Do You Need FRENCH to live in MONTRÉAL?

[@Katieyogatarot]

I moved to Mtl 4 years ago from Ontario and I fully agree with everything you say. They have every right to preserve their language. I dearly love the Francophones. They're amazing people. I just finished 15 months of the francisation program. Best thing I ever did. It's amazing that I can speak fluently with native french speakers. It's a magnificent city and everyone is so open and kind.

[@wavearts3279]

We're happy you're here. Vous êtes chez vous maintenant!

[@Fossiil-Records]

Wow, is there another Montreal I never heard of. Cause the one I grew up in was full of hate.

[@wavearts3279]

@@Fossiil-Records Are you sure about that?

[@Fossiil-Records]

@@wavearts3279 Am I sure I experienced discrimination and violence growing up english in quebec? Yeah I'm prettty sure i didn't imagine it. Research life in the 90's and earlier in regards to language laws, discrimination, violence, the f.l.q. and jacques villeneuve.

[@wavearts3279]

@@Fossiil-Records I know pretty well the history of Montréal and Québec. But as an english in Montréal, were you learning french? Edit: Why do you say Jacques Villebeuve and bill 101 are discrimination and violence. There's nothing discriminatory with Gens du Pays.

[@KarlHeinzofWpg]

Je suis un Canadien anglais de Winnipeg, comme vous. La première fois que je suis allé à Montréal, je ne connaissais pas le français. Pas du tout. Une fois, je marchais près d'un parc où un groupe d'enfants jouait. Un enfant a frappé la balle trop fort et elle a roulé vers moi, et bien sûr, je l'ai renvoyée. Les enfants ont tous dit: "Merci monsieur". J'ai gelé. Comme vous l'avez fait à 5:47. J'ai compris «merci» bien sûr, mais je n'ai trouvé aucune réponse en français. Les enfants attendent. Deux secondes, trois secondes, et finalement ils ont dit "Thanks mister". "Oh, yer' welcome" dis-je, un peu gêné. J'ai raté le test! Mais c'était drôle quand tous les enfants ont réalisé en même temps "oh, il est anglais, il ne comprend rien" haha. Depuis cet épisode, je me suis promis d'être un jour bilingue. J'étudie, j'ai un enseignant en ligne, je regarde les nouvelles du Québec, etc. Après la pandémie j'espère pouvoir aller au Québec pendant deux ou trois mois pour m'immerger dans la culture québécoise. Je pense que je suis prêt pour cette expérience et cela m'apprendra beaucoup. C'est difficile d'apprendre une nouvelle langue, mais c'est très important je pense. Surtout ici au Canada. Je vais dire une chose. Il est vrai que Winnipeg est une ville anglaise, mais il y a beaucoup de français ici. Quand j'ai commencé à apprendre le français, j'ai été surpris de tout ce que j'ai remarqué. Pour apprendre francais, je vous recommande ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJLJqKmLgquhqbc kzbin.info/door/aaM57ky7I7NRR-4oeIocAQ kzbin.info/door/GzA2nGCGvvxz2WRwoEoegg kzbin.info/door/QfakletOMk9zXVRSHUdyDA Pour lire, je vous conseille "Rue Deschambault" de Gabrielle Roy. Elle a grandi à Saint-Boniface et ce livre contient de nombreuses petites histoires de cette époque et de ce lieu.

[@HarvestBreedmusic]

La culture Franco-Manitobaine est vraiment vivante et forte. Je suis aller jouer quelques fois au festival du voyageur et j'ai adoré. Le Français hors Québec est peut être en danger mais toutes les cultures francophone sont fortes et les gens qui les défendent ont mon plus grand respect.

[@MrLuchenkov]

Gabrielle Roy est très connue ici et fait partie du curriculum de base dès l'école primaire. Ton français écrit est excellent! J'espère que tu auras la chance de venir au Québec sous peu. :)

[@KarlHeinzofWpg]

@@MrLuchenkov Oui j'espère aussi. Peut-être en automne ou en hiver. Tout dépend de la pendémie. Et pour Mme Roy, elle était une excellente observatrice de la vie ordinaire. Quand elle a écrit sur le Manitoba, je peux tout reconnaître. Les rues, le temps, le type de personnes rencontrées par sa famille. Cela facilite ma compréhension en français. Quand elle écrit sur Montréal, c'est plus difficile parce que je ne comprends pas toutes les nuances. Mais un jour je comprendrai mieux.

[@sylvainb2366]

Wow, je suis impressionné, votre maîtrise du français écrit est absolue, vous l'écrivez mieux qu'au moins 90% des natifs francophones.

[@KarlHeinzofWpg]

@@sylvainb2366 Je dois admettre que je me corrige avec google quand j'écris. Au début j'essaye d'écrire complètement en français et après je le colle dans google translate pour vérifier. Si je trouve des erreurs, je peux les corriger et je peux trouver de nouveaux mots avec cette méthode. Par exemple, voici comment j'ai écrit la réponse avant la correction... _Je dois admitter que Je me corriger avec google quand j'ecrit. Au debut j'essay ecriter totalment en francais et apres je le paste dans google translate pour verifier. Si je trouve des error je peut les corriger et je peux trouver des nouvelle mots avec cet method._

[@Vancouver_Dan]

Like most Canadians, I studied French in school (and my kids were in French immersion from K to 12). But, after visiting Mexico many times in the last few years, and taking Spanish lessons here in Vancouver, I was at Marche de Maisonneuve in Montreal last year. The clerk asked me in French if I wanted a bag for my groceries. I replied "Si". Meanwhile, every time someone speaks Spanish to me in Mexico I start conjugating French verbs in my head. So ... I am officially illiterate in 3 languages.

[@TheNewTravel]

Haha! I must admit that when I first arrived, I dropped "Si" instead of "Oui" a few times 😃

[@estephanyrios7700]

😅😅😅😁lol

[@maxhope7691]

I said "Da" when I first arrived in Montreal lol

[@caoimhedevaney1830]

That's actually a normal part of language learning, linguists call it 'language transfer'. If you work hard to improve your languages it progressively goes away. Don't worry and best of luck!

[@emiriebois2428]

"Si" is actually used in french, but it a particular way . When to say "yes" in response of a negative response or statement .

[@catherineprince-st-antoine4447]

En tant que Québécoise, ton vidéo me fait chaud au coeur! Merci pour ce respect envers la culture d’ici!

[@Hugo-cn9no]

Québec libre

[@towaritch]

@@Hugo-cn9nomaudits cousins, tabernac'!

[@Hugo-cn9no]

​@@towaritch Comme disait rené lévesque à la prochaine fois !

[@towaritch]

@@Hugo-cn9no j adore Les " maudits cousins" ils sont completement fun.

[@captpoop22]

@Syphax Atlas lache tes youtuber francais de france. C'est UN vidéo ! On parle Quebecois ici !!

[@JacenSolo02]

as a native french spkeaking montrealer, I was getting ready to disagree with you on the language situation in Quebec, because it seems nobody gets it. But you surprised me with you thoughts on how it's unfair for locals to "have to learn" english to get better job prospects and stuff! Also, for your info, the main reason some quebecers (mostly 50yo+) dislike english is because in their time, wealth in Quebec was in the hands of the few english-speaking montrealers. French speaking montrealers were almost all poor. So there was a class struggle between the proletariat (french speaking) and the bourgeoisie (english speaking). This wasn't a coincidence either, so no wonder my parents' generation wish to see french remain the #1 language in Quebec, they actively fought to have as much opportunity to have a nice life as english speaking people in the province.

[@bradparmar4728]

Thank you. Let me clarify( or should you). That " you thought on how it's unfair for LOCAL to " have to learn" english! Why limit you Local definition? ( Others because they don't speak French n speak English &/ or other Don't constitute locals? ( Wonderfull; let be present Moussolini n Hitler back to France!). As for Proleariat vs Bourgeoisie ( Look within Quebecois n culture practices! And I should say Origins of Bourgeois - It is a French Term French, not English. For you to engage / apply is Unfair here.) You are Welcome to use a proper English term that fits well with you to describe what you want. Merci.

[@robin-bq1lz]

Brad Parmar la pensée idiote et démagogue du jour, aller dit nous que nous sommes tous lumières..... commence par faire des efforts plutôt que de jouer les victimes hypocrites.🙄🙄

[@bradparmar4728]

@@robin-bq1lz Sign the Canadian constitution! (PS: Don't worry it still Applies to you; so live with it; That also includes The Charter) Bonsoire.

