In a twist from the often “overzealous” agency, the Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF) has deemed several English terms as acceptable for use in Quebec. Among these are:
- Grilled-cheese instead of sandwich au fromage fondant
- Baby-boom instead of bébé-boum
- Cocktail instead of coquetel
- Softball instead of balle-molle
- Smash (in tennis) instead of coup d’écrasement
- Leader instead of chef (referring to, for example, a politician)
For those in the English-speaking McGill ‘bubble’, the idea that such colloquial terms were unacceptable in Quebec is certainly shocking. In the notorious “pasta-gate” incident of 2013, the OQLF even issued a letter of warning to Buonanotte, an Italian restaurant in Montreal, for the usage of words including “pasta”, “antipasto” and “bottiglia” on the menu, as these terms did not comply with their Charter. Since then, there has also been some relaxation on the use of non-English words, including:
- Café latte
- Gelato
- Scampi
Since the OQLF’s announcement, there has been a wave of support from linguistics and local business owners in Quebec. Chantal Bouchard, a sociolinguist at McGill, suggested to the CBC that the OQLF “figured that Quebecers were now ready to open up a little bit about the English words.” Chantal continued by saying that “younger people probably feel more at ease with French and as they are more bilingual, they don’t seem to perceive English as such a menace, or as threatening as they used to.”
As Benoit Melancon, a French literature professor at Université de Montreal pointed out to the BBC, the OQLF is simply being realistic. Indeed, to many, the restrictions of the OQLF were dramatic. Pascal Salzman, owner of ‘Le Cheese’ (which had its name criticized by the OQLF) told the CBC that he is “all for preserving the French language and culture – I think it’s a great initiative – however, I don’t think using the word ‘grilled cheese’ is going to destroy that heritage.”
Established in 1961, and strengthened under the 1977 Charter of the French Language, the OQLF protects the language and ensures its proper usage in Quebec. It has more than 230 staff, including 20 linguists, and an annual budget of $24 million. The office has also had some success in the past, including the promotion of courriel as an alternative to ‘email’ and mot-clic as an alternative to ‘hashtag’.
Despite its support, the decision from the OQLF has also been met with harsh criticism, with one former researcher even labeling it “voluntary subjugation.”
Marie-Éva de Villers (author of the Multidictionnaire de langue française) told Radio Canada that the OQLF should reconsider “the role of the organization – defined by the charter, one that hasn’t been modified – is to be a user’s guide, to orient users.”
Nevertheless, the OQLF’s spokesperson Jean-Pierre Le Blanc has stated “language is something that is vivant,” in an interview. “The phenomenon of borrowing from other languages has been going on for a long time…we’re legitimizing what is already commonly being used.”
Who knew languages could Brie so interesting?
Images obtained from:
https://www.today.com/food/8-tips-making-perfect-grilled-cheese-recipe-t…
http://www.montreal.tv/tag/restaurant-buonanotte/
Information obtained from:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41323915
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/oqlf-quebec-anglicisms-1.4296376