Podcast

Let’s Talk Bilingualism
Episode 3: The advantages of being bilingual

Intro podcast

*Musical Sting*

GD: My name is Geneviève Dupuis.

AV: And I’m Ahdithya Visweswaran.

GD: Since the beginning of the series, we’ve been following the experiences of young bilingual Canadians who talk about the benefits and challenges of living in two official languages!

AV: So far, we’ve covered issues surrounding identity, access, privilege and motivation.

GD: We’ve also talked about linguistic insecurity and the challenges associated with learning a second language.

AV: Sooooooo . . . what’s left?

GD: The advantages of bilingualism!

GD: Because we know very well that the advantages of bilingualism are not just limited to better jobs and scholarships.

AV: It’s also about the people we can meet, and the life experiences it can bring.

GD & AV: Let’s talk bilingualism!

Intro episode 3: The advantages of being bilingual

* Musical Sting *

AV: We’ve all heard the same refrain: our parents and teachers telling us over and over that speaking more than one language opens doors and gives us access to many opportunities that we wouldn’t otherwise have!

GD: But is all that really true or are they just trying to get us to buy into this Canadian idea?

AV: Well, let’s see what Vincent Ménard, a young bilingual from Yukon, has to say about opportunities tied to bilingualism. . .

Clip:
Vincent Ménard (00.23.43 – 00.23.57): I think that having both languages is a real asset and I know . . . they told me that a lot when I was in school, that having both languages, that it will be useful to speak French, especially since there aren’t a lot of people outside Quebec who speak French. [translation]

Narration:
GD: An asset! That’s what knowing both official languages is to him.

Clip:
Vincent Ménard (00.23.58 – 00.24.23): So, it’s true, I know we hear it a lot, but it’s really an asset to speak both languages and understand both languages, not only for the language itself but also for the culture that goes with it, because the cultures are different, especially in Canada. Plus, if you can understand both cultures, then you can understand the differences, if I can put it like that. [translation]

AV: And Vincent is not alone! All of the young Canadians we talked to think that being able to speak more than one language (official or not) is actually a real advantage. Much as I hate to admit it . . .

GD: Nooooo, don’t say it . . .

AV: . . . our parents and teachers might have been right!

Start of musical sting

AV: episode three

GD: The advantages of being bilingual

End of musical sting

Values

Clip:
Anjana Balachandran (00.10.12 – 00.10.42): I think the value in learning any language is connecting with people, having that deeper level of connection and really being able to communicate with people. That’s something I truly value, but, specifically, Canada’s two official languages is, I think, a huge part of it is acknowledging and maintaining Canada’s heritage.

AV: Anjana Balachandran is a university student who was born in Montréal but grew up in Ottawa. She isn’t the only one who believes that a deeper connection can be made when two people are speaking the same language.

GD: Emily Greene, from Newfoundland and Labrador, explains that this connection can be not only deep but also instant.

Clip:
Emily Greene (00.17.22 – 00.17.52): I find that whenever I’m in an English-dominant, like, region and I find someone else who speaks French, it’s like automatic connection. It’s like, “Oh my god we’re besties! Like you speak French, I speak French. Okay, we gotta be best friends now.” Whereas if I’m in Quebec somewhere and I find someone else who speaks English, I’m like “Oh my god you speak English!” And they’re like “Yeah!” And I’m like, “Okay, now we gotta be best friends!” So, being able to have that connection with other people who are bilingual is a huge thing!

GD: I love that! Maybe that’s why people say Canadians are so kind!

AV: . . . and polite, and generous, and kind, and welcoming . . .

GD: Yes, yes, we get it—Canadians are pretty great! Could the fact that we can speak with so many people around the world in English and French be linked to our Canadian values of kindness and openness?

AV: Of course! Canada’s official bilingualism is a distinguishing trait that we’re famous for all over the world, and Vincent Ménard thinks it’s our best feature.

Clip:
Vincent Ménard (00.17.38 – 00.18.23): A single language for a country . . . well, you can certainly have a culture, but the fact that there’s two languages in Canada, you will have a completely different community or culture between English-speaking and French speaking in the same country and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It means that there’s a variety of people and there’s a variety of different ways to celebrate or to speak a different way or to value each other in a different way in the same country, so it’s not homogenous.

AV: The fact that English and French have equal status in the eyes of the law in Canada is a reminder of our values: equity, diversity, justice and inclusion. For Emma Drake, originally from Prince Edward Island and now living in Ottawa, being able to speak both of Canada’s official languages is a matter of respect.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.28.37 – 00.30.49): I think the first value for me is, again, going back to that respect piece. I think it is so important to be able to fully participate in all things that are Canada, and that is, in our two languages, English and French. I think it’s important for us to be able to enter different spaces, different provinces, different cities, different professional and personal settings where we are able to communicate in a way that is respectful, and I think that’s first and foremost the main value. The second piece I would add to that, in the value of knowing of Canada’s official languages, is it is impossible to talk about the value of Canada’s two official languages without talking about the value of the many Indigenous languages that were taken away due to colonization.

Of course, the only reasons that you and I are speaking English and French today is because of the colonization of this territory. And so, I think the value of knowing the official languages is equally with knowing the dark history, that is, Canada’s history and, moving forward, if we have that understanding and, again, we’re coming from that place of respect, it can’t just be about those two official languages. We have to talk about the value of not only being able to participate in Canada with those official languages, but also being able to preserve and support those languages that were taken away in order to make room for English or French. And I think first and foremost, it has to be done in a way that is respectful to those individual Indigenous communities whose languages were taken away. I think for me, going back to the value as number one, respect and being able to participate, but also two, being able to better understand Canada’s colonial history and being able to move forward in a more respectful way when it comes to all the different languages that are here in Canada.

GD: Even though the equal status of our two official languages falls under the priorities and responsibilities of the federal government, Canadians can also reflect the values of bilingualism and linguistic duality, regardless of whether they’re bilingual.

AV: Most of us likely learned one official language before the other and may feel more connected or inclined to use that particular language. That’s not lost on Caleb Perreaux, who has lived in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta!

GD: Wow! A Prairie hat trick!

Clip:
Caleb Perreaux (00.16.08 – 00.16.38): Obviously, there’s one side you stick to more than the other. I don’t think anybody can do perfectly right in the middle of that line and you tend to, like, do a bigger effort in one of the languages more than the other even if it’s by a slim margin but, yeah, so the value of it is . . . just being able to reach that many more people and understand, like, those cultures, I would say.

GD: Caleb has a good point. Language is like a key that opens the door to another culture (its cuisine, music, literature, traditions, and challenges)! It’s also something that Bailey Ross discovered where he lives in Nova Scotia . . .

Clip:
Bailey Ross (00.16.04 – 00.16.51): You’re not limited to just that population who shares the same language as you. You get to learn a whole new different culture. You’re exposed to a whole new different language, people, the ways they live. I mean, when I moved to Clare, it was completely the polar opposite from when I was living in Digby. I never knew the issues surrounding the French language. I didn’t realize. Linguistic insecurity, I thought it was just something for Anglophones because of our stereotypical accent that we have, but I realized it’s much larger than that.

Opening doors

AV: When we were talking with young Canadians, something that came up a lot was the idea that language is a door that opens you up to the world!

GD: And you don’t have to take our word for it . . . listen to this!

Clips:
Bailey Ross (00.14.24-00.14.27): It opens so many doors. [translation]
Jolanta Bird (00.13.06 – 00.13.07): It’s opened a lot of doors for opportunities.
Malcolm Lewis-Richmond (00.28.56 – 00.28.59): Learning French . . . opened up a lot of doors for me. [translation]
Anjana Balachandran (00.10.53 – 00.10.56): Opened up so many doors.
Emma Dreher (00.26.10 – 00.26.11): It also opened the door for me. [translation]

AV: To open doors means to create opportunities that lead to success.

GD: I like that!

AV: Speaking Canada’s two official languages, as well as any heritage and Indigenous languages, is extremely beneficial to each of us, as it can bring us jobs, scholarships, new friends, new experiences, new knowledge and a better understanding of who we are and what we are as a country. Bailey Ross is from an English-speaking family in Nova Scotia, but many of his life experiences come from his ability to communicate in French.

Clip:
Bailey Ross (00.14.21 – 00.15.42): For me, as a bilingual person, it opens so many doors. I have a lot more opportunities now. I mean, if I didn’t speak French, all the friends I made at university, I would’ve never met them. It’s because of my second language that I was able to meet people. Because of my second language, I was able to take part in conferences—like this interview, for example—conferences across Canada. It’ll be easier for me to get a job as a teacher because there’s a shortage of French-speaking teachers in Nova Scotia and in Canada. Which means that . . . I can also communicate with the whole country, rather than just the English majority. Now, I can communicate and develop more connections with other people. I had the opportunity to learn about a whole new culture. That’s it. [translation]

GD:Like Bailey Ross, Malcolm Lewis-Richmond can’t imagine life without speaking both official languages and has absolutely no regrets about learning French as an English-speaking Quebecer.

Clip:
Malcolm Lewis-Richmond (00.28.53 – 00.29.34): If I had decided to just stay within the minority English-speaking community in Quebec, I would’ve left a lot of doors closed. It would’ve literally been like closing doors right in my face . . . . So, it was really a learning process, learning French, that opened up a lot of doors for me and allowed me to be able to choose my own future in Canada, to be able to choose where I wanted to go, to be able to discover so many new things. So, I have no regrets about having gone to school in French and having continued to learn French and having integrated into the French-speaking community. [translation]

GD:The advantages of bilingualism are not always tangible, like job opportunities or the people you meet, like Caleb describes.

Clip:
Caleb Perreaux (00.19.33 – 00.20.39): Well, I’ll do a little bit of both, so I’d say, in general, just the people I’ve been able to meet through both, it’s just . . . it’s indescribable just how thankful and lucky I am to be able to meet who I’ve met and have the opportunities that I’ve had through my knowledge of both languages. Like, I would say, for example, I covered three professional teams in Edmonton, like, professional sports teams, and the only reason I’m able to do that is because I speak French but they’re in English. You know . . . it’s a dynamic that’s very strange and I’m still learning, but I think it’s the most interesting thing. Like, for example, I did an interview with the assistant coach of a team where he was the only person who spoke French in the entire organization, like, down from the management down to, like, the janitors of the arena, right? So, just things like that and I’d say more concretely, well, I guess I just named the more concrete example but, yeah, just the occasions and the people I’ve gotten to meet, it’s just wonderful.

AV: For Emma Dreher, bilingualism has molded her identity, and speaking both English and French has completely changed the direction her life has taken.

Clip:
Emma Dreher (00.33.19 – 00.34.08):It has completely determined, I’d say, my identity and my path in . . . for my future, on an academic level, etc. It also opened the door for me as a really unique culture that I think only a very small percentage of the world knows exactly what it is and how it works. So, it’s like, it’s like a club, basically. [translation]

I guess it is the best way to phrase it, I think. It’s just really fun to just be able to switch between languages and everyone gets me and hopefully the people listening to this podcast do too. Yes, I really enjoy being able to switch between the two.

Extro

GD: Alright, Ahdithya, I think that concludes our three-part podcast series, “Let’s Talk Bilingualism,” brought to you by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

AV: Well, I believe Yasser Al-Asmi sums it up best.

**Music: Start feel-good conclusion music here ?

Clip:
Yasser Al-Asmi (00.20.29 – 00.20.41): When I learned English first, I thought that this is it. Now, Canada is open to me. I can do everything. But it was only until I learned French that realize there’s much more to Canada there.

AV: We hope you enjoyed this podcast and that you maybe learned a little bit about the realities of living in both of Canada’s official languages.

GD: And we encourage you to continue the conversation on identity, linguistic insecurity, privilege, access to opportunities, and the value of bilingualism on a national, local and personal level.

AV: To learn more about Canada’s official languages and your language rights, visit the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages’ website. And make sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter too!

GD: Bye everyone! And thanks!
AV: Until next time! Thanks for listening!