[@maximusrusso8758]

Don’t you think that this wealth gap has something to do with the fact that there’s 400 million English speakers on this continent and only 8 million French speakers. Cant do well economically when you can’t speak the international language of business.

[@JacenSolo02]

@@maximusrusso8758 The population imbalance was not always so extreme, so no, I don't believe it played such a major role. But don't take my word for it, do some research, you'll see

[@M4rteevee]

Not French Canadian, not from Quebec, I’m a child of immigrants and I speak both official langues along with my native tongue living in Ontario. So I’m neither French or English. As a Francophone I totally understand why Québec wants to protect its language and doesn’t want to assimilate. Thank you for seeing their point of view, especially as an English speaking Canadian from Winnipeg, and you’re amazing for trying to learn the local language. Don’t feel discouraged about your accent, je te comprends parfaitement! Bonne chance à Montréal, c’est une ville incroyable.

[@linefrenette9116]

M If one day you decide to come and visit us, you will be welcome

[@timporter2850]

Side comment here, I live in Miami. My father's family(emigrants from Nova Scotia) is old school being residents since before the Depression(1929), the city was founded by Bahamians and North Americans and was 95% or more English speaking from inception. As the "Gateway to the America's" we see a lot of influx from Central and Southern America as well as the Latin Caribbean. I have lived here since I was 6 in 1972, the last few decades(since 1980's mostly) the immigration to the area has been predominantly from Spanish speaking countries, there are large areas where Spanish is the predominate language. Since the 1990's I have been told point blank "you need to learn Spanish", and I do speak at a medium level, as I also speak a bit of German and French. However there are large swaths of the county where if you speak no Spanish you will have trouble doing rudimentary things out and about. So moving forward it should be interesting to see what happens in Quebec.

[@nicolaslemay]

The Québécois love to see English speakers interested in learning French! Even if in the day to day this might not always be obvious. Beau travail et continue comme ça :)

[@Fossiil-Records]

I love to see the Quebecois not worry about what language other people are speaking in.

[@robin-bq1lz]

Opus Love Productions va suivre une thérapie l’angryphone, tu fais pitié avec ta petite haine de nombrilisme ignare.🙄🙄🙄

[@joannewilson6577]

@@Fossiil-Records We are not worry we are disrespected daily by peoples that cannot say a word in french in many stores....and they make us feel like we are alien when we ask them to speak french.

[@ploplo2413]

Speak French

[@ploplo2413]

And I’m Canadian

[@__anaheredia]

Omg I came from Peru to Montreal 7 years ago to study. I’ve stayed here since I dearly love this city so so much! I’ve never felt as free as I feel here. It was so hard to learn to speak English and even harder to learn French, but It was all worth it ♥️ It’s an ongoing learning process

[@voicije]

i'm french-speaking montrealer...grew up northshore of montreal...i one day chose to learn english...because i wanted to undersrand the dr.phil show!!..it all started in 2011!!,,i still make a lot a mitakes...but i'm getting there!... this is so grat to fead positive comments...internet most the this is full of garbages!!...thank you for being in love with the city..we all make it what it is

[@valeriaromainville2288]

Soy de Peru también y sueño con ir a vivir a Montreal, me animas 🧡

[@Hugo-cn9no]

@@valeriaromainville2288 Québec libre et indépendant

[@katymaloney]

Soy de Montreal, y mi melhora amiga es de Argentina, I met her through a common native american friend, and she's dating a chinese-canadian guy.. xD La interculturalidad aqui es REAL! ♥️ lol We both speak english, french and spanish, she's better in spanish, evidentamente, but I'm better at french, hoho, so most of the time we speak english, it evens things out! LOL I wish I could practice my spanish more with her, but I'm always conscious not to tokenize her, or make her feel like the "foreign friend"... it's enough that she's the only recipient of my random latin music obsessions! xD Su tolerancia pra mis obsessiones con un Bad Bunny o Maluma me encanta, no quiero abusar de su paciencia.. 😊

[@katymaloney]

@@valeriaromainville2288 Ven pa'ca!! xD Somos los latinos del Norte, latinos unidos! 🧡

[@BaneRain]

I wish you could convince the rest of Canada to harbour this perspective.

[@gdarevolutions]

Bill 101

[@joanlynch5271]

I wish that they were all bilingual.

[@Waterfall300]

@@bmorgado2571 it’s great to hear that more and more people are thinking that way! This is quite rare to hear!

[@jfcarrier9352]

@@bmorgado2571 if i want to go teach elsewhere in Canada (i'm a french teacher as a second language), i would need to go back to school for a semester to get licenced in that province. Job mobility problems are another example of "the great divide" that remains within Canada. I'm glad to see things are changing, but i must say that i was very sad watching the last federal political debate in english. The french one was amazing ! They were so well behaved and talked about so many issues whitout the french bashing...

[@francoislatreille6068]

divide and control

[@antoinetvic]

Im from Montreal, and we LOVE when tourism try to speak french, even if its bad! Its like a way of respect for us :)

[@Hal10034]

Entendu

[@marvinmillman9747]

Do you respect the indigenous.? It’s their land after all.

[@discoboy514]

Great unbiased view of Quebec, like you said you can either embrace the culture or live in a bubble. Your French is great btw.

[@papamartino]

Ton français est excellent!! Tu es officiellement Québécois :) Ton attitude est très positive et elle rend ton expérience certainement plus intéressante.

[@felixbilodeau-chagnon4781]

This comment section is so wholesome. As a francophone living on the South Shore and studying at McGill, I experience the Québec anglophone culture on a daily basis. Living in both cultures is really fun, but it also emphasizes why we have to protect our language at all costs. I honestly teared up when you said that you understand, that you get it. I know it's sounds stupid, but so often we hear from the rest of Canada (except maybe Ottawa) that we should "just speak English" and "let go of the past". They don't get it. But hearing an anglophone from outside Québec saying "I get it", even if it's a stranger on the internet, feels really good validating. Ton français est vraiment pas si mal non plus, lâche pas!

[@stevensmith5160]

There’s no French speaking person here who wouldn’t appreciate the efforts you put to speak the language of the people here in Montreal Good job buddy

[@melatonin3000]

Thanks for taking the time to understand why Quebecers are so protective of their language. It'll disappear if we aren't. And it's a stressful thing, always having in the back of your mind that your culture could be assimilated and vanish. You lose the language, you lose the culture. Ton français est super bon! T'as même un début d'accent Québecois :) Pour la recommendation, je te suggère la chaine KZbin Urbania.

[@defensivedriving6597]

How could a language disappear if the official language is French? As a trucker that goes through Montreal I speak in French without a problem. When I go to Mexico I will speak Spanish. Do you think the Mexicans will say our language is disappearing. Impossible. Montreal est francais

[@robin-bq1lz]

ungratefulmetalpansy et toi quand ton cerveau d’idiots pas éduqué à été liquéfié?😘

[@artnstuph]

At the same time, to pretend that language and culture shouldn't evolve organically is kind of silly. Everything changes and no language will last forever.

[@charliemireault9810]

Emily Dunford Yeah! Just like we did to the Native nations! Look how happy they are now! Destroying cultures and language because of evolution is just the best!

[@Anthonybrother]

@@defensivedriving6597 because in Québec, French is kept as first language artificially.

[@guillaumegiroux9425]

When I was 16 years old, I was hospitalized at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. They didn’t have an available french speaking doctor so they dispatched me a unilingual english one. I told them it might be problematic but they told me to make an effort, that I could speak english. Which was true, but I was still young, a teenager, and my english was limited and still botchy as best. Eventually, I was sent to another unilingual doctor and we stumbled upon the communication barrier as I struggled to put into english words how I felt and when I failed, the doctor (a man from Toronto), would just stare at me as if I failed to do my duty. The whole episode made me feel sad. I was from Verdun, that neighborhood your mentioned and this was 2009, not 1909. Hospital attribution was based on postal code area. It all made me sad in retrospect, and seriously hurted my recovery. We were in Montreal after all, not in BC or Newfoundland. My grandfather, a hardcore separatist, was triggered and told me these things wouldn’t happen in an independent Quebec. I grew up from this, but I can see where the ethnicity of being French Canadian stemmed from. I’m glad your life in Montreal gave you new horizons. I’m in Lévis, Québec, now and maybe you should visit how things are different here.

