Page 3 - Language Laws News Today

[ laughter ] >> patrick: it is stupid. uh, i agree with you completely that this -- this province, 40 years ago, was in some respect, an english city. so we needed to have language laws for signage and stuff. >> anthony: now, signage, for instance, must by law be principally in french. french first in all things. >> patrick: but every bureaucracy produces byproducts of stupidity. and that was it. and you know what? it will not stand. >> anthony: the anglo-canadians treated french-speaking québ�...

My last name is bourdain. i lean french, hard. i am enormously sympathetic to the language laws. >> patrick: you dont think its preposterous? >> anthony: i do not think its preposterous. but here we have a situation. [ laughter ] >> patrick: it is stupid. uh, i agree with you completely that this -- this province, 40 years ago, was in some respect, an english city. so we needed to have language laws for signage and stuff. >> anthony: now, signage, for instance, must by law be principally in fren...

>> patrick: you dont think its preposterous? >> anthony: i do not think its preposterous. but here we have a situation. [ laughter ] >> patrick: it is stupid. uh, i agree with you completely that this -- this province, 40 years ago, was in some respect, an english city. so we needed to have language laws for signage and stuff. >> anthony: now, signage, for instance, must by law be principally in french. french first in all things. >> patrick: but every bureaucracy produces byproducts of stupidit...

Extent even today. journalist patrick lagacé meets me for lunch at bistro m sur masson to help me understand a little bit of what many québécois feel is at stake. so, i was going to talk about the whole history of french québécois identity, the separatist movement, all this, but i have to get right to the pressing matter of the day: pastagate. [ laughter ] >> patrick: pastagate. what do you want to know about pastagate? >> anthony: for those not up on current quebec politics, pastagate refe...

Preposterous. but here we have a situation. [ laughter ] >> patrick: it is stupid. uh, i agree with you completely that this -- this province, 40 years ago, was in some respect, an english city. so we needed to have language laws for signage and stuff. >> anthony: now, signage, for instance, must by law be principally in french. french first in all things. >> patrick: but every bureaucracy produces byproducts of stupidity. and that was it. and you know what? it will not stand. >> anthony: the an...

The language laws. >> patrick: you dont think its preposterous? >> anthony: i do not think its preposterous. but here we have a situation. [ laughter ] >> patrick: it is stupid. uh, i agree with you completely that this -- this province, 40 years ago, was in some respect, an english city. so we needed to have language laws for signage and stuff. >> anthony: now, signage, for instance, must by law be principally in french. french first in all things. >> patrick: but every bureaucracy produces byp...

Laws, because they used the word pasta, which is italian. this is? >> okay, stop apologizing, okay? >> dont get me wrong. my last name is bourdain. i lean french, hard. im normally sympathetic to the language laws. >> you dont think its preposterous? >> i do not think it is preposterous, but here we have a situation. >> it is stupid. i agree with you completely that this province 40 years ago was in some respects an english city, so we needed to have language laws for signage and stuff. >> now, ...

Laws, because they used the word pasta, which is italian. this is? >> okay, stop apologizing, okay? >> dont get me wrong. my last name is bourdain. i lean french, hard. im normally sympathetic to the language laws. >> you dont think its preposterous? >> i do not think it is preposterous, but here we have a situation. >> it is stupid. i agree with you completely that this province 40 years ago was in some respects an english city, so we needed to have language laws for signage and stuff. >> now, ...

Were in violation of french laws, because they used the word pasta, which is italian. this is? >> okay, stop apologizing, okay? >> dont get me wrong. my last name is bourdain. i lean french, hard. im normally sympathetic to the language laws. >> you dont think its preposterous? >> i do not think it is preposterous, but here we have a situation. >> it is stupid. i agree with you completely that this province 40 years ago was in some respects an english city, so we needed to have language laws for...

The issue of seceding entirely, a notion that persists to some extent even today. journalist patrick meets me at m sur masson, to understand what many feel is at stake. so i was going to talk about the whole history of french quebecoi siismt, but i have to get to the pressing matter of the day -- pasta-gate. >> what do you want to know? >> for those not up on current quebec politics, pasta-gate refers to an incident where local authorities notified an italian restaurant that they were in violati...