Lack of French at the Olympics?

[PowerPlayoffs06]

The office of Canada's watchdog for official languages is investigating several complaints that there wasn't enough French in the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/02/16/fraser-french016.html?ref=rss#ixzz0flRwJGAD

I've been wondering why everything gets announced in French first and then repeated in English. I figured it was just catering to the over-sensitive French minority in the country. Why is anybody complaining? I would have to assume it must be over signage or something not being bi-lingual since the PA announcements at all the ceremonies clearly gave French priority for some reason.

[Dwight_K_Schrute]

I find it funny that the opening ceremonies show one french song and they think that's enough. The french have won both our gold medals. They deserve equal time.

I expect half the closing ceremonies to be in french.

[GirlySports]

I've been wondering why everything gets announced in French first and then repeated in English. I figured it was just catering to the over-sensitive French minority in the country. Why is anybody complaining? I would have to assume it must be over signage or something not being bi-lingual since the PA announcements at all the ceremonies clearly gave French priority for some reason.

The Olympic languages are french and english. Even when the opening ceremonies were in places like Sydney, Athens, and Beijing, everything was announced in french first and english second.

I think it'll be hilarious in London 2012 when everything is announced in french first.

[IceMan]

I find it funny that the opening ceremonies show one french song and they think that's enough. The french have won both our gold medals. They deserve equal time.

I expect half the closing ceremonies to be in french.
Maelle Ricker is from North Vancouver, BC.

[Dwight_K_Schrute]

Maelle Ricker is from North Vancouver, BC.

But her heritage?

[Diet Water]

They should have done more to honor Quebec and it's rich history of whining.

[_Q_]

The Olympics are in the English part of Canada. Also, most of the world understands English, not French. When the Olympics were in China or Greece, most of the ceremonies were in English just to appeal to the majority of the viewers. I think the Quebecois should shut up and accept that nobody really speaks French.

[Dan02]

But her heritage?

I'm confused where you are going with this.

[IceMan]

But her heritage?
I didn't hear once anybody say she was French Canadian or had French roots.

[Dwight_K_Schrute]

The name Maelle doesn't give it away?

[SteveToms]

The name Maelle doesn't give it away?

So a name automatically makes you have a certain heritage? You are such a idiot

[Dwight_K_Schrute]

Maelle is a french name. Look it up.

[Hemi-Cuda]

The name Maelle doesn't give it away?

do you honestly not realize how stupid you come across? and that's not even factoring in the effeminate signature

[Dwight_K_Schrute]

do you honestly not realize how stupid you come across? and that's not even factoring in the effeminate signature

Wait...

I'm stupid because I think somebody with a french name has a french heritage? lol.

[IceMan]

Maelle is a french name. Look it up.
She's not French, just give it up.

[Dwight_K_Schrute]

My point is a lot of our athletes have french backgrounds and they need to be respected. And not just by throwing in one french song.

[Stranger]

When Quebec gets the Winter Olympics they can french it up. Quite frankly I'm tired of Quebec always playing this card.

[Stranger]

My first name is Scottish, but I've never set foot in Scotland or or even known anyone Scottish, but damn it I want people to respect my Scottish roots.

[cheevers]

My point is a lot of our athletes have french backgrounds and they need to be respected. And not just by throwing in one french song.
So what about the prairies, or the east coast, they only really got one song dedicated to them. And the French song was really only for Quebec, so it was essentially the only province that got its own little song. Did every prairie or east coast province get their own song? No, they were lumped together, wheres your outrage over that?

[redforever]

My first and middle names are both French and I dont have a drop of French blood in me, just happened to the names my parents liked.

[Flabbibulin]

Maelle is a french name. Look it up.

Dwight is a Flemish name... Why the hell aren't your posts in Dutch?!?!?!

[ZedMan]

My first and middle names are both French and I dont have a drop of French blood in me, just happened to the names my parents liked.

+1 Also, Ricker isn't french. (Apparently the it's the germanic parent of Richard and others ref (http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Ricker))

[Hack&Lube]

Does Dion Phaneuf have french heritage?

Serious question

[Resolute 14]

There is no bigger hypocrite than a Quebecker whining about the disrespect of the french language. So long as Quebec maintains its discriminatory practices wrt the use of English, I could care less what they think. The amount of french in these Olympics is too much.

Besides, ask any Frenchman, Quebec French is not French, just some ized and inferior dialect.

[bluck]

English is a more mainstream global language... French is not.

[ricoFlame]

I find it funny that the opening ceremonies show one french song and they think that's enough. The french have won both our gold medals. They deserve equal time.

I expect half the closing ceremonies to be in french.

LOL "the french". LOL

[Smell My Finger]

I've been wondering why everything gets announced in French first and then repeated in English. I figured it was just catering to the over-sensitive French minority in the country. Why is anybody complaining? I would have to assume it must be over signage or something not being bi-lingual since the PA announcements at all the ceremonies clearly gave French priority for some reason.

too much french :whistle:

[GirlySports]

The Olympics are in the English part of Canada. Also, most of the world understands English, not French. When the Olympics were in China or Greece, most of the ceremonies were in English just to appeal to the majority of the viewers. I think the Quebecois should shut up and accept that nobody really speaks French.