[@DJLordShango]

You should of contacted la societé st-jean Baptist or the health ministry when it happen.. This is not normal someone did not do his job here.

[@cameliap1146]

T' as été vraiment mal chanceux pour tomber sur des dr. unilingues. Surtout en 2009 (?). Bizarre. Cela ne m'est arrivé jamais. Même pas à Jewish ou Lakeshore.

[@defensivedriving6597]

I don't believe you because the official language is French you cannot get a job if you cannot speak the official language

[@pascalbienvenue8845]

Defensive Driving. They are rare, but they exist. Some doctors refused to talk in french. They don’t make a effort.

[@Waterfall300]

@@defensivedriving6597 actually you really don’t have to search very long to find a shop that will only serve you in English, I run with it, but it is still very frustrating that in a province where French is the official language they can’t even say bonjour and au revoir.... so many times I have been the only French speaking employe always asked to translate or serve the francophones because they couldn’t (even though in every school we get French classes wether they are first or second langage)

[@Coltrain78]

Hey Dan, I 100% agree with the sentiments that it helped deepen the experience of living in MTL to learn francais , I am from Edmonton and I attended McGill in 2002 & 2003 and chose to live on the Plateau so I could immerse in the French language and enjoy a more distinct Québécois experience. It was wonderful.

[@jpdemers44]

Vous êtes un jeune homme très intelligent qui comprend le sens que nous avons à vouloir garder notre langue. D' un vieil homme de 76 ans. hope you read French. Friendly yours|

[@tinmiloutin]

Salut Dan! Je t'ai connu quand tu étais à Mexico. J'ai toujours aimé ton ouverture face au Mexique et aux préjugés que les médias diffusent sur ce pays merveilleux. Dans ce commentaire sur Montréal, je retrouve ce Dan ouvert, sensible et compréhensif. Je te félicite! Je suis né à Montréal, j'habite le Plateau aussi. Amitiés, cher voisin!

[@BaneRain]

Yeah we can tell you're from the plateau lmao

[@sjlcanada]

typical frenchie......im sorry dan. certain quebecers tend to be rude and not try to communicate in english. esti tonton!!!

[@irolaan292]

@@sjlcanada On dit "Osti de teton (Holy tits)", pas "esti tonton" . Quel commentaire ridicule qui dénote un esprit de colonisé! Si tu vas habiter en Allemagne, est-ce que tu vas essayer de leurs imposer de te parler en Français. NON! SI tu vas habiter au Manitoba, est-ce que tu vas essayer de leurs imposer de te parler en Français. NON! Le bilinguisme n'est que pour le Québec, ce n'est pas appliqué dans les autres provinces. Dan le dit lui-même. Ceci dit, si quelqu'un me parle en anglais et que je vois qu'il ne comprends aucun mot de français, je vais lui parler en anglais. Tu crois qu'un Ontarien aurait la même attitude? Certainement pas. @ The New Travel If all english speaking people could be a quarter as opened minded as you are, there would be no conflicts between Québec and the other provinces. Bravo!

[@Titpit10]

@@sjlcanada tYpiCaL fReNcHiEs...... Dan clearly stated that he wants to improve his french alors c'est quoi l'esti de problème qu'il écrive son commentaire en français?

[@sjlcanada]

@@irolaan292 you dedicated a full story to me. thats sweet. merci

[@내가사라진다면]

I've been living in Qc for a few years now and it's the most open minded area in Canada i've been to. I used to live in Toronto and i often heard them saying how Quebeckers were awful people and didn't respect foreigners, but it's actually the opposit in my opinion. I love montreal and it's the best and the most free place i've been living in. I plan on immigrating here so i need to improve my french but im working on it. anyway, loved the video

[@antonk5414]

thinking of moving to Quebec from Toronto myself too, seems like ppl in QC are friendlier from the few times I've visited there.

[@HarvestBreedmusic]

@@philippesoucy5235 I think the only people in Quebec who are truly despised are anglophones born and raised in Montreal who don't speak a word of French. I really don't understand these people. The other anglophones in Quebec all speak french.

[@linefrenette9116]

@@HarvestBreedmusic You're right my step dad (my mom's husband) is from the UK and he's been living in old Quebec for 46 years and he's bilingual.

[@guyboisvert66]

As a native french quebecers, i'd say you have to understand one thing or two: What you get from the press and politician is, IMHO, hugely different than what actual poeples think. I had friends from the west of canada studying in Université Laval and i loved them. They were curious about our history and our culture. They discovered many things about us as much as we discovered about them. For the political class and influencial poeple, they fear (way too much IMHO!) that Quebec could separate from Canada. I can understand that but the center of this idea of separation lies around passed unfairness and the fondamental differences between the 2 cultures: The french are republican and they fought hard to get effective secularization of government (read abour "revolution tranquille" = quiet revolution in the 60's). We suffered a lot on the past from catholic chuch having too much power and being "infiltrated" in politics / institutions. We recognize they help a lot but on the other hand, they abused and controlled / influenced way too much. As for the dominion, it is the opposite, they are loyalist to the queen of England which is also is the Supreme Governor and Defender of the Faith of the Church of England. So for the french, collective rights may supersede individual rights for everyone's benefit while for english, the individual rights supersede. Majority of quebecers don't want to separate from Canada. But on the other hand, the recent law 21 (that officialize a minimal secularism of the government, which protects every religion equally in offering neutral services), which is very very soft, has fueled very disproportionate reactions from ROC (again, medias and politicians) which consider this as beeing xenophobic, racist, (put the worst words here), etc Some are even going as far as talking about "ethnic cleansing" and "genocid" !!! Since when a religion is a race!?! So from outside of Quebec, you find many people thinking that Quebec is just a bunch of second class poeple, racist, closed minded, etc. In reality, it's really the opposite and we have even tendency to forget about ourselves for being accepted by others... at our own disadvantage. When i arrived in Montréal in early 90's, i remember having problem being served in french on some places in downtown Montréal! It was a bit of a shock for me. At The Bay, one saleswoman looked at me with angry eyes because i repeted my question 2 times in french! As far as in early 80's, majority of Hydro-Quebec were english (as in majority of companies) and when you had a meeting, everybody had to speak in english even if you had only one person speaking english in the room (the boss!)... So, i'm not complaining about the past but i want people to understand the political and power dimension. As for french language, it is declining quite fast and it's easy to understand: Immigration is about 50 000 persons a year. And without any laws, i can understand that learning and using english is very attractive in a continent where french is largely in minority. The problem is that language is the base of the cultures in Canada, and i explained differences above. You can feel the difference in Montréal a bit, it's even more different outside of Montréal. I respect the english culture but the reverse should be the same!!! So what can a nation / culture can do to protect its culture and language from extinction? Law 101 was just for that but canadian supreme court has done all it can to invalidate all parts they could. That's another problem we have here. And in 1982, the new constitution was signed by other provinces, manipulated by a very clever Pierre-Elliot Trudea, during the night while the Quebec PM and his team were sleeping! "The kitchen accord" So technically speaking, supreme court of Canada use this constitution we never signed to stigmatize Québec! As said in the video above, if you come to Quebec with a good attitude and without prejudices (not specific to Québec!), i'm sure you'll be welcome with open arms! A word in french or two (merci, bonjour, etc) and people will know that you care a bit and you try, that you show respect and they will try their best to help you! They will be curious about you, asking where do you come from, etc (to initiate discussion). Sure, you can encounter stupid poeple but don't bother with them, it's the same everywhere in the world! This video is refreshing and i thank you very much! We're please to have you here!

[@linefrenette9116]

@@guyboisvert66 Merci

[@andre1954]

I live in Montreal and I think everything you said was accurate. I think you're very open-minded. I speak french but I go to an English Cegep and I think you speak better in french than a lot of Quebecois anglophone. (Little tip : ''youtube channel'' is ''chaine youtube'' in french)! Beau travail !

[@christinafurneri9699]

André, do you feel like you speak better English than your other Francophone friends? I did know quite a few French Québécois who spoke English quite well when I attended McGill, but now that I study at UdeM I find that most of the francophones speak English much worse than anglophones speak French ! (Not saying whether this is positive or negative, we are in Québec after all, so Anglos SHOULD speak French.. but in my experience, I really only improved my French later in life, and earlier I got so much hate for having a really English accent while speaking French, and yet all the francophones I met had terribly thick English accents...)

