Abstracts
Abstract
In Quebec—a province with complex and fraught language politics—the federal Official Languages Act recognizes the English-speaking population of Quebec as a minority language community. Anchored in the perspective of English-speaking Quebec, the essay argues that the Official Languages Act is an attempt at nation-building, embedded and embroiled in the history and politics of language. First, the essay discusses how the existence of English-speaking Quebec shaped language rights and the Official Languages Act in particular. Next, it describes the English-speaking minority of Quebec and how this minority fits within the framework of the Act, commenting on and critiquing the Act from this perspective. Lastly, it argues that the modernization of the Act is more than just a technical exercise and that it requires a national conversation and debate around language and identity.
Keywords:
- official languages,
- English-speaking,
- Quebec,
- law,
- constitution
Résumé
Au Québec – une province où les politiques linguistiques sont complexes –, la Loi sur les langues officielles, une loi fédérale, reconnaît la population d’expression anglaise comme communauté de langue officielle en situation minoritaire. Ancré dans la perspective de la communauté d’expression anglaise du Québec, cet essai soutient que la Loi sur les langues officielles est une tentative d’édification nationale qui s’inscrit dans l’histoire du pays et sa politique des langues. Dans un premier temps, l’essai raconte comment l’existence de la communauté d’expression anglaise au Québec a façonné le développement des droits linguistiques et la Loi sur les langues officielles en particulier. Ensuite, il décrit la communauté d’expression anglaise au Québec et le traitement qui lui est accordé en vertu de la Loi. Il donne des commentaires sur la Loi dans cette perspective. Enfin, il soutient que la modernisation de la Loi n’est pas simplement un exercice technique ; elle requiert plutôt une conversation nationale au sujet de la langue et de l’identité.
Mots-clés :
- langues officielles,
- anglophone,
- Québec,
- droit,
- constitution
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Appendices
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