* Musical Sting*

End

Let’s Talk Bilingualism // Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme
Episode 3: The advantages of being bilingual
Épisode 3 : Les avantages d’être bilingue

Intro podcast

*Musical Sting / Pause Musicale*

GD : Je m’appelle Geneviève Dupuis.

AV: And I’m Ahdithya Visweswaran.

GD : Depuis le début de la série, on suit de jeunes Canadiens et Canadiennes bilingues qui discutent des défis et des avantages de vivre sa vie dans les deux langues officielles!

AV: So far, we’ve covered issues surrounding identity, access, privilege and motivation.

GD : On a discuté d’insécurité linguistique et des défis liés à l’apprentissage d’une langue seconde.

AV: Sooooooo . . . what’s left?

GD : Les avantages du bilinguisme!

GD : Parce qu’on sait très bien que les avantages du bilinguisme ne se limitent pas à une meilleure accessibilité aux emplois et aux bourses.

AV: It’s also about the people we can meet, and the life experiences it can bring.

GD: Let’s talk bilingualism!

AV : Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme!

Intro épisode 3 : Les avantages d’être bilingue | intro episode 3: The advantages of being bilingual

*Musical Sting / Pause Musicale *

AV : Nous avons tous entendu la chanson : nos enseignants et nos parents qui nous répètent que le fait de parler plus d’une langue nous ouvrira des portes et nous donnera accès à plusieurs occasions autrement inaccessibles!

GD: But is all that really true or are they just trying to get us to drink the “Canadian Kool-Aid?”

AV: Well, let’s see what Vincent Ménard, a young bilingual from Yukon, has to say about bilingualism and opportunity . . .

Extrait :
Vincent Ménard (00.23.43 – 00.23.57) : Avoir les deux langues, je trouve que c’est vraiment un atout pis je sais […] qu’on me dit ça souvent quand j’étais à l’école, d’avoir les deux langues que ça va être utile d’avoir le français surtout parce qu’y’a pas beaucoup de personnes qui parlent le français à l’extérieur du Québec.

Narration:
GD: An asset! That’s what knowing both official languages is to him.

Extrait :
Vincent Ménard (00.23.58 – 00.24.23) : Donc c’est sûr, je sais qu’on le dit souvent, mais c’est vraiment un atout d’avoir les deux langues et de comprendre les deux langues, pas seulement pour la langue, mais pour la culture qui est derrière, parce que c’est deux cultures différentes, surtout au Canada. Pis, si on est capable de comprendre les deux cultures, ben on est capable de différencier nos différences, si on peut le mettre de cette manière-là.

AV : Et Vincent n’est pas seul! Tous les jeunes avec qui nous avons jasé croient que le fait de pouvoir parler plus d’une langue (qu’elle soit officielle ou non) est en fait, très avantageux. On ne veut peut-être pas l’admettre, mais…

GD: Nooooo, don’t say it . . .

AV : …nos enseignants et nos parents avaient peut-être raison!

Début de la pause musicale

AV: episode three

GD : Les avantages d’être bilingue

Fin de la pause musicale

Les valeurs | values

Clip:
Anjana Balachandran (00.10.12 – 00.10.42): I think the value in learning any language is connecting with people, having that deeper level of connection and really being able to communicate with people. That’s something I truly value, but, specifically, Canada’s two official languages is, I think, a huge part of it is acknowledging and maintaining Canada’s heritage.

AV : Anjana Balachandran est une étudiante universitaire qui est née à Montréal, mais qui a grandi à Ottawa. Elle n’est pas la seule qui croit qu’une connexion profonde peut s’établir lorsqu’on parle la même langue que quelqu’un.

GD : De son côté, Emily Greene de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador nous a expliqué que cette connexion peut être non seulement profonde, mais aussi « instantanée ».

Clip:
Emily Greene (00.17.22 – 00.17.52): I find that whenever I’m in an English-dominant, like, region and I find someone else who speaks French, it’s like automatic connection. It’s like, “Oh my God we’re besties! Like you speak French, I speak French. Okay, we gotta be best friends now.” Whereas if I’m in Quebec somewhere and I find someone else who speaks English, I’m like “Oh my god you speak English!” And they’re like “Yeah!” And I’m like, “Okay, now we gotta be best friends!” So, being able to have that connection with other people who are bilingualis a huge thing!

GD: J’adore! Maybe that’s why people say Canadians are so kind!

AV : … et polis, et généreux, et attentionnés, et bienveillants…

GD: Yes, yes, we get it—Canadians are pretty great! Could the fact that we can speak with so many people around the world in English and French be linked to our Canadian values of kindness and openness?

AV : Surement! Le bilinguisme officiel du Canada est une caractéristique particulière à notre pays pour laquelle nous sommes reconnus partout au monde, et Vincent Ménard croit que c’est notre plus bel atout.

Clip:
Vincent Ménard (00.17.38 – 00.18.23 ): A single language for a country . . . well, you can certainly have a culture, but the fact that there’s two languages in Canada, you will have a completely different community or culture between English-speaking and French speaking in the same country and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It means that there’s a variety of people and there’s a variety of different ways to celebrate or to speak a different way or to value each other in a different way in the same country so it’s not homogenous.

AV : Le fait qu’au Canada le français et l’anglais ont le même niveau d’importance aux yeux de la loi est un rappel de nos valeurs : l’équité, la diversité, la justice et l’inclusion. Pour Emma Drake, originaire de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard et maintenant résidente d’Ottawa, le fait de parler les deux langues officielles du Canada est une question de respect.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.28.37 – 00.30.49): I think the first value for me is, again, going back to that respect piece. I think it is so important to be able to fully participate in all things that are Canada, and that is, in our two languages, English and French. I think it’s important for us to be able to enter different spaces, different provinces, different cities, different professional and personal settings where we are able to communicate in a way that is respectful, and I think that’s first and foremost the main value. The second piece I would add to that, in the value of knowing of Canada’s official languages, is it is impossible to talk about the value of Canada’s twoofficial languages without talking about the value of the many Indigenous languages that were taken away due to colonization.

Of course, the only reasons that you and I are speaking English and French today is because of the colonization of this territory. And so, I think the value of knowing the official languages is equally with knowing the dark history, that is, Canada’s history and, moving forward, if we have that understanding and, again, we’re coming from that place of respect, it can’t just be about those two official languages. We have to talk about the value of not only being able to participate in Canada with those official languages, but also being able to preserve and support those languages that were taken away in order to make room for English or French. And I think first and foremost, it has to be done in a way that is respectful to those individual Indigenous communities whose languages were taken away. I think for me, going back to the value as number one, respect and being able to participate, but also two, being able to better understand Canada’s colonial history and being able to move forward in a more respectful way when it comes to all the different languages that are here in Canada.

GD : Bien que l’égalité des deux langues officielles demeure une priorité et une responsabilité du gouvernement fédéral, les Canadiens et les Canadiennes aussi peuvent refléter les valeurs du bilinguisme et de la dualité linguistique, qu’ils soient bilingues ou non.

AV: Most of us likely learned one official language before the other and may feel more connected or inclined to use that particular language. That’s not lost on Caleb Perreaux, who has lived in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta!

GD : Wow! Un tour du chapeau des Prairies!

Clip:
Caleb Perreaux (00.16.08 – 00.16.38): Obviously, there’s one side you stick to more than the other. I don’t think anybody can do perfectly right in the middle of that line and you tend to, like, do a bigger effort in one of the languages more than the other even if it’s by a slim margin but, yeah, so the value of it is . . . just being able to reach that many more people and understand, like, those cultures, I would say.

GD : Caleb a bien raison. Une langue c’est comme une clé qui permet de découvrir une culture (sa cuisine, sa musique, sa littérature, ses traditions et ses défis)! C’est aussi quelque chose que Bailey Ross a découvert chez lui en Nouvelle-Écosse…

Clip:
Bailey Ross (00.16.04 – 00.16.51): You’re not limited to just that population who shares the same language as you. You get to learn a whole new different culture. You’re exposed to a whole new different language, people, the ways they live. I mean, when I moved to Clare, it was completely the polar opposite from when I was living in Digby. I never knew the issues surrounding the French language. I didn’t realize. Linguistic insecurity, I thought it was just something for Anglophones because of our stereotypical accent that we have, but I realized it’s much larger than that.

Ouvrir des portes | opening doors

AV : Lors de nos discussions avec les jeunes, une chose qui revenait souvent est l’idée que la langue est une porte qui permet de s’ouvrir sur le monde!

GD: And you don’t have to take our word for it . . . listen to this!

Extraits :
Bailey Ross (00.14.24-00.14.27) : Ça ouvre tellement de portes.
Jolanta Bird (00.13.06 – 00.13.07): It’s opened a lot of doors for opportunities.
Malcolm Lewis-Richmond (00.28.56 – 00.28.59) : Apprendre le français […] m’a ouvert beaucoup de portes.
Anjana Balachandran (00.10.53 – 00.10.56): Opened upso many doors.
Emma Dreher (00.26.10 – 00.26.11) : Cela m’a aussi ouvert la porte.

AV: To open doors means to create opportunities that lead to success.

GD : I like that! Je le répète en français : Ouvrir des portes signifie créer des occasions qui mènent à la réussite!

AV: Speaking Canada’s two official languages, as well as any heritage and Indigenous languages, is extremely beneficial to each of us, as it can bring us jobs, scholarships, new friends, new experiences, new knowledge and a better understanding of who we are and what we are as a country. Bailey Ross is from an English-speaking family in Nova Scotia but many of his life experiences come from his ability to communicate in French.

Extrait :
Bailey Ross (00.14.21 – 00.15.42) : Pour moi là, étant une personne bilingue, ça ouvre tellement de portes. J’ai beaucoup plus d’opportunités maintenant. I mean, si je parlais pas français, tous mes ami.e.s que je me suis fait.e.s à l’université, j’aurais jamais rencontré mes ami.e.s. C’est à cause de ma deuxième langue que j’ai pu rencontrer du monde. Grâce à ma deuxième langue, j’ai pu participer à des colloques comme cet entretien-ci par exemple, des colloques à travers le Canada. Je vais être en mesure d’avoir un emploi d’enseignement plus facilement parce qu’il y a une pénurie d’enseignants francophones en Nouvelle-Écosse et au Canada. Ça fait que… aussi, je suis en mesure de communiquer avec tout le pays, plutôt que juste la majorité des anglophones. Maintenant je peux communiquer et développer plus de liens avec d’autre monde. J’ai eu l’occasion d’apprendre toute une nouvelle culture là. C’est ça.

GD :Tout comme Bailey Ross, Malcolm Lewis-Richmond ne peut s’imaginer une vie sans parler les deux langues officielles et ne regrette pas du tout l’apprentissage du français en tant qu’anglophone minoritaire au Québec.

Extrait :
Malcolm Lewis-Richmond (00.28.53 – 00.29.34) : Si j’avais décidé de simplement rester dans la communauté minoritaire anglophone au Québec, j’aurais laissé plusieurs portes fermées. Ça aurait été littéralement de fermer les portes devant moi… Donc, c’était vraiment un processus d’apprentissage, d’apprendre le français, qui m’a ouvert beaucoup de portes et qui m’a permis de pouvoir choisir vraiment mon destin au Canada, de pouvoir choisir où je voulais m’en aller, de pouvoir découvrir tant de nouvelles choses. Donc, je ne regrette aucunement d’avoir poursuivi mes études en français et d’avoir poursuivi mon apprentissage du français et d’avoir intégré la communauté d’expression française.

GD :Les avantages du bilinguisme ne sont pas toujours tangibles, comme les possibilités d’emploi ou les rencontres dont nous parle Caleb.

Clip:
Caleb Perreaux (00.19.33 – 00.20.39): Well, I’ll do a little bit of both, so I’d say, in general, just the people I’ve been able to meet through both it’s just . . . it’s indescribable just how thankful and lucky I am to be able to meet who I’ve met and have the opportunities that I’ve had through my knowledge of both languages. Like, I would say, for example, I covered three professional teams in Edmonton, like, professional sports teams, and the only reason I’m able to do that is because I speak French but they’re in English. You know . . . it’s a dynamic that’s very strange and I’m still learning, but I think it’s the most interesting thing. Like, for example, I did an interview with the assistant coach of a team where he was the only person who spoke French in the entire organization, like, down from the management down to, like, the janitors of the arena, right? So, just things like that and I’d say more concretely, well, I guess I just named the more concrete example but, yeah, just the occasions and the people I’ve gotten to meet, it’s just wonderful.