[@taniat.16]

i went to francophone schools in montréal, and its true that a lot of francophones speak terrible english. not all though, and often they get better with age by listening to things in english, immersion programs or just plain ol' english classes. im bilingual, and so many franco friends over the years have asked me to just speak english with them to practice their skills lol. i remember having an anglo friend as a child and he disliked speaking french with me although he spoke really well, because he got teased for his 'thick' accent. god bless him.

[@Waterfall300]

@@christinafurneri9699 I’m so sorry you got so much hate because of your accent, but to me It simply says that you are giving the best you have to learn and appreciate a new language, and I love your attitude towards the controversed subject! It’s like my mom, she has a thick anglophone accent when she speaks French but it doesn’t stop her to communicate in French with her francophone collegues who deeply appreciate and recognize her respect for it. They even sometimes respond in English to practice their own difficulties speaking their second language!

[@andre1954]

Christina Furneri It really depends to whom you are speaking. For instance, I know francophones who are totally bilingual (which I’m not). Francophones who need to speak English more often (because of English cégep/uni) will be better in English and the same thing goes for anglophones. Last thing: I think that an English accent is really nice to hear in French.

[@andre1954]

-Joelle - exactly! We don’t care about accents as long as we can communicate!

[@eric-oliviersirois6691]

Félicitation mon cher. I’m at McGill university and if only you knew how happy this makes me. I see very little people in my program even considering making the effort of taking a French class.

[@francoispayen]

J'aimerais tant qu'une majorité de canadiens partagent cette attitude et cette ouverture d'esprit! Bon séjour parmi nous, Dan!

[@sd5aj]

I'm British and have passable French - whenever I meet Canadians in RoC they always wish they spoke better French. The political situation however is poisonous. So culturally I think people are open to it but the bloc etc just erode the good will.

[@francoispayen]

@@sd5aj I've lived several years elsewhere in Canada (3 other provinces) and I stand by my comment that Dan is an exception. Quebec bashing never goes out of style in Canada.

[@gigihadid3745]

My friend's french tremendously improved when she decided she would always have her TV on québecois shows at all time as background noise. She's been doing this for like the past 8 months in confinement, and her french has never been this good.

[@josephpanzarella1417]

Dan, as a native English speaker living in Mexico for some time now, let me give you a tip for what helped me to learn Spanish faster than anything else. It is to have friends who speak no English. While that may be a bit more difficult in Montreal I'm sure they're out there. As long as you know they speak English it will always be too easy to fall back on. I hear you 100%. I know lots of gringos living in Mexico for years who can't even read a menu. That's not a good way to live. You have the right attitude. Stick with it!!

[@nomadicdaze355]

I completely agree! When learning Spanish and French, finding friends who spoke only in that target language pushed me to learn so much because I couldn't fall back on English.

[@yan-erikb.-bouchard2247]

I would say that finding French-only speaking people in Montreal to improve practice is pretty hard since the French Canadian majority there has at least a good spoken English base, especially the youth. Step out of the island though and this will be pretty easy to find all across the province.

[@robichag]

Get a unilingual French GF or BF and you will be fluent in less than 2 weeks hahaha 😝

[@InternetGirl1093]

Je suis afro américaine (de Chicago, mais j’habite à NYC depuis 2016) et j’ai appris français au lycée ! Je trouve tes sentiments très agréable, en particulier quand tu as dit que c’est nécessaire d’être poli et gentil quand tu ne connais pas la langue dans un pays étranger ! Ça prend du temps, mais c’est complètement possible de l’apprendre ! Continuez comme ça ✌🏽🤗 mon français c’est pas parfait, mais je donne ma meilleur et c’est ça que compte ! (LOL I don’t know how to say that in French - that’s what counts/matters! Ça vaux...? Francophones, au secours ! 😂) Et, « My French Story » est une chaîne que j’aime beaucoup ! Pearl est une excellent prof de français!

[@maximelesperance4132]

ModelMaterial09 c’est ce qui compte

[@InternetGirl1093]

@@maximelesperance4132 Merci !

[@maximelesperance4132]

Alors, quand venez-vous visitez Montréal ?

[@InternetGirl1093]

Haha je suis allée à Montréal pour un « vacance solo » en 2017, c’était magnifique ! La vielle ville, les bagels, le « bonjour/hi » tous les temps 😂 c’était trop cool.

[@maximelesperance4132]

ModelMaterial09 vous savez que Amtrak offre NYC/Montreal pour $69. Faites-moi signe si vous revenez un jour. Je vais quand même régulièrement à NYC

[@areyouAyumi]

Hi, Dan. I am Japanese and really like watching your KZbin videos to learn English and Canadian culture. Learning other languages is so much fun, isn't it：）

[@Jan-kw1qr]

Hey is your name Yumi or Ayumi? Lol

[@meatloafmen]

Good man. As an Anglo growing up in MTL I also moved to plateau to experience more of my own city. Until I started entering the workforce during\after university I never used French, and so my level degraded significantly. However, since then I've blended myself with the city so much more and I feel I'm able to enjoy my city and province so much more.

[@arslanes5815]

Engligh is my 3rd language (after arabic and french - I'm algerian) and I'd recommend to you to watch movies in french. Watching movies in english with english subtitles helped me a lot when I was younger, so I guess it might work for you too! Btw great channel man!

[@MiggyCR]

That's actually great advice thank you

[@gagnepower]

Did the same thing to learn English 👍

[@Amirm_y1]

The most helpful series is friend to learn English

[@marc-oliviergoulet-raymond1789]

Bonjour, je suis content que tu fais des efforts pour apprendre le français, je vis à Montréal depuis 6 ans et parfois, je travaille pour Uber comme chauffeur. J'ai réalisé avec les années que les anglophones qui ne veulent pas parler en français sont souvent originaire du Québec. Les gens des autres provinces où les immigrants des autres pays font plus d'efforts pour apprendre le français comme toi. Tu es très bon en français, continue ton apprentissage 😀

[@TheNewTravel]

Merci beaucoup Marc-olivier 😎👍

[@massimomtl4522]

les Quebecois d'expression anglaise veulent aussi preserver leur culture dans cette province. Ils ont le droit de le faire.

[@eugenieg.8486]

@@massimomtl4522 Si tu ne parles pas français, tu n'es pas québécois, désolée.

[@goldorackconceptionwebmark4319]

@@massimomtl4522 ils ont 9 autres province pour preserver leur culture et 52 autres états au Sud, Le Quebec est la seule place encore majoritairement francophone. La seule façon de preserver la culture anglophone au Quebec passe par l'independance du Quebec, sans ça la culture anglophone d'ici restera toujours une menace d'assimilation, en plus du Canada Anglais. Donnez nous le controle qui nous reviens et l'insecurité va arrêter.

[@nareknarek9943]

@@goldorackconceptionwebmark4319 *le seul endroit

[@MONFLYINGSAUCER]

Very refreshing to witness such intelligent perspective from someone whom grew up in the West. KZbin needs more videos with that degree of open mindedness. Good job!

[@ronhadfield2418]

Do you think we are neanderthals out west or what? Didn’t seem refreshing to me.

[@ankush0177]

Coming from India as a student in Montreal, I expected a lot of language based racism cuz I obviously couldn’t speak no French. But I’ve experienced little to no racism here. I completely support their cause of preserving French. One shouldn’t obviously be racist towards English- speakers.But, English speakers should also understand that why they care so much about it. I speak basic French now and it’s a beautiful language, so is the culture here.

[@1111111111202]

how are the white girls there? i met a bunch of them in cuba(very common vacation spot for young montrealers) who were very freindly and real. in toronto, where i m from, ppl stick to themselves more and disgenous

[@rdacademic1635]

Les Indians par tous que pour le passeport canadien et l’argent.. don’t stay in Québec move to some other provinces ..

[@lmn8one]

I'm a native quebecer from Montreal and i'll admit that you literally gave me goosebumps when you said that you understood why we think it's unfair and have to learn english. And your french is very good actually, don't give up :) , you should be proud of you brother!

[@cath240]

Dude thank you so much!!! I'm from montreal and just the fact that you speak french and try means the world to me. Btw your french is great you dont even need to try you already got it.

