Pardon My English

 

Bienvenue a Quebec. Please leave your anglaise at the door.

By Rhea Côté Robbins

Everyone seems so jubilantly ‘languaged’ in Québec City, and as they walk by me in their diverse splendor, the need for it all to be in English melts… 

A week later, I’m back at camp in Maine—the Belgrades—but the jolt of travel to the country next door is still with me.

The reality that so close to where I live, the French language is “here” atop the heap of spoken tongues once ruled by  short, clipped, Germanic, one-syllabled English (apart from words borrowed from the French to begin with) begs for more ruminations.

Read the full story in the digital magazine above.

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