AV: For Emma Dreher, bilingualism has molded her identity, and speaking both English and French has completely changed the direction her life has taken.

Extrait :
Emma Dreher (00.33.19 – 00.34.08) : Ça a complètement déterminé, je dirais, mon identité et mon parcours dans pour mon futur, sur le côté éducation, etc. Cela m’a aussi ouvert la porte comme une culture vraiment unique que je pense que seule une plus petite proportion du monde connaisse exactement comment c’est et comment ça fonctionne. Donc, c’est comme, « it’s like a club basically ». I guess it is the best way to phrase it, I think, it’s just really fun to just be able to switch between languages and everyone gets me and hopefully the people listening to this podcast do too. Yes, I really enjoy being able to switch between the two.

Extro

GD: Alright, Ahdithya, I think that concludes our three-part podcast series, “Let’s Talk Bilingualism,” brought to you by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

AV: Well, I believe Yasser Al-Asmi sums it up best.

**Musique : Start feel-good conclusion music here :-)

Clip:
Yasser Al-Asmi (00.20.29 – 00.20.41): When I learned English first, I thought that this is it. Now, Canada is open to me. I can do everything. But it was only until I learned French that realize there’s much more to Canada there.

AV : Nous espérons que vous avez apprécié ce balado et que vous avez peut-être même appris un petit quelque chose sur les réalités entourant la vie dans les deux langues officielles du Canada.

GD : On vous encourage à continuer le dialogue sur l’identité, l’insécurité linguistique, le privilège, l’accès aux occasions et la valeur du bilinguisme au pays, sur vos réseaux et dans votre entourage.

AV : Pour en connaître davantage sur les langues officielles du Canada et vos droits linguistiques, rendez-vous sur le site Web du Commissariat aux langues officielles. And make sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter too!

GD: Bye everyone! Merci!

AV : À la prochaine! Thanks for listening!

* Musical Sting / Pause Musicale *

Fin

Let’s Talk Bilingualism
Episode 2: My languages: Learning and maintaining

Intro podcast

*Musical Sting*

GD: Hello! Welcome to the second episode of “Let’s Talk Bilingualism,” a three-part podcast series from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada.

AV: My name is Ahdithya Visweswaran.

GD: And I’m Geneviève Dupuis.

AV: And we are the hosts of today’s podcast. Thanks for joining us!

GD: Living in Canada, there have probably been times where you’ve heard, read and maybe even had to say something . . . TWICE in both official languages.

AV: That’s the beauty—and also the challenge—of living in a bilingual country.

GD: We invite you to come along with us as we take a closer look at the experiences of young Canadians who talk about the benefits and challenges of living in two official languages!

Intro episode 2: Learning a second language

*Musical Sting*

Voice 1: “Learning a second language will make you smarter!”
Voice 2: “Learning a second language will open doors for you!”
Voice 3: “Learning a second language will improve your first language.”

AV: Learning a second language (or a third, or even a fourth, for that matter) changes the way you see and interact with the people around you. But it certainly isn’t easy. In order to reap the benefits of the new language you have learned or are learning, there can be many obstacles to overcome.

GD: In the first episode of our series, we talked about linguistic insecurity, which can be an impediment to learning—either self-imposed or the result of our environment. But that’s not the only factor that can drastically influence the way we learn a language and the way we maintain that language.

AV: Think about it. How did you learn your second language? Did you have a teacher or a tutor?

GD: Were you in immersion or a second-language program?

AV: Did you learn using YouTube videos? Or an app on your phone?

GD: Or talking with friends or colleagues?

AV: No matter how you learned or are learning a new language, many things can affect the process, like access, privilege and motivation.

Start of musical sting

AV: EPISODE TWO

GD: My languages: Learning them and maintaining them

End of musical sting

Access to learning

GD: The Office of the Commissioner considers young Canadians to be “essential partners in defining a modern vision of official languages” and their contemporary value. That’s why we talked to a wide variety of youth from across Canada to find out about their experiences in learning their second language.

AV: Every story is unique! When Yasser Al-Asmi, a 21-year-old medical student at the Université de Sherbrooke in Moncton, first arrived in Canada, he could speak some English and no French.

GD: But to be able to study in Moncton, his host city, he had to learn French online. For Yasser, learning both official languages was a matter of survival and of integrating into Canadian society.

Clip:
Yasser Al-Asmi (00.09.20 – 00.13.44): I was 15 years old when I came to Canada. Now I’m 21. So, I knew the basics, because I had to . . . As a new family here in Canada . . . I was the one in my family of six who had to communicate with the landlord, the hospital, the bank—I helped my family with all of that, so I was very “immersed.” I was also going to Moncton High School in English, so that immersion in society and also in school helped me to learn English very quickly. A few months later, after all this immersion, I was able to roll with English, to communicate, and . . . also because I had no choice, I had to communicate in English so that we could get by. And like I said, this intense immersion helped me to learn the language quickly. But French . . . how did I learn French? We live in Moncton. Moncton is in New Brunswick. And New Brunswick is a bilingual province. Plus, before I finished high school, I knew I wanted to go to university, and there isn’t really an English university in Moncton that has the program I wanted. But the Université de Moncton, which is a French university, is very close to where I live, I can even walk there. So I had to make a choice: Would I go to French university, which you could say is a bit of a crazy decision because I didn’t speak French and classes were starting in a few months, or could I move to Fredericton or Sackville to go to university in English, but that would be hard because I hadn’t been in Canada that long. Back then, I’d only been in Moncton for two years. I was living with my family. I needed my family and they needed me, and it would cost a lot of money. So, in the end, I was encouraged to go to school in French. I stayed in Moncton and enrolled in a health sciences program called DSS. It’s a very special program because you can go into medicine after just two years instead of four, which is standard in the rest of Canada. And it’s really competitive. So, a few months before starting university, I began to learn a bit of French on YouTube, a bit on apps like Duolingo and others. I tried doing activities with other organizations here, and tried to learn what I could. But when I started university, I wasn’t strong enough in French. I couldn’t even understand the professors. So, it really was a huge challenge, it was an experience, but I didn’t have a choice except to . . . I have to succeed. Because it’s my future. I wasn’t really able to go to university in English, And when my motivation slips, I remember that my parents, my family, they have dreams for me, that my parents work really hard to give us stability here in Canada, and that to succeed, to live . . . we already lost so much during the war in Syria. And now, we must, we have to survive, we have to live. Uh, I didn’t have a choice, I have to succeed. [translation]

GD: Yasser considers himself fortunate to be living in a bilingual province where he has plenty of opportunities to speak in either official language:

Clip:
Yasser Al-Asmi (00.16.23 – 00.16.42): I think I’m lucky . . . broadly because I have a good balance between both languages. It’s a bilingual province. You always have the choice to speak French or English wherever you go. I mean, when, like, you want restaurants, hospitals, banks, all of that. You can always speak any language.

Narration:
AV: It’s important to recognize that not everyone lives in a bilingual province where they have the opportunity to speak either English or French.

GD: Ask one who knows: Caleb Perreaux was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and then moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he now lives and works as a journalist.

Clip:
Caleb Perreaux (00.01.47 – 00.02.35): So, for me, as someone who grew up in a minority setting, well, in a minority linguistic situation . . . like, it was just strange because it was a mix of both languages for different things, right? So, for example, living in Alberta, specifically in Edmonton, and I’m an avid sports fan, and as a kid, I always grew up playing sports, so I grew up playing baseball . . . and all sorts of different sports, so right up until high school . . . like I said, I played baseball in English but, at the same time, my whole life would be entirely in French, so it’s like a weird adjustment of . . . I don’t know how to say that, but it was like two different worlds almost at that point in my life.

AV: Many Canadians, like Caleb, live as a linguistic minority. That means you don’t always get to pick and choose your opportunities. It also requires making a daily effort to maintain your first or second official language.

Clip:
Caleb Perreaux (00.08.38 – 00.08.44)(00.08.56 – 00.09.10): You make more of an effort to speak your language, to live in your language as much as possible . . . . I have friends who are English and friends who are French, so . . . you do your best to live in French without limiting yourself in terms of English or the language of the majority. [translation]

GD: Just like Caleb, Emily Greene, from Newfoundland and Labrador, explains that speaking French (her mother tongue) is not always straightforward.

Clip:
Emily Greene (00.11.05 – 00.13.10): I’m lucky that a couple of girls I work with are Francophone, so we can talk to each other in French, and all that, so that helps a bit. And I try to talk to my grandparents in French as much as possible, but they’re in Quebec right now, so with COVID and everything, it’s been like two years since I’ve been to visit them, so I couldn’t practise my French all that much. But I surround myself with people who speak French to make sure that I keep up my French. Especially when I was in high school . . . I decided to do immersion because the French school here didn’t have sports after Grade 10. All of the courses were online. So it was going to be very difficult to do all that and then, after that, go to university. It would’ve been a big change. So, I decided to do immersion, and it’s there that I found that I’d lost a lot of my French. Then in Grade 8–9, I got involved with Franco-Jeunes, but that was the only thing I was involved in. My friends weren’t Francophones. I was involved with Franco-Jeunes, but that was like once a month, and I didn’t speak French with my mom. We used to talk to each other in French because she’s Francophone, but her English is really good and at home we speak English. So, I started to hang out with young people from Fermont, which is just over the border in Quebec. So, they all spoke French. So, I hung out with them and I said, “Okay, now I have to get my French back. That’s enough—it’s not true that I’m not going to be able to speak French properly, really properly, like I could before.” So, by surrounding myself with young Francophones and by doing activities with Franco-Jeunes and all that, I was able to keep most of my French. But it sure is really hard when everyone here speaks English, and most of them aren’t really bothered to learn French. So, that’s how I’ve been able to keep up my French so far, but it’s not easy! [translation]

Narration:
GD: Whether it’s a first language you want to maintain or a second language you want to learn, in a linguistic minority context, either can be quite challenging.

AV: For many of these young people, it’s a privilege simply to have access to places where they can learn and speak their second official language.

*Musical Sting*

Privilege

Narration:
GD: When we think of privilege, we might not always think of it in the context of learning a new language. Privilege can be based on our identity affiliations, like our social class, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, gender or religion. For many young people, the ability to learn or speak both official languages is seen as a privilege and can also depend on where you live in Canada.

AV: That’s how it was with Bailey Ross, who grew up in an English family in Nova Scotia but who had access to French all of his life, from elementary school right through to university.

Clip:
Bailey Ross (00.10.54 – 00.11.29): My second official language being French . . . I learned it through the French immersion program at our local school, where I grew up in Digby. We were fortunate enough to have it from grade primary right through to Grade 12. So, every school year, except for senior high, where there were less classes in French, all of my core subjects would have been taught in my second language. And then, once I graduated Grade 12, I went to a Francophone university and got a BA in French there.

Narration:
AV: For Emma Drake, it wasn’t always easy to access different language opportunities. Emma is from Morell, a village of some 300 people on Prince Edward Island. There is no French immersion or French school in Morell.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.12.56 – 00.14.56): Yeah, as I said, in grade school, in rural Prince Edward Island, my hometown village of Morell, I’ll give it a shout-out. As I said, there was only core French, and, so, at a certain moment, I believe I was in Grade 10 at this time, I didn’t feel satisfied with what I was getting out of the curriculum and I really didn’t feel like what I was learning was going to provide me the stepping stone to that next level of knowledge in learning a new language. And so, for the remainder of grade school, I did not take French classes, because I simply just wasn’t learning what I felt I wanted to learn out of it. Then, [this] gets me to kind of where I really started to learn the language. So, in 2017, I was selected to represent Canada to Belgium as part of the Rotary International Youth Exchange and, for listeners who are wondering what that is, it is an international youth exchange facilitated by Rotary clubs worldwide, where folks are invited to exchange students typically within the grade school level in those upper years typically in probably Grade 11 and 12 and that year after to take an opportunity to learn and live in these different communities for a year. So, for me, I specifically lived in the Wallonia region of Belgium, which is the Francophone region. And, so, for me, what that looked like was I lived with four host families over the span of that year and attended Grade 12 at Institut Saint‑Joseph at Charlevoix, which is the city where I was attending school, and, so, over this year, it was a total immersion experience for me. So, that is truly where I did learn French.