[@notthatnick5546]

Thank you for your video, I really enjoyed your respectful perspective. I was born in Montreal, and I’m a native French speaker, even though I do have an English surname. We absolutely never spoke English at home while I was growing up, so like many other Québécois, I learned English at school and by watching TV. What people don’t seem to realize is that native French speakers in Québec have mandatory English courses for 13 years if they go up to the Cégep, which is a kind of 2-year pre-university school. I repeat: mandatory English courses for 13 years. If they don’t go beyond high school, it’s still 11 years worth of English courses. And if you don’t pass those courses, you don’t get your diplomas. Of course, I treasure the fact that I can speak English, and it’s actually useful professionally. However, in my day-to-day personal life, I live completely in French. From what I can tell, even though Canada is supposed to be a bilingual country, other Canadians (as in Canadians outside Québec) don’t have to follow so many mandatory French courses. Otherwise, their French level would be at least decent, which is not the case. From my experience, I would say that the average native English speaker in Canada can barely use a few French sentences and that certain people even take some pride in this. Once in Ontario, I was even insulted right in my face because I had the “audacity” to speak French with members of my family. And I was just a kid (10 years old) at the time. I think the words "French" and "Frog" were involved. Good times. Long story short, people in Québec feel very protective of French. It’s a big part of our culture, of our life and of our identity. And I’m very glad to see that you are making an effort to speak French and be part of the community you live in. By the way, even though you don’t sound like a local, you have a very nice English accent, which most people here find endearing. Also, I could understand you just fine when you spoke French. Just knowing you are making a real effort to speak the local language is enough to make Québécois happy and willing to help you in any way they can. :-)

[@jdmitaine]

I do agree... being francophone, although bilingual and but he slightest of accent, I was still very much insulted in Toronto and felt the racism which I never have traveling to South America, South Korea or Japan, not to mention Europe...we are protective for a very valid reason as mentioned in this videos, Dan sure understands it... too bad the ROC uses French as a tourist trap advertising on international visitors than it being a reality... I remember the ''speak white'' comment my mom and I got during the 60s in downtown Montreal, and I was really appawled when just recently I could not be served in various stores downtown...

[@iwanttobeapopstar008]

I'm from Perú, my first language is spanish, i know english very well bc i study for years on my English skills. I'll be going to Montreal to study for a few years, I'm actually excited to learn french, i think it's always amazing to learn a new language and culture. Thanks for the info n.n

[@MACNSTNT]

Cool! That's the right attitude. Super! Voilà la bonne attitude! Bienvenue à Montréal! Bienvenue au Quebec!

[@martinbelec1826]

Bravo for this vidéo, as a french Québécois and a pro independence person, I must say you have been quite respectful and have used the right tone and presented an honest position about the French language in Canada, in Québec and in Montreal and you pretty much nailed it. Je veux aussi vous féliciter pour vos efforts à parler français même si c'est une langue difficile. Continuez de pratiquer, vous êtes déjà très bon. J'aime beaucoup vos vidéos et votre point de vue sur Montréal et le Québec, vous êtes très respectueux.

[@racheldupuis9558]

Wow! C'est très bien dit! J'habite à Montréal depuis environ trois ans, je suis native de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue, où on ne parle que en français. Ça m'a fait tout un choque au début, lorsque je me suis trouvé un emplois dans un dépanneur et beaucoup de personnes ne parlaient pas français. Heureusement je suis bilingue, mais je pensais à mes amies qui ne le sont pas et je trouve ça très triste. Être obligé d'apprendre une seconde langue pour le travail, alors qu'on se trouve dans sa propre contrée! C'est comme si on demandait (exemple) aux australiens d'apprendre le portugais parce qu'il y a beaucoup de touristes... Ça ne fait aucun sens! Même si ce n'est que quelques mots, j'apprécie beaucoup quand les gens essaies! Alors continue ton bon travaille et de pratiquer ton français!

[@bboutube7334]

While I was living in the Dominican Republic, it would never have occurred to me to not do my best to learn Spanish. Thank you for explaining our reality to the ROC.

[@TUlmer19]

Im an American who has lived in Montreal for 8 years. I completely agree with everything you said! Its overwhelming at first but after time and practice knowing French opens more doors and makes you feel more a part of the city. And every Quebecor is super appreciative when an anglophone tries to speak French! (even though they will repeat and tease your accent, its in a loving way :)

[@lilpump9507]

I’m a Texan, I’d be willing to learn French if I ever move to Montreal. :-)

[@letsbeginrpg]

You're welcome anytime

[@boink800]

There's a big labour shortage in Quebec, they need people even now.

[@massimomtl4522]

Do you speak Spanish?

[@nicholasortiz4836]

Same here

[@lilpump9507]

@@massimomtl4522 yes

[@hockeyiscanada]

Well, it depends on what kind of life you want to have in Montreal, you can just live your life with english population or you can be cool and enrich your life by learning french and working in french and having french friends as well as english friends !! Personally, I grew up in Vancouver and then moved to Montreal in 2000, I did everything possible to learn and master french and during the first few years. I even did my university studies at Université de Montréal and all my friends are french speaking. I've never even worked in a english speaking environment. I do everything in frenxh for the last 16 years (thinking, speaking, work, friends, t.v. cinemas, my computer, smartphone, internet, everything) and it's been the coolest thing I ever did living my life in another langauge !! Now I can travel the World live and work without having to learn the language in french speaking countries . You see learnjng languages is one of the best things peiple can do in life, it opens many opportunities !!

[@robichag]

As a Francophone. I can tell if more people thought like you on both side of this debate, we would have a much better society. Merci. Tu es un vrai montréalais!

[@dreios]

Merci pour cette video Dan ! Je suis brésilien j'étudie le français toutes le jours parce que je vais aller a Montreal cette anneé. I've travelled to Montreal in 2019 and plan to go there this year with a study permit and indeed it's a great city to improve on both english and french and totally agree with you, if I had knowledge in french when I went there in 2019 I would have had a whole different and better experience there. PS: I had some great time there, since I arrived at the YUL with the Bonjour / Hi filter from the officer to my last night there asking for a local beer, it's really a great city and province ( Quebec )

[@MartinRolo]

Estou feliz que gostas da nossa cidade ahah, tu parles bien français!

[@JoaoPedro-tt1nx]

@@MartinRolo look who's here hahaha

[@MartinRolo]

@@JoaoPedro-tt1nx sim! Olá hehehh

[@katymaloney]

Bemvindo brasileiros!! I went to Brazil in 2015 (Manaus, Santarem, Belem, on the Amazon), I miss fresh cupuaçu juices in the morning... 🧡 But we have some frozen pulps at least!! And great brazilian cafés/restaurants/spots where you can get pao de queijo freshly baked and those little sablé cookies that taste like coconut....! 😄 Sorry I couldn't hold on to your language, I was busy tasting all the foods and marveling as belezas naturais Amazônicas! Botos, ahhh!!! Saudade! xD

Thank you for learning French. Merci vraiment. I am french, recently moved to Montreal and settled in an english speaking area. Most shop cashiers don't speak french and are even rude (I dread young cashiers at Jean Coutu...) when they spot my french accent (I stopped trying to get rid of it and also stopped trying to check who speaks french or english so I endup speaking english to people and then I realise they are french speaking quebecois who do the same to blend in an english speaking neighborhood... confusing, right ?). Anyway, Bilinguism is a strenght, it opens doors to culture, stories, new sources of wonders and untertainment ;). I also admire people from non english nor french speaking countries who come here and have to learn english and still manage to learn a bit of french to be included in the quebec society. It is just a question of knowing and respecting the culture. Alors continue d'apprendre et découvrir cette belle province. 💙🤓

[@kevinjredmond8873]

Moi aussi. I have friends on both sides of 'The Main'. I am from the States but I know the history (studied more Canadia/en history than U.S.) & I agree. I am always learning new words in french & I love Montréal ! It is true about Québec as a whole regarding the French language. Vivre Les Montrealais !!!

[@rajjain2027]

I live in Toronto and have been wondering about moving to Montreal. You're going to be a catalyst in my decision! I love how open you are and how as a Canadian anglophone you see the world. It's refreshing! :)

[@libertas-goddessofliberty5664]

I lived in Ontario and learned French as a kid, was surprised to learn that I actually understand most of your french.

[@louislalonde3221]

Coming from Quebec I was really happy to hear someone encourage learning french! Also, my favourite part is the fact that you have a little bit of our accent in your french. Very well done!

