, you can’t control the behaviour of others anyway, and much less that of a clerk who may not be very interested in your desire to improve your French.

Yes, it’s frustrating, but it’s a waste of your energy worrying about it. More important, I feel, are the bonds that you manage to form with francophones — friends, co-workers, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc. The conversations that occur in French with people that you’ve formed a bond with is where you’ll really advance in French and get beyond your current level.

Exchanges with clerks are generally short and shallow. Once you’ve learned the basics of ordering in a restaurant, it all becomes routine and there isn’t much more to learn.

On the other hand, the conversations you’ll have with people that you’ve formed a bond with will be an endless source of learning opportunities. You’ll always be required to express yourself in ever more complex ways. Focus your efforts on this instead.

Then, as your linguistic ability increases, I think that the question of being able to carry out exchanges completely in French with clerks will take care of itself with time.

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Posted in Entries #501-550 | 10 Comments

10 Responses

  1. on 13 December 2012 at 15:52 Claudia

    Excellent advice! This has been my experience as well. Thank you for confirming it for me!


    • on 14 December 2012 at 17:21 OffQc

      Creating strong bonds with francophones is essential to make progress because it forces you to speak regularly and in more depth.


  2. on 13 December 2012 at 16:07 Sylvie

    I have the same experience… great advice. I was born & raised in Montreal, completely bilingual, moved to Ontario for 10 years, but until recently clerks in Montreal always pegged me as an Anglo.


    • on 14 December 2012 at 17:24 OffQc

      What did you do in these situations? Turn the conversation back to French or continue in English?


  3. on 14 December 2012 at 12:41 microsnout

    Even after six years of learning the language this still happens to me. Just this morning I failed to buy a coffee and bagel without hearing English but then immediately after, managed the much more complex task of interacting with a barber completely in French. Once I was disappointed to hear English but then later noticed that the employees behind the counter were interacting with each other exclusively in English and were in fact immigrant allophones who preferred English over French when possible.
    This even happened to a women I know who is Québécoise born and raised but has been living in Ontario for over a decade. She was annoyed that someone spoke English to her in Quebec City but after my québécois language partner spoke to her on the phone recently he told me that “she has an English accent”.
    Speaking of coffee shops I sometimes like to buy a coffee and sit at a table within earshot of the cash and listen to the choice of words used. You have the common “Je prends …” or “Je vais prendre …” which to reduce the chance of hearing an English response should be pronounced more like “J’vas prendre” (French teachers love to teach people to speak in a way that nobody speaks). Then there is the odd customer who will say something like “Bonjour, ce serait …”. A more devious way to research this is to get one of those small sound amplifiers for the hard of hearing and it will look like you are just listening to an iPod.
    Finally I once knew a French student who asked for “un très grand café” and was surprised when the server placed 3 large coffees in front of him!


    • on 14 December 2012 at 17:14 OffQc

      As you point out, not all employees are native French, of course. The language switcher could sometimes be an anglophone who recognised the accent.


  4. on 14 December 2012 at 15:56 microsnout

    On one occasion I experienced the opposite language switch. I started speaking in English to an agent at the train station and was surprised when he switched to French! I think I had subconsciously picked up some speech quirks from hours helping my language partner in English as he speaks with a heavy French accent.


    • on 14 December 2012 at 16:56 OffQc

      The switching goes both ways in Montréal, and it’s not just francophones who do it. Anglophones too may switch, but to French, if they hear a French accent when speaking in English.


  5. on 17 December 2012 at 22:26 Philippe

    As the guy who asked the question I’ve got to say that Felix’s response was really helpful and encouraging. Thanks Felix!
    Thanks also to the people have made comments here with their experiences and suggestions–that’s really helpful too.


  6. on 27 December 2012 at 02:37 Dante

    A couple times I’ve had it spin back to French. You need an interrupting moment, when the language is not in question and other sales facets arise.

    I used to have long hair, and it would curl into lovely locks. One problem: I’m a dude. So a sales person is behind me and says “Puis-je vous aidez, madame?”

    I turned around and said, “qu’est-ce que c’est, ‘madame’!” We laughed and English never came up.



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