From: evan@telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch)
Subject: Re: Separation?
Organization: Somewhere just far enough out of Toronto
Distribution: can
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 04:06:06 GMT

In article <1992Apr13.001603.4877@watserv1.waterloo.edu>
	schamber@watserv1.waterloo.edu (CHAMBERLAND S - BIOLOGY) writes:

>In article <29E7811F.3BE2@telly.on.ca> evan@telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch) writes:
>>>About this campaign of the trucker, in French, it says "Mon Canada comprend 
>>>le Que'bec". Direct translation in English: could be "My Canada includes
>>>Quebec"  OR "My Canada understands Quebec".
>>>The true exact translation should be "Mon Canada INCLUT le Que'bec".
>>>
>>>Why the words are different in French?
>>>Many people think exactly that Canada DOES NOT understand Quebec.
>>>Coincidence???
>>
>>I heard a CBC interview with the trucker just before the full campaign
>>started. I think before the billboards, he tried to get as many
>>signatures on a "letter" to Quebec to demonstrate that people in English
>>Canada did care.
>>
>>I recall that he said the choice of the word "comprend" was deliberately
>>to allow the double meaning. He intended both.
>
>Well, in that case, that's what I thought.
>
>So, many English Canadians signed a paper they did not know what it
>*exactly* meant in French.

Let's not get hyper over things that didn't happen, Sylvain. The
billboards and the letter were not done at the same time, and as I
recall the letter was not as simply-worded as the billboard.

>I find it....   let's say a tiny bit of hypocritical. Why a double
>meaning in French and not in English?

Is it possible that someone thought it was a clever pun, and that's all?
In the world of advertising, be it politics or soup, being catchy can be
more important than being 100% linguistically pure.

>Because the problem here is indeed that many French Quebeckers don't
>think that English Canada care about Quebec or understand it.

Nobody said that a billboard on route 20 or a letter with a lot of
signatures, in itself, was going to accomplish much. Then again, why
should the actions of a few Ontarians who want to send a positive
message get any more or less attention than negative actions like the
Belleville flag stompers?

>Anyway, we need more than love letters to make up our mind. What we need is
>*proofs*, true actions...

True action takes many forms. It is possible to show love for Quebec and
its culture without believing that this requires institutionalized
changes or political upheaval. It is possible to agree that Quebec is a
distinct society with believing that the preservation of that society
requires re-interpretation the Charter of Rights to factor in this
distinctiveness.

>But maybe newspapers don't report them. Good news is not publishable...
>(Am I correct in writing "is" instead of "are" for "news"???)

Of course, new media of all kids are more interested in pointing out the
extremes, or the complainers. It's easier journalism to report those with
complaints than those without complaints. Usually one has to do one's
own searching to find positive signs. It's not always easy, but it's
almost always worth the bother.

-- 
 Evan Leibovitch, Sound Software Ltd., located in beautiful Brampton, Ontario
         evan@telly.on.ca / uunet!utzoo!telly!evan / (416) 452-0504
              If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?