[@NS-cq5cg]

Wow!!! I’ m very impressed with how accurate your vision is. I hope that everybody who doesn’t know french would make the same effort as you to learn our language. Félicitations and don’t be shy to speak french even if it’s incorrect sometimes, we love to see people trying, that’s all we ask! Vive le Québec

[@joannegiroux9020]

I love your channel ! Congratulations, you're a wonderful spokesperson, an asset to Montréal. Keep up the good work and I'm sure that your spoken French will improve, even though it's not that bad at the moment. Your best asset is your positive attitude.

[@luc-mariegervais4163]

I loved your video. Just a note though: French settlers did go West, especially in your native Manitoba. It just didn’t end that well for Riel and the Métis...

[@MarinaLaroche]

Not only West but South too all the way into Central America.

[@ronhadfield2418]

He acknowledged that when talking about St Boniface. He said you don’t hear it much in Vancouver.

[@MarinaLaroche]

@@ronhadfield2418 And your point is ? French isn't spoken In Mexico and Central America either yet we went there. BTW: In your comment you wrote the word "here", it ought to be written as "hear" in this context.

[@ronhadfield2418]

@@MarinaLaroche The comment was redundant.

[@MarinaLaroche]

@@ronhadfield2418 It certainly wasn't as I pointed out French people went all the way down to Central America which is something he never said a word about. You're the one with the redundant comment. BTW: Good move on fixing your orthographic error.

[@isaachenry6640]

I moved to Mtl summer of 2022! A non Canadian whose first language is English. As a english speaker, I feel that we expect that everyone should speak our language. English is literally everywhere. Even in South America there is an English speaking country. I fell in love with Mtl, the people and the language. Overtime I realized that the people of Quebec seems like 2nd class citizens in their own country. Why should they be the ones who have to be bilingual and learn ENG? Why can't the rest of Canada do likewise? However, I don't fully agree with the language law because personally it seems to caused division But I totally understand why Québecois feel that way. My social group and people that I interacted with are always happy, when they see the effort that I put in when I try to speak to them in their tongue. Most times when they hear my english accent or me struggling to speak French, they switched to ENG. Like how can I truly learn first hand if you switch up on me? I feel that I will have to leave Mtl for an English speaking province but When my French is good, owww baby I will be back for you. ❤

[@alexandrebouliane6224]

I agree with everything you say. Thank you for making the effort to learn French and embracing our culture. I wish everybody was as open minded as you. Ton français est super bon! Cheers!

[@kikimo57]

always impressed when someone actually tries to speak the local language. Bravo, et ne lâche pas.

[@patrickw123]

Le Nouveau-Brunswick est officiellement bilingue / New Brunswick is officially bilingual, the only such province in Canada! But does that matter if few people visit? They should! Beautiful forests, lakes, rivers, and shorelines. Great place to kayak!

[@joannewilson6577]

And not one of the conservator party that want to be the leader can speak french .

[@cameliap1146]

@@joannewilson6577 : la perfection n' est pas de ce monde ! Isn't it ?😂

[@joannewilson6577]

@@cameliap1146 Personne ne demande la perfection mais au moins un peu d'honnetete intellectuelle.

[@joannewilson6577]

@@cameliap1146 Province bilingue mon cul;les seuls bilingues sont les francophones comme au Quebec d'aileurs.

[@patrickw123]

Ghislain Laframboise and of course some Acadians became the Cajuns of Louisiana

[@Abdulrazak-iu8bk]

Im planning to do my mba in quebec and ive started learning french couple of months ago all by myself with the help of youtube and spotify . Wish me luck eh ❤

[@IGMattDaMan]

It’s funny because outsiders often think of Quebec as a super racist conservative place but it’s really the opposite, we’re super liberal, we love people from all race & religion, what we get defensive about as you said is language, if you don’t know french or don’t care to learn it, then we have a problem, it’s a matter of respect & for us, survival

[@huskynation2107]

your french is very understandable, better than some of my friends that have lived in montreal their whole life. keep it up and itll be perfect soon!

[@jjpki4654]

I have yet to visit Montreal but I already knew that there's more English being spoken there than Francophones would like. I personally like that they're doing their best to preserve their language, otherwise, French would die out in no time. English has become the de facto second language of the world, which means that new immigrants to Canada are less likely to want to learn French. That could jeopardize the fate of the French language in a couple of generations if they don't do anything about it.

[@Fossiil-Records]

Yeah I'm fine with it. I experienced a lot of discrimination and violence growing up english in quebec.

[@wavearts3279]

Statistics Canada expect the french to die within 100 years. It's very sad and that's why we have bills to protect our language.

[@Fossiil-Records]

@@wavearts3279 Forgive me if I don't care.

[@jjpki4654]

@@Fossiil-Records That's not cool. I haven't been to Quebec yet but I know what you're talking about.

[@wavearts3279]

@@jjpki4654 thanks a lot then! It really means a lot for us.

[@tinhinanemezair4397]

Hello I'm algerian and I speak four languages fluently , I speak French and English , I recommend you watch kids' cartoons in french (this is how I learned french, u can find ones that even adults can hv fun watching) they have an easier language and talk slowly with gestures that help understand the meaning and will provide u with 80% of the french , 100% of daily life french but 80% of what u need in work for exemple , but that messing 20% is technical words that you learn in school , the words related to your job , good luck

[@mariontheriault5925]

Hey Dan :) First of all you french is pretty good, and the will to learn french is really heartwarming. Also pardon me if my english grammar isnt always the best. I wanted to add a litte history in your video, so people understand why maybe some of the older generations were closed minded to English people before. Historically, the province of Quebec was for the most part a peasant province with English minorities that usually lived more in bigger cities. In the 19th century there was a huge pressure from the church on the french peasant community to have a lot of babies. That pressure was less present in cities and led to a poorer population in the countryside than in the cities because on the number of mouths to feed. The industrialization on the Quebec made a lot of English and Scottish companies emerged and usually, they needed a lot of labour, so they hired underpaid french Québecois labour. For a long time, but not that long ago, a lot of French Quebecois labour came from the countryside and were underpaid by growing English companies.It was really difficult for a french Québecois to climb the social ladder starting from there, especially without speaking English. From there a lot of frustration appeared because of the new English Bourgeoisie (mostly living in Westmount the richer neighbourhood in Canada) dominating the Québec economic landscape and the idea that québecois had to learn English to climb the social ladder in a mostly french province. A lot of our grandparents and parents were raised with that frustration towards English people. This mentality only started to disappear at the end of the 20th Century with the diversifying of the population from all over the world and the hippie current fighting discrimination and bringing more open minded points of view on the table. I think that's why today, most people that you will hear badmouthing English people are often from older generations or people whose family at one point suffered from the frustration I mentionned before and it passed through generations. I really think that learning french is a way for English speaking people to show that they understand and respect the french Quebecois history and are willing join the two communities, to break the historical distanciation between them. PS : don't get me wrong, some Québecois were also terrible people and I am not saying that Québecois were always perfect and respectful. If you want to learn more check this article (and thank you for the really cool video !): www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-since-confederation

[@samuelcarrascolopez93]

Hello, Dan, your English speaking is clearly and easy to practice. Good job. Greetings from Mexico City.

[@TheNewTravel]

Thanks a lot Samuel 🤙

[@ToVBD]

Thank you so much for your nuanced take. Being part of a small culture forces us to be defensive, and i can see how odd it might look from an outside eye. I'm glad that you understand our perspective. Tu es le bienvenu ici !

[@johnhodges2846]

I'm Montreal born with roots from England. I was raised in Verdun's English community through the 50's & 60's. I discovered the true culture of this city during '67 when the world came during Man and His World, Terre des hommes when we embraced the world with our music, language, theatre, culture et politique. We capped off the decade with la crise d'Octobre in 1970. We learned the importance of communicating, of speaking to each other (as you mentioned, just talking), getting to know and understand our "oncle Antoine" and nos amis, "les negres blancs de Nord Amerique". The observations in your videos on Montreal reflect a generational maturity one that extends across this land to the Cree land of the Eeyou Ischtee in James Bay, la Sageunay, Charlevoix, Baie Comeau and on and on. We have embraced this land and this culture. It is us. And more importantly, we have the freedom to explore our spiritual life, in both languages! Bienvenue au Québec.

