Abstract
This paper presents the complex historical context and development of language laws and related government cultural policies at the federal and provincial level in Canada and examines the profound impact on Canadian society of laws restricting English use in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec. Landmark Canadian language laws are compared and contrasted, and the effect of such language laws on Canadian society, culture, education, business, politics, and immigration policy is examined. The numerous and significant linguistic, cultural, and political challenges faced by bilingual and multicultural Canadian society are compared with similar situations in other officially bilingual or multilingual countries and societies. The growing influence of English on the evolution of French spoken in Quebec is also addressed. In order to preserve its unique cultural identity and Francophone society, the provincial Quebec government has sought to increase its autonomy from the federal government in a wide range of areas, leading to political conflict of varying levels of intensity and duration with the federal government (Béland, Lecours & Schmeiser, 2021). Language is a fundamental expression of cultural identity in a society, and the disappearance of a language may lead to the extinction of a unique cultural identity. Predictions regarding the future development of language laws are made based on current and historical trends in government policy and on continuing changes in bilingual Canadian society.
Author Information
Nathaniel Edwards, Yamaguchi National University, Japan
Paper Information
Conference: ACSS2023
Stream: Ethnicity
This paper is part of the ACSS2023 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Edwards N. (2023) Protecting a Minority Culture in a Bilingual Society: The Impact on Canadian Society of Laws Restricting English Use in Quebec ISSN: 2186-2303 – The Asian Conference on the Social Sciences 2023: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 7-15) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-2303.2023.2
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-2303.2023.2
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