GD: Emma recognizes that she was privileged to be able to travel to Belgium to learn French.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.14.56 – 00.16.17): . . . But what I will say, kind of on top of that, as an Anglophone Canadian, there is an immense amount of privilege that I experienced in being able to participate in this Rotary youth exchange. One example would be that my mom was willing to equally host exchange students in order to allow me to be able to be hosted. In Belgium, another privilege was that I was able to afford my travel to Belgium, which is quite expensive, especially going across seas. And then, the last piece, in terms of that privilege, was I could afford to not work for the year, because I was redoing my Grade 12 education in Belgium. So, I do recognize that while it was an amazing experience and it was amazing to be immersed in that culture fully and really allowed me to not only learn the language, but also learn about different cultures who were in the communities that I was attending school, as well as exchange students. There is a lot of privilege that is associated with that that I know very few Canadians who would be learning an official language would be afforded. So, that is my personal experience in learning the second official language.

AV: Over in Quebec, Malcolm Lewis-Richmond is a young bilingual man who was the founding president of Youth 4 Youth Québec, an organization that works for young English-speaking Quebecers. Malcolm considers that living in Quebec has been a privilege for him.

Clip:
Malcolm Lewis-Richmond (00.10.16 – 00.11.40): For me, it’s a great asset to be able to speak a second language. When I was very young, I realized that being in Quebec (did I mention that the rest of my family had left Quebec to move to Ontario and beyond?), out of all my cousins, I’m the only one . . . my brother and I are the only ones who learned French at a young age and throughout our schooling, right through high school. This is a privilege my cousins didn’t have in Ontario and Alberta. So, I was able to develop my skills in my second language to the point where I can work in French, have friends who speak French, play sports with Francophones, and now, work in an institution that fully supports linguistic duality in Canada. So, for me, it’s truly a great privilege to be able to learn a second language and to be able to master all of those language skills. [translation]

GD: Echoing Malcom’s sentiment, Jolanta Bird of Saskatchewan also recognizes the privilege of having the opportunity to learn both official languages. Being the only one in her family who could speak French was sometimes a challenge. But learning a second language opened so many doors and was worth it in her eyes.

Clip:
Jolanta Bird (00.11.42 – 00.11.56): So, we’re actually pretty lucky to be able to learn both. And that’s just the value in it, the value in education, the value of being privileged enough to actually learn both languages and to have an education in both.

Motivation

AV: If access and privilege are the first challenges when learning a second language, it certainly doesn’t stop there. Having the motivation and the drive to seek out or create opportunities to use and maintain that language can be a fight of its own.

GD: Especially in a minority situation! While it’s true that there are institutions in many areas of the country that operate in the official language of the minority population—like Campus Saint‑Jean in Alberta and the city of Sudbury, Ontario, which provides bilingual services—the question is do we seek out these services and these institutions? Do we speak the minority language on a regular basis? And do we maintain our second language and make an effort not to lose it?

AV: Great questions! Wanting to speak a language and finding people to speak it with can be quite challenging. That’s what Anjana Balachandran discovered while studying political science at the University of Ottawa.

Clip:
Anjana Balachandran (00.07.35 – 00.08.29): For me, the hardest part, I would say, is maintaining my French. So, I’m currently in an immersion program in university, where I do a ton of reading and writing in French. But with that, I’m not necessarily able to always practise my oral skills or communicate with my peers in French, because sometimes it’s just easier to speak in English when everybody else is speaking in English, right? I’m kind of overcoming that and a lot of my Francophone friends, I will talk to them in English, and they will respond to me in French. So, kind of overcoming that barrier is something I’m working on to speak to them in French and, like, step out of my comfort zone, um, but yeah.

GD: It’s definitely not easy, but you have to believe you can do it, and you have to put in the necessary work to do it.

Clip:
Bailey Ross (00.13.42 – 00.13.55): It really takes a lot of self-discipline to maintain it. So, it’ll make that TV watching in French all the more important at home and to make sure that I speak French with as many of my Francophone friends as possible.

Conclusion

AV: For Emma Drake, learning a second language was a matter of opportunity, but maintaining and expanding her fluency in the language was a matter of choice.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.20.07 – 00.21.37): I was in a position of privilege to attend post-secondary and learn it in that context. It was challenging to practise specifically those skills that I wanted to work on, but afterwards, once class was concluded, there was really no opportunity to continue to use it in day-to-day kind of things, because of where I was in Prince Edward Island. Now I am currently in Ottawa, as of two weeks ago. So, I think what I’m most looking forward to is not only continuing to be able to learn it, and to be able to practise it. But again, be in those kind of day-to-day opportunities where you’re able to order off a menu in French or read a roadside in French. And these are truly the opportunities where you’re forced to be able to understand and to remember words and remember sayings and remember pronunciations and things like this. So, I think for me, in Prince Edward Island, it was extremely challenging. I’ve only been in Ottawa for two weeks, so we’ll see. But given the fact that it is shared with Gatineau and the ability to use both English and French, I’m really looking forward to that because I think that’s truly when you are able to learn and retain that language is that consistent kind of opportunity.

Narration:
AV:Emma has quickly realized that after all the time and effort invested in learning a second language, maintaining that language can be the biggest challenge of all!

GD: Speaking a second language is a choice that you have to make every day!

AV: Everything we’ve heard today, Geneviève, is very similar to what was said during the 2019 Officially 50! conference.

GD: It’s true! The conference was organized to mark the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act, but one of the main goals was to consider the next 50 years of bilingualism in Canada.

AV: And that’s exactly what we encourage you to do. Look ahead and ask yourself: What are your linguistic goals for the next few years? Perhaps to learn or improve a second language?

GD: Or help someone else practise speaking their second language?

AV: Or maybe even to change your perspective on what it means to live in a bilingual country?

Extro

Clip:
Anjana Balachandran (00.14.09 – 00.14.40): Something I’m really grateful for, through the ability of speaking both English and French, both official languages of Canada, is the amazing teachers, mentors and, like, professors I’ve met. I’ve met some of the most extraordinary supportive people, both in my high school journey and in university and people that are encouraging that once you succeed, that’s something substantial that I am so grateful for.

Narration:
GD: In the next episode of “Let’s Talk Bilingualism,” we’ll be focusing on the benefits and advantages that come with being bilingual.

AV: Stay tuned for more on our website.

GD: Follow us at www.clo-ocol.gc.ca.

*Musical Sting*

Let’s Talk Bilingualism // Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme
Episode 2: My languages: Learning and maintaining
Épisode 2 : Mes langues : apprendre et maintenir

Intro podcast

*Musical Sting/Pause Musicale*

AV: Hello! Welcome to the second episode of “Let’s Talk Bilingualism,” athree-part podcast series from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada.

GD : Salut! Bienvenue au deuxième épisode de Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme, une série de trois balados du Commissariat aux langues officielles du Canada.

AV: My name is Ahdithya Visweswaran.

GD : Et, je m’appelle Geneviève Dupuis.

AV: And we are the hosts of today’s podcast. Thanks for joining us!

GD: Living in Canada, there have probably been times where you’ve heard, read and maybe even had to say something . . . TWICE in both official languages.

AV : C’est la beauté, mais aussi le défi, de vivre dans un pays bilingue.

GD : On t’invite à nous suivre alors qu’on explore le parcours de jeunes Canadiens et Canadiennes bilingues qui discutent des défis et des avantages de vivre sa vie dans les deux langues officielles!

Intro épisode 2 : L’apprentissage d’une langue seconde | Intro episode 2: Learning a second language

*Musical Sting / Pause Musicale*

Voice/voix 1 : “Learning a second language will make you smarter!”
Voice/voix 2 : « Apprendre une langue seconde va t’ouvrir des portes! »
Voice/voix 3 : “Learning a second language will improve your first language.”

AV: Learning a second language (or a third, or even a fourth, for that matter) changes the way you see and interact with the people around you. But it certainly isn’t easy. In order to reap the benefits of the new language you have learned or are learning, there can be many obstacles to overcome.

GD : Dans le premier épisode de notre série, on a discuté d’insécurité linguistique : un obstacle à l’apprentissage d’une langue qu’on s’impose à soi-même ou qui provient de notre environnement. Mais, ce n’est pas le seul facteur qui peut changer drastiquement la façon dont on apprend une langue et dont on la maintient.

AV: Think about it. How did you learn your second language? Did you have a teacher or a tutor?

GD : Étais-tu inscrit dans une école d’immersion ou un programme de langue seconde?

AV: Did you learn using YouTube videos? Or an app on your phone?

GD : Ou en parlant avec des amis ou des collègues?

AV: No matter how you learned or are learning a new language, many things can affect the process, like access, privilege and motivation.

Début de la pause musicale

AV: EPISODE TWO

GD : Mes langues : les apprendre et les maintenir

Fin de la pause musicale

Accès à l’apprentissage | access to learning

GD : Le Commissariat considère les jeunes comme des « partenaires essentiels à la définition moderne des langues officielles et à leur valeur contemporaine ». C’est pourquoi nous avons jasé avec plusieurs jeunes de partout au Canada pour savoir comment ils ont vécu leur apprentissage d’une langue seconde.

AV: Every story is unique! When Yasser Al-Asmi, a 21-year-old medical student at Université de Sherbrooke in Moncton, first arrived in Canada, he could speak some English and no French.

GD : Toutefois, afin de pouvoir étudier dans sa ville d’accueil, Moncton, Yasser a dû apprendre le français en ligne. Pour lui, l’apprentissage des deux langues officielles était une question de survie et d’intégration au Canada.

Extrait :
Yasser Al-Asmi (00.09.20 – 00.13.44) : Moi, j’avais 15 ans quand je suis venu au Canada. Maintenant j’ai 21. Donc, je savais les bases, mais parce que j’avais à faire… Comme une nouvelle famille ici au Canada, moi, dans ma famille de six personnes, j’avais à faire les communications avec les propriétaires, avec les hôpitaux, les banques, tout ça, j’aidais ma famille, donc j’étais très « immersé ». Et aussi, j’étudiais dans l’école secondaire, à Moncton High School, en anglais, donc cette immersion dans la société et aussi dans l’école m’a aidé à apprendre l’anglais très rapidement. Donc, quelques mois après, avec toute cette immersion, j’étais capable de rouler avec l’anglais, être capable de communiquer et, parce que aussi j’avais aucun choix, il fallait que je communique en anglais pour qu’on puisse vivre. Et, comme j’ai dit, cette intensité d’immersion m’a aidé à apprendre la langue rapidement. Mais le français, le français, comment j’ai appris ça? On est à Moncton. Moncton, c’est au Nouveau-Brunswick. Le Nouveau-Brunswick est une province bilingue. Puis, avant que je finisse mon école secondaire, je voulais étudier à l’université, et puis il n’y a pas vraiment d’université anglaise à Moncton qui a le programme que je voulais. Mais l’Université de Moncton, qui est une université francophone, était vraiment proche de moi. Je pouvais même marcher. Donc j’étais entre les choix. Est-ce que j’étudie en français qui est vraiment une décision un peu folle, on peut dire, parce que je ne parle pas français, l’université va commencer dans quelques mois, ou peut-être que je peux déménager à Fredericton ou à Sackville pour étudier en anglais, mais ça sera vraiment difficile parce que je suis nouveau au Canada. À l’époque, j’avais juste passé deux ans à Moncton. J’étais avec ma famille. J’ai besoin de ma famille, ma famille a besoin de moi et ça coûte beaucoup d’argent. Donc, à la fin, j’étais encouragé d’essayer d’étudier en français. J’ai resté à Moncton. Je faisais un programme en sciences de la santé. On appelle ça le DSS puis c’est un programme très spécial parce que ça te donne la capacité d’appliquer en médecine après juste deux ans d’études, au lieu de quatre ans qui est traditionnel au Canada. Puis c’est vraiment compétitif. Mais, comme ça, quelques mois avant de commencer l’université, j’ai commencé à apprendre un peu le français sur YouTube, sur les applications un peu, Duolingo, un peu les autres applications. J’ai essayé avec les activités des autres organisations ici, donc j’ai essayé d’apprendre ce que je peux. Mais quand j’ai commencé l’université, j’étais pas assez fort en français. Je ne pouvais pas même comprendre les professeur.e.s. Donc, c’était vraiment un grand défi, c’était une expérience, mais j’avais pas le choix sauf de… faut réussir. Parce que c’est ça mon futur. Je n’étais pas vraiment capable d’aller étudier en anglais. Et puis, quand je perds la motivation, moi, je me rappelle que mes parents, ma famille, ils ont des rêves pour moi, que mes parents travaillent vraiment fort pour nous donner de la stabilité ici au Canada et que pour réussir, pour vivre, on a déjà beaucoup perdu dans la guerre en Syrie. Et maintenant, il faut, il faut qu’on survive, il faut qu’on vive. Euh, je n’avais pas le choix, il faut réussir.