[@sophieichi7355]

Ton français est vraiment cuuuuute

[@letsbeginrpg]

Your French is really charming; there are so many false friends between English and French; it makes me smile :) you can stay as long as you want. Great work

[@thierrylaflamme4823]

Cette perspective est rassurante. Merci de partager ta réalité, en tant qu'anglophone. Merci aussi pour ton respect évident de la culture québécoise. I am from Québec, but live in southern Ontario (Toronto) for 20 years now... Si tu savais le nombre de clichés que j'entends trop souvent ici, à propos de ma province d'origine. Ton analyse permet de rêver à une meilleure compréhension de la part des anglophones hors Québec.

[@verodg7833]

Thank you for being open-minded and trying to understand our culture and where we’re coming from and expanding your horizon and not live in the English bubble (which, like you said, is totally possible to do). It truly is refreshing. And I’m impressed with your level of French after only a year, I think it’s far more difficult to learn French for an anglophone than the other way around. Especially since people here have a tendency to switch to English if they hear you struggling in French. The temptation to not learn it or not practice it could be strong. Merci j’ai adoré entendre ta perspective sur ce sujet !

[@angeleduardoleovigildomarq7543]

to improve my french I used an app called hello talk to talk with natives of the language , also I listen to the radio in french or some podcast

[@frxx2251]

As a Spanish speaker, French will be relatively easy for you :)

[@hasalaxx]

I came to Montreal when I was14 yrs old to montreal. I completely agree with you about what you say. I now work at the Montreal airport as a passenger service agent for Air China for almost 5yrs now. There’s some québécois that they. Just automatically speak with in English but some of them become very rude if I even start conversation in English. There you go, they start by saying en français s’il te plaît, la la tu dois parler en français si tu habite ici au Québec. Whatever I say to them in French, they try to correct my French. Find mistakes. Plus they r travelling to China. What if they treat them like this about the language. It’s been 15 years I live here. Some of the Québécois are racist. But not everyone, there some of them good. But also not only the québécois. All I can say is that you do need French to live here and get a better job.

[@kalajel]

Funny fact: I'm old enough to remember that KFC used to be called La Villa du Poulet here in Québec.

[@eugenieg.8486]

haha ben voyons donc! Cool!

[@simonkreis-richard6453]

Hey there neighbor, we met yesterday on Mont-Royal street. Great video, I think you are as unbiased as possible. And congratulations on learning and practicing french, keep up!

[@TheNewTravel]

It was great meeting you, Simon

[@Vinayak_E]

Interesting how your facial expressions and gestures change dramatically when you start speaking French!

[@brazenglish]

Yep! And it happens to all of us when we're speaking a second language. It's kind of losing part of our personality, of not being 100% ourselves. LoL 😁😁 Amazing but scary at the same time.

[@ehaitem]

That is because he's not fluent yet. He's searching for words while speaking French.

[@kuibeiguahua]

@@brazenglish Every new language makes a new you! 真的独特!

[@christiandebellefeuille3245]

he is searching for words, and believe me what Dan did is nothing compared to my father who almost become fully fluent in Sign Languages when he start speaking english! He basically depict every single word he say in english with hand & arms movement :) At least, he manage to be understood and make the effort :)

[@wilburbonzo]

I was born in Montreal and grew up in the West Island which then was predominantly anglo, I left Quebec in the late 1970s when the Parti Quebecois took power. At that time there was real anti english sentiment, this has lessened over time. Most of the french in Quebec could speak english, it's the anglos who could not speak french. This is more than a question of language, the majority of english canadians are simply not culturally mobile, they are very stuck in their own limited ways. I have noticed that my friends who complain that they feel mistreated in Quebec (including my husband, who is American) come across as very WASP, I believe that is what turns the francophones off.

[@CACB]

I’m French and from Montreal. I was expecting something else before watching the video (never saw your other videos) but I think you mostly get it right. People outside of Montreal sometimes don’t get why they needed to learn English as a second language and later in life they see how many doors it closes for them (the same situation you stated but in reverse). Another thing to add would be than Anglos in Quebec end up in a weird situation where they are in a minority situation where the majority around them (the Francos) are themselves a minority within the country. I’m glad you explained that simply showing some effort and not getting frustrated gets good results, since most people are passably bilingual. One last thing to mention is that in a lot of professional settings, international companies will require to switch most communication to English when anything goes elsewhere. Since you are Canadian and lived in multiple provinces, I would be interested in your views about keeping both languages alive. Ottawa and New Brunswick are areas you skipped over that prize themselves with being fully bilingual (with varying results).

[@MarinaLaroche]

Ottawa ? The mayor refused to recognize the city as bilingual ! Try to get served in French in 99% of restaurants, stores, gyms, well everywhere unless you happen upon a Francophone employee or one in a million Anglo who is bilingual.

[@dubongros3108]

Mike Keane a Montréal Canadien players in the 90's , became the capitaine . When asked , he said he would never learn French because everone around him spoke HIS language. It's kind of a sick game where the lazier one wins. We even have the son of French people who brags about not speaking our language ! ( ie the president of Air Can)

[@GabMayaBackpackingNomads]

Hey Dan, loved this!! I think you had such an intelligent, realistic and open-minded approach. It was quite interesting to hear about your experience as an English speaker in Montreal. Your French is awesome btw, keep speaking as much as you can, you'll only get better and better! How are you and Nari enjoying life in Mtl? It would really be awesome if we met up. If you ever come to Ottawa/Gatineau, let us know, we'd love to see you and show you around. Gatineau Park during the Autumn is so magical with all the fall colours. And there are waterfalls, rivers, lakes... It's truly gorgeous in our hometown :) And if you want you could watch our videos to practice listening to Québécois French-speaking, learn some new words, expressions... haha!! :P (since you asked some channel recommendations) Anyway, take care! xox

[@soyeux27]

Living in Montreal and not speaking/learning/practicing French is like owning a Porsche 911 and never using the turbos. Merci Dan pour cette superbe video. Ton français est vraiment excellent, très beau à entendre! Learning is sexy, being vulnerable is beautiful and can be really sexy. Learning a new language is the best way to experience the beauty/solitude/humility/blessing found in, lets say, learning a musical instrument. À bientôt!

[@maryskillan284]

I understand where you are coming from Dan. Tu parles francais tres bien!

[@Aeneas-aojb]

Pourquoi tu mens

[@yasmined16]

@@Aeneas-aojb il ment pas

[@GoyaveGoyave]

Glad I found this! I'm American and moved to Quebec City and I go to Ulaval. Had to learn French, but it was by choice. Cool to see other stories from other anglophones who aren't against learning French. I remember the "do you need the English menu" and people changing to English. Just gotta keep politely refusing the people trying to change languages for you, from what I learned. Quebec is a great province with a great language. Your French is really good, English accent but I got one too, man. You speak with no hesitation and the accent came for me in like 2.5 years. Keep it up man!

[@jordanguay]

Great video and great French! Also a Winnipeger here wanting to move out East :)

[@sylvainrobillard4081]

My friend you are an incredible true Canadian! I realy appreciate you are learning french this is a high mark of respect from you.

[@Pasternak_]

I traveled to Montreal last year and a lot of people came up to me on the streets and supermarkets speaking French like I was a local (I don't walk around like an amazed tourist lol). Some people just gave me a strange look when I told them (in English) I didn't speak French and it led to many embarrassing situations. It's like you said, there's a certain atmosphere pushing you to speak French and, despite being an amazing city, I felt a bit uncomfortable at times. Overall, it was a great experience, but I would definitely try to learn some French before going back there one day.

[@ayyappaad9376]

You are from USA? I'm from the east so surely i don't assume like a local LOL

[@renatamcdonald3428]

I'm so sad about this 🙁...the English community is suffering big time. There are so many issues that we endure that I could talk about.

[@christofat2704]

Pushing you to speak the local language? it is just basic étiquette to say a bonjour or apologize not speak the language . Speaking english upfront in a none speaking speaking society is a bit rude. Btw for sure a nice guy .

[@Pasternak_]

christo fat I mean, I did always say “Bonjour” and I was always trying to be polite, but I did not know how to express myself if not in English. I usually didn’t say anything other the usual “Bonjour” to avoid any awkward situations. Some random dude bumped into me on the metro and was really aggressive vomiting a whole French dictionary at me and I was like “wtf am I gonna do now? *Theoretically* it was supposed to be bilingual as Quebec is still part of Canada.

