To help safeguard the French language, children of immigrant families are required to attend French schools. Walk into a boutique or restaurant in downtown Montreal, and there is a decent chance the shopkeeper will say, “Bonjour hi!,” a hybrid greeting that reflects the cosmopolitan city’s vaunted bilingualism. PhotoThis custom has irked members of the Parti Québécois, a party that has advocated for an independent Quebec. After all, the younger generation of Quebecers could easily be tempted to say “email” rather than “courriel,” its French Canadian equivalent. PhotoThe Office Québécois de la Langue Française, the watchdog agency, has sought to fend off Anglicisms creeping into the French language by coming up with alternatives.

Source: New York Times December 05, 2017 17:26 UTC