GD: Yasser considers himself fortunate to be living in a bilingual province where he has plenty of opportunities to speak in either official language:

Clip:
Yasser Al-Asmi (00.16.23 – 00.16.42): I think I’m lucky . . . broadly because I have a good balance between both languages. It’s a bilingual province. You always have the choice to speak French or English wherever you go. I mean, when, like, you want restaurants, hospitals, banks, all of that. You can always speak any language.

Narration:
AV: It’s important to recognize that not everyone lives in a bilingual province where they have the opportunity to speak either English or French.

GD : C’est le cas de Caleb Perreaux, qui est né à Saskatoon, en Saskatchewan, et qui a grandi à Winnipeg, au Manitoba, avant de déménager à Edmonton, en Alberta, où il vit et travaille maintenant comme journaliste.

Clip:
Caleb Perreaux (00.01.47 – 00.02.35): So, for me, as someone who grew up in a minority setting, well, in a minority linguistic situation . . . like, it was just strange because it was a mix of both languages for different things, right? So, for example, living in Alberta, specifically in Edmonton, and I’m an avid sports fan, and as a kid, I always grew up playing sports, so I grew up playing baseball . . . and all sorts of different sports, so right up until high school . . . like I said, I played baseball in English but, at the same time, my whole life would be entirely in French, so it’s like a weird adjustment of . . . I don’t know how to say that, but it was like two different worlds almost at that point in my life.

AV: Many Canadians, like Caleb, live as a linguistic minority. That means you don’t always get to pick and choose your opportunities. It also requires making a daily effort to maintain your first or second official language.

Extrait :
Caleb Perreaux (00.08.38 – 00.08.44)(00.08.56 – 00.09.10) : Tu fais un plus grand effort de parler ta langue, de vivre dans ta langue autant que possible […]. J’ai des amis qui sont anglophones, j’ai des amis qui sont francophones, donc […] tu fais ton possible de vivre en français sans te limiter en termes de l’anglais ou dans la langue majoritaire.

GD : Tout comme Caleb, Emily Greene de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador explique que ce n’est pas toujours évident de parler en français, sa langue maternelle.

Extrait :
Emily Greene (00.11.05 – 00.13.10) : Je suis chanceuse qu’une couple des filles avec qui je travaille avec sont francophones, donc on peut se parler en français, pis tout ça, donc ça l’aide un peu. Pis j’essaie de parler à mes grands-parents le plus possible en français, mais en ce moment sont au Québec, donc avec COVID pis toute, ça fait comme deux ans depuis que j’ai été les visiter, donc j[e] [n]’ai pas pu pratiquer mon français tant que ça. Mais je m’entoure avec des gens francophones pour m’assurer que je garde mon français. Surtout comme quand j’étais au secondaire, j’ai décidé de faire l’immersion parce que l’école francophone ici offrait pas de sports après la 10e année. Tous les cours étaient en ligne. Donc ça allait être très difficile de faire tout ça pis, après ça, aller à l’université. Ça aurait été un gros changement. Donc, j’ai décidé de faire l’immersion, pis c’est là où est-ce que j’ai trouvé que j’ai perdu beaucoup de mon français. Pis en 8-9e année, j’étais impliquée avec Franco-Jeunes, mais c’était juste Franco-Jeunes que j’étais impliquée avec. Mes amis [n’]étaient pas francophones. J’étais impliquée avec Franco-Jeunes, mais c’était comme une fois tous les mois pis je [ne] parlais pas avec ma mère en français. On se parlait en anglais parce qu’elle est francophone, mais elle parle très bien anglais pis à la maison c’est en anglais. Donc, j’ai commencé à m’entourer avec les jeunes de Fermont, qui est la ville au Québec juste à côté. Donc, eux autres, ils parlaient tous français. Donc je me suis tenue avec eux autres pis j’ai dit « Ok, là faut que je rattrape mon français. Là c’est assez, c[e] [n]’est pas vrai que je [vais] pas pouvoir parler en français comme il faut, ben comme il faut, comme je pouvais avant ». Donc, en m’entourant avec des jeunes francophones et en faisant des activités avec l’association francophone pis tout ça, j’ai été capable de garder la plupart de mon français, mais c’est sûr que c’est très difficile quand tout le monde ici parle anglais pis la plupart ça [ne] leur dérange pas trop d’apprendre le français. Donc, c’est comme ça que j’ai gardé mon français à date, mais c[e] [n]’est pas facile!

Narration:
GD: Whether it’s a first language you want to maintain or a second language you want to learn, in a linguistic minority context, either can be quite challenging.

AV : Pour beaucoup de ces jeunes, le simple fait d’avoir accès à des endroits où on peut apprendre et parler notre seconde langue officielle est synonyme de privilège.

*Musical Sting/Pause Musicale*

Privilège | privilege

Narration:
GD: When we think of privilege, we might not always think of it in the context of learning a new language. Privilege can be based on our identity affiliations, like our social class, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, gender or religion. For many young people, the ability to learn or speak both official languages is seen as a privilege and can also depend on where you live in Canada.

AV : C’est le cas de Bailey Ross, qui a grandi dans une famille anglophone en Nouvelle-Écosse, mais pour qui le français a toujours été accessible dans sa vie, de l’école primaire jusqu’à l’Université.

Clip:
Bailey Ross (00.10.54 – 00.11.29): My second official language being French . . . I learned it through the French immersion program at our local school, where I grew up in Digby. We were fortunate enough to have it from grade primary right through to Grade 12. So, every school year, except for senior high, where there were less classes in French, all of my core subjects would have been taught in my second language. And then, once I graduated Grade 12, I went to a Francophone university and got a BA in French there.

Narration :
AV : Pour Emma Drake, ce n’est pas toujours facile d’avoir accès à différentes occasions linguistiques. Emma est originaire de Morell, un village d’à peu près 300 habitants sur l’Île‑du‑Prince-Édouard qui n’a ni école d’immersion française ni école francophone.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.12.56 – 00.14.56): Yeah, as I said, in grade school, in rural Prince Edward Island, my hometown village of Morell, I’ll give it a shout-out. As I said, there was only core French, and, so, at a certain moment, I believe I was in Grade 10 at this time. I didn’t feel satisfied with what I was getting out of the curriculum and I really didn’t feel like what I was learning was going to provide me the stepping stone to that next level of knowledge in learning a new language, and, so, for the remainder of grade school, I did not take French classes, because I simply just wasn’t learning what I felt I wanted to learn out of it. Then, gets me to kind of where I really started to learn the language. So, in  2017, I was selected to represent Canada to Belgium as part of the Rotary International Youth Exchange and, for listeners who are wondering what that is, it is an international youth exchange facilitated by Rotary clubs worldwide, where folks are invited to exchange students typically within the grade school level in those upper years typically in probably Grade 11 and 12 and that year after to take an opportunity to learn and live in these different communities for a year. So, for me, I specifically lived in the Wallonia region of Belgium, which is the Francophone region. And, so, for me, what that looked like was I lived with four host families over the span of that year and attended Grade 12 at Institut Saint-Joseph at Charlevoix, which is the city where I was attending school, and, so, over this year, it was atotal immersion experience for me. So, that is truly where I did learn French.

GD : Emma reconnaît le privilège qu’elle a eu de pouvoir voyager en Belgique pour apprendre la langue française.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.14.56 – 00.16.17): . . . But what I will say, kind of on top of that, as an Anglophone Canadian, there is an immense amount of privilege that I experienced in being able to participate in this Rotary youth exchange. One example would be that my mom was willing to equally host exchange students in order to allow me to be able to be hosted. In Belgium, another privilege was that I was able to afford my travel to Belgium, which is quite expensive, especially going across seas. And then, the last piece, in terms of that privilege, was I could afford to not work for the year, because I was redoing my Grade 12 education in Belgium. So, I do recognize that while it was an amazing experience and it was amazing to be immersed in that culture fully and really allowed me to not only learn the language, but also learn about different cultures who were in the communities that I was attending school, as well as exchange students. There is a lot of privilege that is associated with that that I know very few Canadians who would be learning an official language would be afforded. So, that is my personal experience in learning the second official language.

AV : Du côté du Québec, Malcolm Lewis-Richmond est un jeune homme bilingue qui a été le président fondateur de Youth 4 Youth Québec, un organisme qui œuvre pour les jeunes d’expression anglaise de la province. Malcolm considère que le fait d’habiter au Québec a été un privilège pour lui.

Extrait :
Malcolm Lewis-Richmond (00.10.16 – 00.11.40) : Pour moi, c’est vraiment une grande richesse de pouvoir s’exprimer dans une deuxième langue. Puis, dès un tout jeune âge, je me suis rendu compte qu’étant au Québec (avant j’ai mentionné que toute ma famille avait quitté Québec pour s’installer notamment en Ontario), parmi mes cousins et cousines, je suis le seul, mon frère et moi, on est les seuls à avoir appris le français dès un jeune âge et durant toutes les années de notre scolarité, jusqu’au secondaire. Cela, c’est un privilège auquel mes cousins et cousines n’ont pas bénéficié en Ontario et en Alberta. Donc, j’ai pu développer mes compétences dans ma langue seconde au point où je suis en mesure d’aller travailler en français, d’aller faire des amis qui parlent français, de jouer à des sports avec des locuteurs du français, et puis, aujourd’hui, de travailler pour une institution qui appuie pleinement la dualité linguistique au Canada. Donc, pour moi, c’était en fait vraiment un grand privilège de pouvoir apprendre une deuxième langue et de pouvoir maîtriser toutes ces compétences linguistiques là.

GD: Echoing Malcom’s sentiment, Jolanta Bird of Saskatchewan also recognizes the privilege of having the opportunity to learn both official languages. Being the only one in her family who could speak French was sometimes a challenge. But learning a second language opened so many doors and was worth it in her eyes.

Clip:
Jolanta Bird (00.11.42 – 00.11.56): So, we’re actually pretty lucky to be able to learn both. And that’s just the value in it, the value in education, the value of being privileged enough to actually learn both languages and to have an education in both.

AV: If access and privilege are the first challenges when learning a second language, it certainly doesn’t stop there. Having the motivation and the drive to seek out or create opportunities to use and maintain that language can be a fight of its own.

GD : Surtout en milieu minoritaire! C’est vrai qu’il existe, dans plusieurs régions du pays, des institutions qui fonctionnent dans la langue officielle minoritaire, comme le Campus Saint-Jean, en Alberta, ou les services bilingues dans une ville comme Sudbury, en Ontario. Mais est-ce qu’on se sert de ces services et de ces institutions? Est-ce qu’on parle cette langue minoritaire régulièrement? Est-ce qu’on maintient notre langue seconde et qu’on fait des efforts pour ne pas la perdre?