[@christofat2704]

@@Pasternak_ . Sorry for that. Canada is a bilingual federation but language and culture are provincial matters . As such the the only official language in Quebec is french! By pure ignorance ,most Canadians do not know this fact and think it is granted to be served in english in French Canada

[@YONFT7079]

Dan, your French is good and I can guarantee that it will improve dramatically simply because of your positive attitude vis-à-vis our language and culture. You are already a québécois!! Hope that your videos are being watched all across Canada and by future immigrants that are contemplating living in Montreal or in La Belle Province! Good job!

[@kevinseguin8687]

Ton français est très bon . Love to see someone learning french even though we both know you could easily get by as long as you stay on the island . I loled when you say the Plateau is a french part of Montréal cause there is actually more people French from france then French from quebec 😂

[@apscoradiales]

A certain minister (I think) in the current Quebec government was suggesting that the government ban people from saying Hi/Bonjour when they greet you in stores and places Does that not sound dictatorial, and completely un-democratic? What difference does it make to anyone, including the government, if I was greeted in French or English or Swahili? In my opinion, it's none of their business how I greet someone or how I am being greeted. It's such policies or suggestions of laws/policies that drive a wedge between Anglophones and Francophones in Quebec. Keep in mind that Quebec is also a home, and a place of birth, to many English speaking people. These are the policies or things that keep either side from accepting the fact that Quebec has both, French and English speaking people living in it. In addition to others who are neither.

[@hamanamanama2263]

Im living in Montréal too! I've been here one year. We love it. My French is shit. Living on the west island and need to practice and learn more. Its hard!! Loving Montréal and all the people very much ❤

[@joannewilson6577]

Bienvenue!

[@franghan]

West Island isnt the best to learn french. My gf's family are immigrants whove been here 20 years now. Besides the kids who had to go to french school, no one learned french. Like Dan, if you move to a more french neighbourhood, it'll come more naturally. Good luck. :)

[@vincentmercier8345]

Hey Dan, Québécois here. Great video. Your french level is really great haha don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Thank you for your open mindness and understanding about the fragility of our language in Northe America. I whish more anglophones (even local ones) would understand the perspective like you did. J'espère que tu as apprécié ton séjour au Québec.

[@basketballsteve54]

I'm from California and I live on the South Shore across the river from Montreal. I've lived here in the Montreal area 12 years and it's true that you can function completely using mostly English. I think however that Anglophones in Montreal may experience wide levels of disparity in how positive or negative their experiences are with the existing language divide and language laws. I don't know any Anglos that cannot tell stories of confrontational reaction they have received when speaking English in some public situation, not one, the historical resentment of English is a part of the cost of living here.

[@sarahzollo2550]

As a born and bred Montrealer, I can say your french is really good. For someone who has been learning for a short period if time, it’s better than many of my Montreal anglophone friends lol !

[@rayhanabouzrara1567]

So I've been living in the mtl area for just over a year now. Moved here from the GTA. I knew basic french, not enough to have a conversation but i could understand basic directions for example, since then I've been taking french classes to improve. I think it is important to have a solid knowledge of french, even in Montreal! One might be able to get by without it but to get a good job you do need french! I understand that the older generation of Quebec struggled and that's why they don't like to hear English....but, i also think that people need to understand that others from outside of Quebec could move to Quebec and its not very nice, encouraging or welcoming when you're trying to learn yet someone puts you down for not speaking French (some guy literally yelled at me in a parking lot and started cursing when i asked a question in English because i didn't know how to say it in French). Ideally, since Canada is "bilingual", i think EVERYONE in Canada should be fluent in both languages! I have been to countries where the majority of people speak more than 2 languages fluently so I don't see why (or atleast the majority) Canadians can't!

[@anthonyrheaume8061]

The percentage of bilingual people in Québec is far higher than the bilingual (francophone - anglophone) population in the rest of Canada. I understand your point and your perspective on your experience is absolutely legit. But I think in comparison, the anglophone population in Montréal have it way easier than any french minority in the anglophone part of Canada.

[@katianajude5989]

100% agree with you, especially about quebec being discouraging when learning french. I'm from atlantic canada and have been living in Montreal for almost 3 years and speak decent french. Moved here excited and motivated to become bilingual but slowly lost momentum. I've found a lot of the time in this city when ppl hear a hint of an english accent/know you're anglo they switch to english even if you insist in french. I've been asked why I'm not fluent after just a few years living here, reluctantly got into heated conversations with nationalists (under 30), and patronized about my efforts in learning french. At the end of the day, the saddest part is that Canada doesn't embrace french enough. In both qc and the rest of canada the quality of education is poor because the provinces don't work together by bringing teachers across borders to lend their mother tongue leaving no one with a good basis to work off of later in life if they choose to go cross-cultural.

[@FarFromEngineering]

I'm a frenchman born in france who lived in the franco part of Belgium and immigrated to Quebec, so I feel I can give you an educated opinion of your french speaking skills: Your french is clear and understandable, fluid and you accent doesn"t get in the way because your intonation is very good.

[@marcelocouto7321]

Bonjour, Morning. Dan!! My whole live in Brazil, I've been studying English. Did an English course in NYC. Stayed 2 months in Vancouver. When, I started to learn French in África It was good but when I came back to Rio the price to study French at Alliance was much more than any English one. So, I gave up. Then when I moved to another state here. I found a cheap Institute that had equal price for all languages. Again Let's try French I did 3 periods and I stopped for professional reasons (study to get a promotion in Air Force). Why French? I want to visit France. I like wine and cheese Bordeaux, Borgonha, Paris. I guess If I speak French I will learn more about the culture and Portuguese has many words from French. But it's incredible when I stop studying French seems that everything I learned disappeared. One thing I found really strange is to force a Company to change its Brand to be there. Even in France KFC is that Brand. I will try French idiom again although for my new business Spanish would be better. But as a traveller we aren't supposed to speak all language of the country we are visiting and It's not a disrespect as someone commented here. So if a tourist come to visit Brazil they have to speak Portuguese otherwise I will think It is disrespect to us. Think about that. João Vitor were you born here in Brazil or Portugal or your parents? Best wishes to all.

[@cameliap1146]

Marcelo Couto: for sure you cannot speak all languages. But at least you try your best. Before I visited Brazil I tried to learn/know at least some...bom dia, obrigado & co. People was nice to me always. But living nicely is a bidirictional way. "Savoir vivre" is a must.

[@marcelocouto7321]

Bonjour, Morning, Buen dia, Bom dia Camelia!! I hope you're Fine! I receive my guests here trying to speak their language. I must say the language I like most is English. Due to songs, that I used to hear during my teenagers years, However, I like the sound of French, Spanish, Italian. The more languages we speak the great interaction we can make.

[@techreviewguy7771]

I discovered your channel last night. Really enjoy your videos. I have never lived in Montreal but I have visited many times. It is indeed a unique, amazing place. I live in Saint John, New Brunswick. Keep up the good work!

[@Etireugram_yalbmert]

Je crois que les seuls moment où nous critiquerons un anglophone qui ne parle pas français c’est s’il ne fait aucun effort pour apprendre la langue même après qu’il vive au Québec pendant plusieurs années. Parce que à un point à force d’y vivre normalement on apprends un peu. Donc même si le français n’est pas parfait nous somme super heureux que les gens fassent des efforts. Contrairement à la majoritée des anglophones quand ils entendent quelqu’un parler en anglais seconde langue et se plaigne des accents des gens nous on aime le français avec des accents étrangers!

[@Nitrox_Virus]

I’m from Montréal and I really enjoy your videos. You are very balanced with your review. Ton français est excellent! Lâche pas la patate!!

[@yobryan88]

I love my city Montreal! This place makes no sense if you compare it to any other city in the world. Is very unique and I like the people, so multicultural but always keeping that Quebecois roots. Love my city 🙂 French is such a complicated language and is my second language. I speak Spanish (first language), French (second) and last English. From all those 3 language French is my favourite because despite being complicated I feel like is the best way I can express myself or explain something, its a very deep language and complex. English I feel is simple and good for basic communications. Spanish I love it for being a good middle between English and french. What I learn is the more language you learn the better it is 🙂. There is not one better language than the other one but there is only one city that is the best in the world... Montreal!

[@nicolasmaugy4253]

Montréal c'est la meilleur ! Sauf pour la calisse de construction à chaque 5m haha

[@yobryan88]

@@nicolasmaugy4253 😂🤣😅

[@cameliap1146]

yobrya...: gracias. Tienes razón.

[@kontraxe]

Merci, c'était très respectueux. Ça fais du bien de se sentir compris.