Yes the Quebecois should just shut up.

The Opening Ceremonies are in French, English + host language if necessary.

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8ItRrO6P1W4

[You Need a Thneed]

Considering the population of the Vancouver area, French should probably have been dropped in favour of Cantonese or Mandarin.

[IceMan]

I've been wondering why everything gets announced in French first and then repeated in English.
The official languages of the Olympics are French and English. I wondered the same thing as to why they're announcing everything in French first since were not in Quebec but then found out the real reason.

Bottom line is that nobody cares but of course, the Francophones in this Country always want to complain about something. Instead of being proud of being "Canadian" and supporting our athletes, everybody always has to complain about something. If our French Canadian athletes don't care, why is it an issue?

IMO, there's already too much French in these Olympics and considering that the majority of Canada speaks English and it's the most popular language in the world, they should be happy with the French coverage they already get.



Edit: After reading it twice, I noticed how many times I used the word "French" lol. Oh well.

[PowerPlayoffs06]

I don't think there's too much French. I don't think there's too little either. I would fully expect both languages to be spoken for announcements and ceremonies; I just wasn't sure why English was coming second since the games are in an English speaking province. I think it's pretty, I dunno, arrogant I guess, that the native language of a host country comes third behind French and English as shown in the videos from GirlySports. The host language should come first and then the two official Olympic languages.

[Fire]

The French are whining... surprise... surprise...

[3 Justin 3]

Maelle is a french name. Look it up.

My last name is German, when I was in Munich I saw a store that was called my last name! Obviously if I won the gold medal they should be announcing everything in German.

But at least you changed your Avatar and signature.

[Mad Mel]

The French are whining... surprise... surprise...

Almost as surprising as Albertans are whining about the French.

[TopChed]

Just because there's 2 official languages does not mean 50% of our country is Quebec. Why should they need special treatment? Like another poster said, the theme of the ceremony was to represent the landscape of Canada. Is Quebec half of Canada?

[SebC]

I've been wondering why everything gets announced in French first and then repeated in English. I figured it was just catering to the over-sensitive French minority in the country.IMO it's better for English speakers that way... "blah-blah-blah! Canada is awesome!" *applause* is better than "Canada is awesome! blah-blah-blah!" *applause*

[Boblobla]

I don't know what they are complaining about. I was pretty choked at how everything seems to be in French first and English second. Everyone who I have talked to about the opening ceremonies has noticed that as well.

[GirlySports]

I think it's cool that when the Olympics were in France, they have announce in English and when the Olympics are in London they will have to speak French.

And it's not just the Opening Ceremony, it's ALL events.

In hockey, they even announce it when the penalty is over! In both languages!

"Le Canada joue aux complet/Canada plays full strength"

Something for you guys to notice when penalties are killed off :D

[VladtheImpaler]

Maelle (I can't find the symbol for the e with the 2 dots over it) Ricker's heritage is definitely German. On behalf of Mrs. Impaler, I am outraged that the Horst Wessel song was not played...

[Icon]

They announced everything first in french, then english.

They had a french singer perform.

France was there. :P

They're doing the stupid Ole Ole crap at the hockey games...

What more do you want?


They're probably pissed Donald Sutherland didn't speak French.

[mikey_the_redneck]

For the french speaking whiners.....

http://www.code######.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/cry-baby.gif

http://nsaney.com/pics/cry_baby_shampoo.gif
Enjoy.....

[North East Goon]

but it does cause tears

I know!!!

HE HE HE HA HA HA!

[PowerPlayoffs06]

IMO it's better for English speakers that way... "blah-blah-blah! Canada is awesome!" *applause* is better than "Canada is awesome! blah-blah-blah!" *applause*

It'd probably be more like, "Canada is awesome!" *applause drowns out the French announcement* :D

[Locke]

Natives dont speak French...neither does this thing:

http://nerdluv.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/quatchi.jpg


Whatever the hell that is...

[Phaneuf3]

But her heritage?
You're trying to manufacture some french roots for one of the medalists where there are none. If we're really going to go down that path... if you consider current theories of the origins of homo sapiens, we should really be catering to african culture here and not french....

[nemanja2306]

I really dislike the French...when will they realize the world doesn't revolve around them?

[Cowboy89]

I really dislike the French...when will they realize the world doesn't revolve around them?

The problem isn't that they fail to realize that the world doesn't revolve around them. It's rather their insistance that the world should.

[-TC-]

the cheese eating surrender monkeys should shut the hell up and have a poutine

[mykalberta]

Why do the Olympics need to be bilingual at all. They paid homage to it at the Ceremonies and that is more than enough.

Its run by VANOC not the Feds.