AV: Great questions! Wanting to speak a language and finding people to speak it with can be quite challenging. That’s what Anjana Balachandran discovered while studying political science at the University of Ottawa.

Clip:
Anjana Balachandran (00.07.35 – 00.08.29): For me, the hardest part, I would say, is maintaining my French. So, I’m currently in an immersion program in university, where I do a ton of reading and writing in French. But with that, I’m not necessarily able to always practise my oral skills or communicate with my peers in French, because sometimes it’s just easier to speak in English when everybody else is speaking in English, right? I’m kind of overcoming that and a lot of my Francophone friends, I will talk to them in English, and they will respond to me in French. So, kind of overcoming that barrier is something I’m working on to speak to them in French and, like, step out of my comfort zone, um, but yeah.

GD : Ce n’est certainement pas facile, mais il faut y croire et mettre les efforts nécessaires pour le faire.

Clip:
Bailey Ross (00.13.42 – 00.13.55): It really takes a lot of self-discipline to maintain it. So, it’ll make that TV watching in French all the more important at home and to make sure that I speak French with as many of my Francophone friends as possible.

Conclusion

AV : Pour Emma Drake, apprendre une langue seconde a été une question de chance, mais maintenir et approfondir sa maîtrise de la langue est une question de choix.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.20.07 – 00.21.37): I was in a position of privilege to attend post-secondary and learn it in that context. It was challenging to practise specifically those skills that I wanted to work on, but, afterwards, once class was concluded, there was really no opportunity to continue to use it in day-to-day kind of things, because of where I was in Prince Edward Island. Now I am currently in Ottawa, as of two weeks ago. So, I think what I’m most looking forward to is not only continuing to be able to learn it, and to be able to practise it. But again, be in those kind of day to day opportunities where you’re able to order off a menu in French or read a roadside in French. And these are truly the opportunities where you’re forced to be able to understand and to remember words and remember sayings and remember pronunciations and things like this. So, I think for me, in Prince Edward Island, it was extremely challenging. I’ve only been in Ottawa for two weeks, so we’ll see. But given the fact that it is shared with Gatineau and the ability to use both English and French, I’m really looking forward to that because I think that’s truly when you are able to learn and retain that language is that consistent kind of opportunity.

Narration:
AV: Emma has quickly realized that after all the time and effort invested in learning a second language, maintaining that language can be the biggest challenge of all!

GD : Parler une deuxième langue, c’est un choix qui doit se faire quotidiennement!

AV: Everything we’ve heard today, Geneviève, is very similar to what was said during the 2019  Officially 50! conference.

GD : C’est vrai! Lors de cette conférence, on célébrait les 50 ans de la Loi sur les langues officielles, mais, surtout, on a posé un regard sur les 50 prochaines années du bilinguisme au Canada.

AV: And that’s exactly what we encourage you to do. Look ahead and ask yourself: What are your linguistic goals for the next few years? Perhaps to learn or improve a second language?

GD : Aider quelqu’un d’autre à s’exercer à parler sa deuxième langue?

AV: Or maybe even to change your perspective on what it means to live in a bilingual country?

Extro

Clip:
Anjana Balachandran (00.14.09 – 00.14.40): Something I’m really grateful for, through the ability of speaking both English and French, both official languages of Canada, is the amazing teachers, mentors and, like, professors I’ve met. I’ve met some of the most extraordinary supportive people, both in my high school journey and in university and people that are encouraging that once you succeed, that’s something substantial that I am so grateful for.

Narration:
GD: In the next episode of “Let’s Talk Bilingualism,” we’ll be focusing on the benefits and advantages that come with being bilingual.

AV : Dans le prochain épisode de Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme, nous allons mettre l’accent sur les bienfaits et les avantages d’être bilingue.

AV: Stay tuned for more on our website.

GD : Suivez-nous au www.clo-ocol.gc.ca.

*Musical Sting / Pause Musicale*

Let’s Talk Bilingualism
Episode 1: Linguistic identity and security

Intro Podcast

Musical sting

AV: Living in Canada, you’ve probably heard that being bilingual and learning a second language can offer lots of advantages. But let’s be honest. For all the great things it gives you, bilingualism also comes with many challenges—challenges that often go unspoken.

GD: And, as we know well, the challenges that come with bilingualism aren’t just limited to spelling and grammar; they also involve politics, culture and identity!

AV: Because a language is more than just words. For many Canadians it can be very personal.

GD: I’m Geneviève Dupuis.

AV: And I’m Ahdithya Visweswaran. We are the hosts of . . .

AV: Let’s Talk Bilingualism!
GD: (simultaneously) Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme!

AV: Okay, you go first.

GD: Thanks. You’re listening to the “Let’s talk bilingualism!” podcast.

AV: Welcome to the first episode of a new three-part podcast series from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

GD: In this new podcast, we focus on the experiences of young bilingual Canadians who talk about the benefits and challenges of living in two official languages!

Intro episode 1: Identity and security

GD: A few years ago, before the age of COVID-19, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages organized the Officially 50! conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act . . .

AV: . . . and to discuss the future of official languages in Canada.

GD: For the Office of the Commissioner, “Youth are essential partners in defining a modern vision of official languages” and in their contemporary value. That’s why a youth delegation of young Canadians from across the country was invited to come together to share their views and ideas on identity and language.

GD: These young Canadians had discussions about linguistic insecurity . . .

AV: . . . access to learning and quality of education . . .

GD: . . . multiple identities . . .

AV: . . . access to services and jobs . . .

GD: . . . and the advantages of bilingualism.

AV: And that’s the goal of our podcast series! To address each of these topics with more young Canadians from across the country. We want to hear your opinions on the present and your vision for the future of official languages in Canada.

GD: And who knows? Maybe hearing other young Canadians talk about their reality will inspire you to take action by promoting and/or learning a second official language.

Begin musical sting

AV: Episode one

GD: Linguistic identity and security

End musical sting

Identity

GD: Okay, Ahdithya, we’re starting with a big one: Identity!

AV: That’s right, Geneviève. “Identity” is a very simple word that at the same time can be very complicated!

GD: Canadian, immigrant, Saskatchewanian, Black, Indigenous, woman, transgender, gay, Francophone, Anglophone . . . these are all examples of identities that many of us can use to describe ourselves. We all have our own life experiences, and so of course we all have our own identity.

AV: Identity is based on our affiliations, our world views and our experiences: things like race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, abilities and disabilities, religion, political affiliation, and many, many (many!) more.

GD: They all shape us to be who we are as people . . . and as a country!

AV: Today we’ll be exploring linguistic identity and how important it is in how we define who we are.

GD: In Canada, we have two official languages: English and French.

AV: These two languages represent a big part of our identity not only as a country, but also as individual Canadians.

GD: Every Canadian has their own relationship with their country’s official languages. Have you ever thought about yours? Here’s how Vincent Ménard, originally from Whitehorse, Yukon, describes his experience:

Clip:
Vincent Ménard (00.01.58): Well, I use them on a daily basis. Of course, my first language is French, so I’ve been using French since I’ve been born, but English came a little later in my life, so I have practised a lot. I have met a lot of people that speaks English, so it is part of my identity right now to speak in English, communicate in English, laugh in English, tell jokes in English as well as I do it in French. So . . . in adding both languages in my life, both of them are part of my identity. So, I consider myself as bilingual instead of a French speaking, so . . . I contribute that to my identity, I guess.

AV: And here’s a perspective from Emma Drake, a young woman from Prince Edward Island who now lives in Ottawa.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.03.01 – 00.03.15) (00.03.24 – 00.03.46): First and foremost, the official languages represent Canada’s colonial history, with both French and English colonizers, and in terms of myself as a settler here, that definitely contributes to my identity. I think it’s being cognizant of that colonial history while also recognizing the value of languages in Canada and not just our official languages, but language diversity in our country and definitely including those Indigenous languages that so often were being stripped away in order to make room for English and French.

GD: Emma is like many other young Canadians. She’s from a rural community and was exposed to her second official language through school.

Musical sting: “Did you know…”

AV: Let’s listen to what Yasser Al Asmi, a 21-year-old Canadian in Moncton, New Brunswick, has to say about identity and language.

Clip:
Yasser Al Asmi (00.01.34 – 00.02.23) (00.01.43 – 00.02.15): I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t speak both of Canada’s official languages. I came to Canada five years ago as a refugee, and in that time I’ve learned that these languages represent resilience, adaptability and a willingness to learn. To me, they also mean success, school, activities, family, friends and life in general—they’re a very important part of life here. [translation]

AV: Yasser isn’t the only one for whom language and identity go hand in hand. Emma Dreher, a young woman from British Columbia, feels the same way.

Clip:
Emma Dreher (00.02.09 – 00.04.26): I would say that they are inseparable from my identity. They’re really a part of me, especially when I consider what my life has been like over the last (I’m not great at math, but I am going to say) seven-ish years. . . . I’m not going to do the math on that one, but I’ve been involved in taking French schooling in an English-majority province. The German-speaking population in B.C. is larger than the French-speaking population in B.C. Don’t quote me on that but, I’m pretty sure it’s about that. I was doing French from pre-school, elementary school and high school, and then in high school, I was old enough to attend youth events province-wide, a French youth group called Le conseil jeunesse francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, which I have to plug it because it is so critical. I think my love of French, really I focused on French because English for me is sort of the default, but I feel that French is what sets me apart, makes me part of the others here, but especially here, my relationship with French has been very academic, leading up to high school, and then when I reached high school, I realized I could have fun in French and have nice conversations in French and it opened up a world of opportunities I wouldn’t have had if I only spoke English. I got my scholarship to university through my bilingual volunteering in high school and the Conseil Jeunesse and other youth groups, and it really got me out there and it’s something that I am really grateful for that I wouldn’t have otherwise. So, I guess for my identity, it shaped it. Without my official languages, I wouldn’t be where I am now and wouldn’t have most of my schooling paid for, which is, I mean, very cool. It’s a long way to say that yes, for me, it is inseparable.

GD: For Emma Dreher, learning a second official language opened a lot of doors!

AV: That’s true, but even when a language is a part of who we are, it doesn’t necessarily mean we always feel confident or comfortable speaking it. Feeling judged or embarrassed when trying to speak your second language is quite common and happens to both language learners and native speakers. It’s what we call “linguistic insecurity.”

GD: In addition to being a concern for many Canadians, linguistic insecurity is also . . . the second theme of our podcast today!

Security

AV:Okay, Geneviève, first things first. Let’s start by defining “linguistic insecurity!”

GD: Yes, and to do this we spoke to Isabelle Violette, a sociolinguist and associate professor at the Université de Moncton department of French studies. She’s the best person to explain linguistic insecurity and how people experience it.

Clip:
Isabelle Violette (00.18.24 – 00.19.40): Linguistic insecurity is a feeling of being apart, the difference that is perceived between the way you speak and the reference language model. The reference language model is something we can call, if I take French as an example, “proper French” or “proper usage,” which means that it’s a model that is considered to be superior, that is deemed to have value. And this model can be personified, if you like, or represented by specific people in our environment. It can be represented by a group of people or even a geographic area or an entire country, etc.

So, this feeling of being apart, the perception of being different, can manifest itself to varying degrees, meaning that it can vary in intensity. Okay, so there are some situations that will heighten linguistic insecurity. [translation]

AV: And there are all kinds of situations that can heighten linguistic insecurity.

GD: We know all too well situations like the one Emily Greene, of Newfoundland and Labrador, witnessed in a restaurant.

Clip:
Emily Greene (00.03.39 – 00.04.26): One of my friends, she’s from Ontario, so her French is not real Quebec French, not that . . . well, you know, it’s still French, but I remember we were at a Subway and at one point she was talking to them in French and they answered her in English and . . . she was a little insulted that they didn’t think her French was good enough for them to answer in French. So that’s a big deal. So, now she’s not really comfortable with speaking French. And my friends who aren’t Francophone but who’re in the process of learning French, when they go to a restaurant or whatever and speak in French, they’ll always answer in English, even though they know how to speak French, so that’s very frustrating for people who are trying to learn. [translation]

GD:Malcolm Lewis-Richmond, a bilingual Quebecer, shares how he experienced a similar situation at work.

