In efforts to promote and enforce that no language takes precedence over the French language, the Office Québécois de la Langue Français (OQLF) in Montreal, Canada recently cited several restaurants as noncompliant due to their use of foreign words such as “pasta” and “steak” in their menus. These citations are creating a national controversy referred to by some now as “pastagate.” According to CBC, Maurice Holder, the owner of Brasserie Holder in Montreal, was even asked to go as far as to place tape over the “on/off switch.” Other infractions included taking down signs and wall art given to owners as gifts that contain English words.Some Quebecois are outraged demanding that the agency has gone too far in promoting the French language to the detriment of globalization and assimilation that naturally occurs in language. "I love Quebec... but it's not getting any easier," said David McMillan, owner of Montreal's Joe Beef, told the National Post after the Italian restaurant was cited for using the word “pasta.” "My wife is French. My business partner is French. My children go to French school, but I just get so sad and depressed and wonder, what's wrong with these people?"Still some are defensive when it comes towards the OQLF’s mission. According to the National Post, “linguistic nationalists worry that any erosion of French in Montreal could, eventually, lead to its disappearance.” Annaliese Kirchsner, a sophomore in marine biology from Canada, stands by OQLF’s zeal saying that criticism of Quebec’s movement to promote French is often misunderstood. “It has nothing to do with the dislike or banning of other languages. They just want to be able to bring their language further forward,” she said, “and I think that it fine because it is how they are and it helps bring in their culture, and their language is part of their culture.”Professor David Beus, who teaches upper-level French classes here at BYUH, said he can see both sides of the argument. “On the one hand, this is always happening with language in that it is a constantly changing process,” he said, “just as there are tens of thousands of English words that come from French that we don’t even take notice of.” Beus, who also teaches for the International Cultural Studies Department, was also ready to analyze what underlies beneath this cultural issue. “To understand where the agency is coming from and get to the heart of the issue, we have to ask the important questions of why it’s changing and who wants to change it. It’s a question of power, and language plays a huge part on shaping culture.”After further investigation, the OQLF has admitted its investigators were possibly too harsh in carrying out policy. OQLF representative Mark Bergeron, according to CBC was quoted as saying “maybe it's a little bit of zeal, but the important thing is we look at it more closely, and we come to the conclusion that there is nothing there.”
Writer: Sydney Odell~Multimedia Journalist