[bomber317]

Why do the Olympics need to be bilingual at all. They paid homage to it at the Ceremonies and that is more than enough.

Its run by VANOC not the Feds.

Because it's the official languages of the Olympics as stated before. The olympics in London will have French and English.

[Huntingwhale]

There's not enough Swahili spoken at the olympics either...

[Salisbury]

Even before the complaints came out, I thought there was too much french at the opening ceremonies. It was a disproportionate amount, considering that the majority of Canadians dont speak French.

I think they (The Whiners) should just 'wind their necks in'!

[troutman]

Why do the Olympics need to be bilingual at all. They paid homage to it at the Ceremonies and that is more than enough.

Its run by VANOC not the Feds.

French is an official language of the IOC. This is not a Quebec/Fed thing.

[GirlySports]

Yes one day the Olympics will be in Mars and the everything would be in French, English and Martian. The Quebecois would still complain and the Martians would then attack them.

[hwy19man]

There is no bigger hypocrite than a Quebecker whining about the disrespect of the french language. So long as Quebec maintains its discriminatory practices wrt the use of English, I could care less what they think. The amount of french in these Olympics is too much.

Besides, ask any Frenchman, Quebec French is not French, just some ized and inferior dialect.

So true. I am bilingual with my mother being born and raised in France and my father is an english Quebecer from Montreal. The cry baby act that some Quebecers (civilians and politicians) is ridiculous, rude, and dumb. The amount of french for these is Olympics and all other Olympic games is just right. It is not too much or too little. It is par for the course.

I have been watching RDS and they have said that they are happy with the amount of French that is printed and spoken. I have also been watching online the France and Swiss national Olympic channels and their reporters were laughing at what some puny Quebecers were saying. They are also happy with all the french language in Vancouver.


These people complaining are ignoring other french enhancements around BC. Here in Victoria, there are Montreal transit buses all over town with french on them and the riders like it. Victoria sent their new buses to Vancouver and Whistler and extra buses from Ontario and Quebec have been sent to the Island.

[Igottago]

Its about time Canada drops French as an official language, or adds others (Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Punjabi). Lets face it, the latter is not realistic. This is not a 2 language country anymore.

[hwy19man]

Its about time Canada drops French as an official language, or adds others (Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Punjabi). Lets face it, the latter is not realistic. This is not a 2 language country anymore.

The continent of North America should copy Europe's multilingualism.

[hwy19man]

Those babies who complained about the lack of French conveniently forgot about this announcement. They can shut up and\et fermez les bouches!

The V network will provide Francophone viewers with CTV’s sports coverage through the end of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games on February 28, 2010.
http://www.shaw.ca/NR/rdonlyres/ACF2BA56-11FA-423D-8D50-551C59BB638B/0/ShawCTVFeb5.pdf (http://www.shaw.ca/NR/rdonlyres/ACF2BA56-11FA-423D-8D50-551C59BB638B/0/ShawCTVFeb5.pdf)

[CalgaryFan1988]

I grew up in Quebec. To give some insight as to how ridiculous some French Quebecois are....

There are names of roads that have been using English/Irish/Scottish last names for a hundred years or more. A french speaking Canadian will move into a house on the road and complain that the names of the roads should be in French and it's not proper in any other language other than French in Quebec (after moving into the town or acreage a month or two prior).

I think they should all just up and move to France if they want to be in a French country.

[miko]

While some of this backlash might be a little much, I agree with the sentiment. The complaints about French remind me of the protests against the Olympics: some people just like to be angry. There was a lot of French at the ceremonies. The anthem was split French/English, the speeches were split French/English, they had a French performer sing a French song, and nearly every PA announcement was in French too, except for Donald Sutherland's quotations, which I hear some Quebecois are upset about. This is the only complaint I consider remotely legitimate, although I also consider it very minor. Furthermore, a lot of the performers (most?) were from a Quebecois performance group. That is French-Canadian culture put at the center of an international stage intended to portray Canada. People still complained that VanOC wanted Francophones to be seen and not heard, even though the rest of the ceremony showed this was clearly not true. Seriously, everyone likes visiting Quebec and respects Francophone Canadians. People just need to stop acting so offended all the time.

[temple5]

French is an official language of the IOC. This is not a Quebec/Fed thing.

Front page story in the Globe and Mail today would indicate otherwise.

Was it me or did I miss the French at at Beijing, Turin, or Athens.

[GirlySports]

Really? Then the Globe and Mail writer doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.

[troutman]

Front page story in the Globe and Mail today would indicate otherwise.

Was it me or did I miss the French at at Beijing, Turin, or Athens.

It was you. There may have been more french at those games.

Ex. Beijing - french, english, chinese:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z-eYRIyTo08/SJ0I1sM_F6I/AAAAAAAAJHA/wFkoasHz_qY/s400/xinsrc_3220805082345406778718.jpg

Athens - Rogge speaks partly in French:

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Torino - partly in french:

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