Clip:
Malcolm Lewis-Richmond (00.08.53 – 00.09.37): Once, I was working as a salesperson in a clothing store and I said— I made a mistake, and I said—for a moment I thought a client meant sweater when she said “chandail,” but she actually meant T-shirt. And when I made that error, it completely distracted from the transaction she wanted to do. She didn’t really remember what she wanted to do. The comment was, “Oh, you must speak more English, you must be Anglophone,” rather than just continuing with the shopping experience. And that’s just, like, a sample of life as an Anglophone in Quebec.

AV: Being Anglophone or Francophone in a minority environment is definitely not easy.

GD: Isabelle Violette has studied sociolinguistic realities and issues extensively in Acadia and across Canada’s Francophone minority communities. Here’s how she explains it:

Clip:
Isabelle Violette (00.20.22 – 00.21.28): It can also be . . . it can vary depending on the stage of life. So, in fact, research has shown that education can be linked to an increase in linguistic insecurity because it’s when we start going to school that we become more aware of the reference model, and thus of proper usage. And plus, the more educated we are . . . so, for example, starting university can be a pivotal moment, as well, that can be associated with increased insecurity because in that situation, we’re having to read, write and speak in a different way, more complex, and in a language that we may not be completely fluent in because we’ve had less contact with these standards. Same thing with the workplace, right? When we start a new job or in a job where language is very important, where we have to give presentations, write emails and documents, etc., etc. [translation]

AV: And it’s not only Professor Violette who’s noticed the impact of our environment on our relationship with language. The Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française’s Strategy for Linguistic Security defines linguistic insecurity in much the same way: “[Linguistic insecurity] can manifest itself as a feeling of shame for individuals getting remarks about their accent, of guilt for parents who aren’t able to pass on their language to their children, sadness for people who realize they no longer speak their mother tongue.”

GD: The Strategy goes on to add that “insecurity comes from an action, an intervention, a comment, a menacing context that hurts, intimidates, humiliates or frustrates someone about their language or the way they use it. That is symptomatic of a judgment, not only on the language, but the culture and identity of the people expressing themselves.”

AV: Emily Greene understands this feeling all too well.

Clip:
Emily Greene (00.04.51 – 00.04.58): Sometimes I’m searching for words and I feel like I’m not good enough to be a Francophone. [translation]

GD:For some people, like Emma Drake, the first step is being able to put a name on what you’re feeling and how you experience it.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.04.21 – 00.04.37): I did not know the official name of it literally until today, so I’m really happy I learned that. But yeah, I’m definitely familiar with it, and it’s something that when learning another language, there’s no preparation for it.

GD: Although we often talk about linguistic insecurity among Francophones, it’s also prevalent among English learners and those whose mother tongue is not English. This is the case with bilingual Yukoner Vincent Ménard.

Clip:
Vincent Ménard (00.05.59 – 00.07.20): I don’t have this frustration anymore. I used to have it—well, it was more of an embarrassment for me, a type of embarrassment—but I did live with people with . . . . My friends had both parents that were speaking in English and a parent that was speaking in French, so they had both languages since they were born. So, of course that was already a head start over me that didn’t speak English until eighth grade, so of course I had a lot of frustration, mainly embarrassment from trying to talk and not having them responding to me in English to try to practise in English. But for me right now, I don’t feel that kind of insecurity; however, I do see a lot of people with that insecurity, and I never want to laugh . . . . Well, I see a lot of people, like, laughing for accents or . . . how they word their French or, if they’re French-speaking, they word their English. Since I’ve passed through that whole process, I don’t laugh at people.

Musical sting: “Did you know…”

GD: On the flip side of linguistic insecurity, we have linguistic SECURITY . . .

AV: And according to Jolanta Bird from Saskatchewan and Emily Greene from Newfoundland and Labrador, that’s something we can all strive for!

Clip:
Jolanta Bird (00.05.07 – 00.05.57): I think we would just encourage each other to speak each other’s language, whatever if that’s French, English, any other language for that matter. I think other people could make more of an effort to maybe understand others rather than expecting everyone to communicate their best because that isn’t the option always. Some people have . . . English or French is not their first language, and Canada really, is based on that. So, I think just being more open-minded towards everyone kind of helping them out, maybe, or making them feel more comfortable when they stutter or whatever that may be. So just being more open-minded and be nicer to everyone about it.

Clip:
Emily Greene (00.07.35 – 00.08.51): I don’t know if it will happen, but above all it would be a world that doesn’t judge, and everyone would be comfortable with both languages or if they want to speak just one. I find there’s a lot of judgment between the English and the French sometimes. I know in my town . . . the English people will say, “French people are so . . .” I don’t know . . . they’re like “rude” and all that, and I’m like no, it’s just that you don’t understand French . . . it could just be that the way we talk in French is different than the way people talk in English. So, I find there’s a lot of judgment and a lot of people who don’t understand the difference between the two languages. They’re very different languages, and the intonation that we have in French, it’s different than someone will have in English, so I think that there’s a big misunderstanding between the two languages. So, in a perfect world where linguistic security is the norm. there would be no judgment, and everybody would understand each other! [translation]

GD: Openness, respect and listening: three things that often come up when we talk about linguistic security for all!

Conclusion

AV: Geneviève, if there’s one take-away for me today, it’s that a person’s “identity” comes mostly from themselves and their experiences, whereas our relationship and comfort level with a language, also known as linguistic security, can be greatly influenced by how others treat us!

GD: I hope that today’s podcast encourages people to ask themselves questions like “How do the languages I speak shape my identity?”, “How do I feel when I speak in my second language?” and, most importantly, “Do I judge others when they’re making an effort in either language?”

EXTRO

Background music – muted

AV: Well, there you have it. That was the first episode of “Let’s Talk Bilingualism.”

GD: In the next episode of “Let’s Talk Bilingualism,” we’ll be looking at official languages learning and retention.

AV: Until then, stay tuned on our website www.clo-ocol.gc.ca.

GD: We’ll leave you with the words of Caleb Perreaux from Alberta.

Clip:
Caleb Perreaux (00.08.38 – 00.09.10): You have to make a bigger effort to speak your language, to live in your language as much as possible. For example, I’m currently working at Radio Cité, which is the French community radio station in Edmonton, and I speak French with my family here, with my dad. I have friends who are English, and I have friends who are French, so . . . you do your best to live in French without limiting yourself in terms of English or in the language of the majority. [translation]

End – Musical sting

Let’s Talk Bilingualism // Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme
Épisode 1 : L’identité et la sécurité linguistiques
Episode 1: Linguistic identity and security

Intro podcast

Musical sting

AV: Living in Canada, you’ve probably heard that being bilingual and learning a second language can offer lots of advantages. But let’s be honest. For all the great things it gives you, bilingualism also comes with many challenges—challenges that often go unspoken.

GD : Et, on le sait très bien, les défis liés au bilinguisme ne se limitent pas à la grammaire et à l’orthographe; ils touchent aussi la politique, la culture et l’identité!

AV: Because a language is more than just words. For many Canadians it can be very personal.

GD : Je m’appelle Geneviève Dupuis.

AV: And I’m Ahdithya Visweswaran. We are the hosts of . . .

AV: (simultaneously) Let’s Talk Bilingualism!
GD : (en simultané) Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme!

AV: Okay, you go first.

GD : Thanks. Bienvenue au podcast « Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme ».

AV: Welcome to the first episode of “Let’s Talk Bilingualism,” a new three-part podcast series from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

GD : Avec ce nouveau balado, on explore le parcours de jeunes Canadiens et Canadiennes bilingues qui discutent des défis et des avantages de vivre sa vie dans les deux langues officielles!

Intro épisode 1 : L’identité et la sécurité |intro episode 1 : Identity and security

GD : Il y a quelques années, avant l’ère de la COVID-19, le Commissariat aux langues officielles du Canada a organisé la conférence Officiellement 50 ans! pour célébrer les 50 ans de la Loi sur les langues officielles…

AV: . . . and to discuss the future of official languages in Canada.

GD : Pour le Commissariat, « les jeunes sont des partenaires essentiels à la définition moderne des langues officielles » et à leur valeur contemporaine. C’est donc pour cela qu’une délégation jeunesse, formée de jeunes de partout au Canada, a été invitée pour réfléchir et s’exprimer sur les thèmes entourant l’identité et la langue.

GD : Ces jeunes ont discuté de thèmes comme l’insécurité linguistique…

AV: . . . access to learning and quality of education . . .

GD : les identités multiples…

AV: . . . access to services and jobs . . .

GD : … ainsi que les avantages du bilinguisme.

AV: And that’s the goal of our podcast series! To address each of these topics with more young Canadians from across the country. We want to hear your opinions on the present and your vision for the future of official languages in Canada.

GD: And who knows? Maybe hearing other young Canadians talk about their reality will inspire you to take action by promoting and/or learning a second official language.

Début de la pause musicale

AV: episode one

GD : L’identité et la sécurité linguistiques

Fin de la pause musicale

Identité | identity

GD: Okay, Ahdithya, we’re starting with a big one: Identity!

AV : Oui Geneviève, l’identité, c’est à la fois un mot très simple, mais qui peut être très chargé!

GD : Canadien, immigrant, Saskatchewanaise, noir, autochtone, femme, transgenre, gai, francophone, anglophone sont des exemples d’identités auxquelles plusieurs d’entre nous peuvent s’identifier. Nous avons tous notre propre vécu et il va donc de soi que nous avons tous notre propre identité.

AV: Identity is based on our affiliations, our world views and our experiences: things like race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, abilities and disabilities, religion, political affiliation, and many, many (many!) more.

GD: They all shape us to be who we are as people . . . and as a country!

AV : Aujourd’hui, nous explorons l’identité linguistique et l’importance du rôle qu’elle joue dans notre définition de soi.

GD: In Canada, we have two official languages: English and French.

AV : Ces deux langues représentent non seulement un morceau important de notre identité en tant que pays, mais aussi de l’identité de chaque personne qui y habite.

GD: Every Canadian has their own relationship with their country’s official languages. Have you ever thought about yours? Here’s how Vincent Ménard, originally from Whitehorse, Yukon, describes his experience:

Clip:
Vincent Ménard (00.01.58): Well, I use them on a daily basis. Of course, my first language is French, so I’ve been using French since I’ve been born, but English came a little later in my life, so I have practised a lot. I have met a lot of people that speaks English, so it is part of my identity right now to speak in English, communicate in English, laugh in English, tell jokes in English as well as I do it in French. So . . . in adding both languages in my life, both of them are part of my identity. So, I consider myself as bilingual instead of a French speaking, so . . . I contribute that to my identity, I guess.

AV : À cette complexe question, voici ce qu’a répondu Emma Drake, une jeune femme originaire de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard qui habite maintenant à Ottawa.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.03.01 – 00.03.15) (00.03.24 – 00.03.46): First and foremost, the official languages represent Canada’s colonial history, with both French and English colonizers, and in terms of myself as a settler here, that definitely contributes to my identity. I think it’s being cognizant of that colonial history while also recognizing the value of languages in Canada and not just our official languages, but language diversity in our country and definitely including those Indigenous languages that so often were being stripped away in order to make room for English and French.

GD: Emma is like many other young Canadians. She’s from a rural community and was exposed to her second official language through school.

Pause musicale : « Savais-tu que… » “Did you know…”

AV: Let’s listen to what Yasser Al Asmi, a 21-year-old Canadian in Moncton, New Brunswick, has to say about identity and language.

Extrait :
Yasser Al Asmi (00.01.34 – 00.02.23) (00.01.43 – 00.02.15) : Je ne serais pas moi sans parler les deux langues du Canada. Comme réfugié, je suis venu au Canada il y a cinq ans. Après ce temps-ci au Canada, les langues signifient la résilience, l’adaptabilité et la volonté à apprendre et aussi ça signifie réussir, académique, les activités, la famille, les amies et la vie en général, c’est vraiment important pour vivre ici.

AV : Yasser n’est pas le seul pour qui la langue et l’identité vont main dans la main. C’est aussi le cas d’Emma Dreher, une jeune femme de la Colombie-Britannique.

Clip:
Emma Dreher (00.02.09 – 00.04.26): I would say that they are inseparable from my identity. They’re really a part of me, especially when I consider what my life has been like over the last (I’m not great at math, but I am going to say) seven-ish years. . . . I’m not going to do the math on that one, but I’ve been involved in taking French schooling in an English-majority province. The German-speaking population in B.C. is larger than the French-speaking population in B.C. Don’t quote me on that but, I’m pretty sure it’s about that. I was doing French from pre-school, elementary school and high school, and then in high school, I was old enough to attend youth events province-wide, a French youth group called Le conseil jeunesse francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, which I have to plug it because it is so critical. I think my love of French, really I focused on French because English for me is sort of the default, but I feel that French is what sets me apart, makes me part of the others here, but especially here, my relationship with French has been very academic, leading up to high school, and then when I reached high school, I realized I could have fun in French and have nice conversations in French and it opened up a world of opportunities I wouldn’t have had if I only spoke English. I got my scholarship to university through my bilingual volunteering in high school and the Conseil Jeunesse and other youth groups, and it really got me out there and it’s something that I am really grateful for that I wouldn’t have otherwise. So, I guess for my identity, it shaped it. Without my official languages, I wouldn’t be where I am now and wouldn’t have most of my schooling paid for, which is, I mean, very cool. It’s a long way to say that yes, for me, it is inseparable.

GD :Pour Emma Dreher, apprendre une deuxième langue officielle a ouvert plusieurs portes!

AV: That’s true, but even when a language is a part of who we are, it doesn’t necessarily mean we always feel confident or comfortable speaking it. Feeling judged or embarrassed when trying to speak your second language is quite common and happens to both language learners and native speakers. It’s what we call “linguistic insecurity.”

GD : En plus d’être une réalité pour plusieurs Canadiens et Canadiennes, « l’insécurité linguistique » est aussi… le deuxième thème de notre podcast aujourd’hui!

Sécurité | security

AV:Okay, Geneviève, first things first. Let’s start by defining “linguistic insecurity!”

GD: Yes, and to do this we spoke to Isabelle Violette, a sociolinguist and associate professor at the Université de Moncton’s department of French studies. She’s the best person to explain linguistic insecurity and how people experience it.

Extrait :
Isabelle Violette (00.18.24 – 00.19.40) : L’insécurité linguistique, c’est un sentiment qui vient de l’écart, la différence qui est perçue entre son propre parler et le modèle linguistique de référence. Donc, le modèle linguistique de référence, c’est un peu ce qu’on peut appeler, si je prends l’exemple du français, le bon français ou le bon usage, donc c’est un modèle qui est considéré supérieur, qui est considéré ayant de la valeur. Et puis ce modèle-là, il peut être incarné si on veut, représenté par des personnes en particulier qu’on a dans notre environnement. Ça peut être représenté par un groupe au complet, voir même une région ou un pays, etc.

Donc, ce sentiment-là d’un écart, la perception d’un écart, il peut se faire à des degrés variables, c’est-à-dire que, il peut varier en intensité. D’accord, donc il y a certains contextes qui vont faire en sorte d’augmenter l’insécurité linguistique.

AV : Des contextes qui amplifient l’insécurité linguistique, il y en a plusieurs.

GD: We know all too well situations like the one Emily Greene, of Newfoundland and Labrador, witnessed in a restaurant.

Extrait :
Emily Greene (00.03.39 – 00.04.26) : Une de mes amies, elle vient de l’Ontario, donc, son français est pas vraiment un français québécois, pas que…tu sais c’est français anyway, mais je me rappelle, on avait été au Subway, pis, un moment donné, elle a été leur parler en français pis ils lui ont répondu en anglais pis […] elle était un peu insultée qu’ils trouvaient pas son français assez bon pour lui répondre en français. Donc, ça c’est une grosse affaire. Donc là, elle [n’]est pas vraiment confortable avec parler en français, pis mes amis qui [ne] sont pas francophones, mais qui sont en train d’apprendre le français, quand ils vont à un restaurant ou quoi que ce soit pis ils parlent en français, ils vont tout le temps répondre en anglais même s’ils savent comment parler en français, donc, ça c’est très frustrant pour les gens qui essaient d’apprendre.

GD:Malcolm Lewis-Richmond, a bilingual Quebecer, shares how he experienced a similar situation at work.

Clip:
Malcolm Lewis-Richmond (00.08.53 – 00.09.37): Once, I was working as a salesperson in a clothing store and I said—I made a mistake, and I said—for a moment I thought a client meant sweater when she said “chandail,” but she actually meant T-shirt. And when I made that error, it completely distracted from the transaction she wanted to do. She didn’t really remember what she wanted to do. The comment was, “Oh, you must speak more English, you must be Anglophone,” rather than just continuing with the shopping experience. And that’s just, like, a sample of life as an Anglophone in Quebec.

AV : Être anglophone ou francophone dans un milieu minoritaire, ce n’est certainement pas facile.

GD: Isabelle Violette has studied sociolinguistic realities and issues extensively in Acadia and across Canada’s Francophone minority communities. Here’s how she explains it:

Extrait :
Isabelle Violette (00.20.22 – 00.21.28) : Ça peut être aussi, ça peut varier en fonction des étapes de vie. Donc, en fait, les recherches ont montré que la scolarisation peut être liée à une augmentation de l’insécurité linguistique parce que c’est quand on rentre à l’école qu’on devient plus conscient du modèle de référence, donc, du bon usage. Puis, plus on est scolarisé aussi, donc, par exemple, l’entrée à l’université peut être un moment charnière aussi qui est associé à plus d’insécurité parce que là on est amené à rédiger, à s’exprimer, à lire des textes de façon différente, un peu plus complexes et dans une langue que peut être on maîtrise moins parce qu’on est, on a moins été en contact avec ces normes-là. Même chose pour le milieu de travail, hein, quand on commence un emploi, dans un emploi aussi où la part langagière du travail est très importante, où on nous demande de s’exprimer, de rédiger des courriels, des textes, etc., etc.

AV : Ce n’est pas seulement la professeure Violette qui remarque l’incidence de notre entourage sur notre relation avec la langue. La Stratégie nationale pour la sécurité linguistique de la Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française donne également une définition de l’insécurité linguistique qui est assez similaire : « [L’insécurité linguistique] peut se manifester sous forme d’un sentiment de honte de la part d’individus qui écopent des commentaires par rapport à leur accent, de culpabilité chez des parents qui ne parviennent pas à assurer la passation de la langue, de tristesse chez des personnes qui constatent la perte de la langue maternelle. »

GD: The Strategy goes on to add that “insecurity comes from an action, an intervention, a comment, a menacing context that hurts, intimidates, humiliates or frustrates someone about their language or the way they use it. That is symptomatic of a judgment, not only on the language, but the culture and identity of the people expressing themselves.”

AV : Emily Greene comprend très bien ce sentiment.

Extrait :
Emily Greene (00.04.51 – 00.04.58) : Je trouve des fois je cherche mes mots pis je suis pas assez bonne pour être francophone disons.

GD:For some people, like Emma Drake, the first step is being able to put a name on what you’re feeling and how you experience it.

Clip:
Emma Drake (00.04.21 – 00.04.37): I did not know the official name of it literally until today, so I’m really happy I learned that. But yeah, I’m definitely familiar with it, and it’s something that when learning another language, there’s no preparation for it.

GD : Bien que nous parlions souvent d’insécurité linguistique chez les francophones, ce phénomène se vit également parmi ceux et celles qui apprennent l’anglais ou pour qui l’anglais n’est pas leur langue maternelle. C’est le cas du Yukonnais bilingue Vincent Ménard.

Clip:
Vincent Ménard (00.05.59 – 00.07.20) : I don’t have this frustration anymore. I used to have it—well, it was more of an embarrassment for me, a type of embarrassment—but I did live with people with . . . . My friends had both parents that were speaking in English and a parent that was speaking in French, so they had both languages since they were born. So, of course that was already a head start over me that didn’t speak English until eighth grade, so of course I had a lot of frustration, mainly embarrassment from trying to talk and not having them responding to me in English to try to practise in English. But for me right now, I don’t feel that kind of insecurity; however, I do see a lot of people with that insecurity, and I never want to laugh . . . . Well, I see a lot of people, like, laughing for accents or . . . how they word their French or, if they’re French‑speaking, they word their English. Since I’ve passed through that whole process, I don’t laugh at people.

Musical sting: « Savais-tu que… » “Did you know…”

GD :À l’opposé de l’insécurité linguistique, il y a la SÉCURITÉ linguistique…

AV: And according to Jolanta Bird from Saskatchewan and Emily Greene from Newfoundland and Labrador, that’s something we can all strive for!

Clip:
Jolanta Bird (00.05.07 – 00.05.57): I think we would just encourage each other to speak each other’s language, whatever if that’s French, English, any other language for that matter. I think other people could make more of an effort to maybe understand others rather than expecting everyone to communicate their best because that isn’t the option always. Some people have . . . English or French is not their first language, and Canada really, is based on that. So, I think just being more open-minded towards everyone kind of helping them out, maybe, or making them feel more comfortable when they stutter or whatever that may be. So just being more open-minded and be nicer to everyone about it.

Extrait :
Emily Greene (00.07.35 – 00.08.51) : Je [ne] sais pas si ça va arriver, mais ce serait surtout un monde sans jugement pis tout le monde est à l’aise avec les deux langues ou s’ils veulent juste parler une langue. Je trouve qu’il y a beaucoup de jugement entre les francophones pis les anglophones des fois. Je sais, dans ma ville, […] les anglophones vont dire « Les francophones sont tellement… », je sais pas…, sont comme « rudes », pis toute ça, pis je suis comme non, c’est juste si tu comprends pas le français, c’est peut-être que la façon qu’on parle c’est différent que la façon que quelqu’un parle en anglais. Donc, je trouve qu’il y a beaucoup de jugement pis beaucoup de monde qui [ne] comprenne pas la différence entre les deux langues. C’est deux langues très différentes, pis l’intonation que nous autres on va avoir en français, c’est différent que quelqu’un va avoir en anglais, donc je trouve qu’il y a un gros « misunderstanding » entre les deux langues. Donc, dans un monde parfait où est-ce que la sécurité linguistique est la norme, il y aurait pas de jugement pis tout le monde comprendrait tout le monde!

GD :Ouverture, respect et écoute! Trois choses qui reviennent souvent quand on parle de sécurité linguistique pour tous!

Conclusion

AV: Geneviève, if there’s one take-away for me today, it’s that a person’s “identity” comes mostly from themselves and their experiences, whereas our relationship and comfort level with a language, also known as linguistic security, can be greatly influenced by how others treat us!

GD : Moi, j’espère que le podcast d’aujourd’hui nous encourage à nous poser des questions. En quoi les langues que je parle contribuent-elles à mon identité? Comment est-ce que je me sens lorsque je m’exprime dans ma deuxième langue? Et surtout, est-ce que je juge les autres lorsqu’ils font des efforts dans une langue ou l’autre?

Extro

Musique de fond – en sourdine

AV: Well, there you have it. That was the first episode of “Let’s Talk Bilingualism.”

GD : Dans le prochain épisode de « Parle-moi de ton bilinguisme », nous explorerons l’apprentissage et le maintien des langues officielles.

AV :D’ici là, restez à l’affût sur notre site Web www.clo-ocol.gc.ca.

GD : On vous laisse sur les mots de Caleb Perreaux de l’Alberta.

Extrait :
Caleb Perreaux (00.08.38 – 00.09.10) : Tu fais un plus grand effort de parler ta langue, de vivre dans ta langue autant que possible. Par exemple, je travaille à Radio Cité en ce moment, c’est la radio communautaire francophone d’Edmonton, et je parle en français avec ma famille, ici, avec mon père. J’ai des amis qui sont anglophones, j’ai des amis qui sont francophones, donc […] tu fais ton possible de vivre en français sans te limiter en termes de l’anglais ou dans la langue majoritaire.

Fin – Pause musicale