Quebec Language Police Harassing Popular Italian Restaurant

CJAD News
What does pasta mean?

Posted By: Laura Casellalcasella@astral.com·2/20/2013 7:15:00 AM


One of Montreal's hip restaurants on St. Laurent Boulevard has caught the eye of the language police.

Buonanotte was paid a visit recently by the people at the Office Quebecois de la langue francaise.

They followed up with a written complaint about a couple of words on the Italian restaurant's menu. One being "pasta", the other "bottiglia" to indicate its wine selection by the bottle.

It seems these words are violations to Bill 101 because there are no French words describing what they mean.

Quote: Originally Posted by Johnnny

The people of Quebec have become scared. Scared of losing their language, and in their fear they have turned to a provincial government that is totalitarian... A government the people of Quebec are content to allow to change and control the aspects of their lives... Mabye im going overboard

Quote: Originally Posted by Johnnny

The people of Quebec have become scared. Scared of losing their language, and in their fear they have turned to a provincial government that is totalitarian... A government the people of Quebec are content to allow to change and control the aspects of their lives... Mabye im going overboard

The Montreal Gazette

MONTREAL — A guy (or a woman) walks into an Italian restaurant in Montreal, sees the names of the dishes on the menu in Italian — and calls the cops.

If that reads like the setup to a joke, it is — one that may get a laugh elsewhere, but not here in Quebec.

Here’s how the rest of it goes:

The cops in question were the so-called language police from the Quebec language-law enforcement agency, the Office québécois de la langue française.

One of the Office’s trained professionals took the complaint seriously enough to make a visit of inspection to the restaurant, Buonanotte. That was followed up by a letter ordering French equivalents to be added to the names of the dishes. Of Italian dishes. On the menu of an Italian restaurant. In supposedly sophisticated Montreal.

Quote: Originally Posted by Niflmir

So when I open a restaurant called "Gibberish" or "Charabia" and the entire menu is filled with such delights as

• qwerty
• asdfg
• yuiop
• hjkl

am I supposed to translate it into French?

Quote: Originally Posted by CDNBear

In a word, yes.

Quote: Originally Posted by CDNBear

In a word, yes.

Quote: Originally Posted by relic

Where else in the world,are the people that are dedicated to distroying the country,sponsored by that country ? Those are the folks kenny should have deported wha?

Quote: Originally Posted by WLDB

The fact that a supposedly free country has a "language police" is rather insane. Language evolves. It cant be policed.

Quote: Originally Posted by Niflmir

Who can tell me I am wrong?

Quote: Originally Posted by BruSan

They don't care; it's the moronic, retarded, idiotic thought that counts!

Quote: Originally Posted by Niflmir

So when I open a restaurant called "Gibberish" or "Charabia" and the entire menu is filled with such delights as

• qwerty
• asdfg
• yuiop
• hjkl

am I supposed to translate it into French?

Quebec tongue troopers backtrack on Buonanotte’s menu
L’Office québécois de la langue française acknowledges ‘an excess of zeal’ against high-profile Montreal eatery

By THE GAZETTE

MONTREAL — Let pasta be pasta — and not pâtes alimentaires, Quebec’s language watchdog has let it be known, after controversy boiled over when it tried to muscle more French onto the largely French-language menu at a high-profile Italian restaurant in Montreal.

In a three-paragraph statement issued Wednesday night, L’Office québécois de la langue française tried to turn down the heat generated by its move against the Buonanotte on St. Laurent Blvd., just north of Sherbrooke St. W.

It acknowledged having displayed “an excess of zeal.”

One of its tongue troopers issued Buonanotte an official letter — following up on an inspector’s visit after the receipt of what L’Office called “a complaint in good and due form deposited by a citizen.”

The letter from the language police ordered that French-language equivalents be added to the names shown on its menu in the language of Michelangelo, Italian terms such as antipasti, pizza, carne, contorni and pesce along with the more pedestrian pasta. All the menu items are described in French, without any use of English. Tagliata di Manzo, for instance, is fully described in French only including such ingredients as “purée de courge musquée,” or butternut squash.

The menu move by L’Office roiled through social media.

The firestorm of spicy comment was peppered largely with sarcasm and ridicule — notably using the Twitter hashtag #pastagate.

An anonymous Twitter account baptized @Quebec Pasta launched such saucy sallies as “Pasta la Vista PQ!”

“Penne arrabbiata will now be called Pâtes en Tabarnak,” tweeted Pat Riccio.

L’Office said in the statement that it has begun a review of the situation and “will consider the particularities of the restaurant, notably taking into account the exception (under language law) relating to foreign specialties, foreseen under the statute.”

Quote: Originally Posted by no color

Read more: CJAD 800

Once again, we are a laughing stock, and rightfully so. Has anyone, and I mean anyone ever heard of not being able to use Italian on a menu in an Italian restaurant.

After reading the entire article, it appears as though lawyers are involved in this. Good move on the owners part, as the OLF has no case here. As a former business owner, I am well aware of the discriminatory langauge laws as they apply to businesses. Generally, two thirds of any advertisement has to be in French, the rest in any other language. Business owners have several options when advertising in languages other than French. Here are a few:
1. They can have English signs for every French sign provided that the French sign is twice as big.
2. They can have English and French signs of the same size provided that there are two French signs for each English sign.
3. Two thirds of the advertisement is done in French only and one third of the advertisement in English only.
4. Unilingual English signs that are registered trademarks or brand names are displayed.

Of course English above can be replaced by any other language.

If I were the lawyer here, I'd focus on 3. above. If two thirds of the menu is indeed in French, then case dismissed.

Quote: Originally Posted by Johnnny

The people of Quebec have become scared. Scared of losing their language, and in their fear they have turned to a provincial government that is totalitarian... A government the people of Quebec are content to allow to change and control the aspects of their lives... Mabye im going overboard

Quote: Originally Posted by L Gilbert

I'd simply put one Italian menu out on each table and two French ones along with it.

CJAD News

OQLF now targeting Plateau bike shop

Posted By: Richard Deschamps
2/21/2013 12:58:00

A bike shop on the Plateau has become the latest target of Quebec's language police.

Bicycletterie J.R. on Rachel St. has been visited twice by inspectors with the Office Québécois de la Langue Française, which objected to a handful of signs posted in his store.

The offending signs are: one that advertises bike rental rates in English, a cute drawing that depicts a bird saying 'cuida tu carroceria' (watch your bodywork in Spanish), a novelty shop sign that says the same thing, and a couple of other novelty signs in English. One of them says, 'prices subject to change, according to customer's attitude', the other says, 'stupid mistakes are made by others; we only make unavoidable errors.'

All this was too much for an anonymous complainant to the OQLF.

Jaime Rosenbluth is the shop's owner. He's an immigrant from Bolivia who speaks four languages, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese, and serves his customers with ease in each of them. He says in the 25 years he's been in business on Rachel St., he's never had to confront Quebec's language politics, until now.

"They go into my privacy," says Rosenbluth of the manner in which the OQLF inspectors conducted their visit. "They go inside the place, and they're taking pictures of my business, my store, my little things that I have here that are really personal."

Rosenbluth says, he will comply with the OQLF's requests. In doing so, however, he'll take a page from the OQLF's playbook, and use a little masking tape.

"I'm going to put a cover on top of the signs, saying, in French: 'Warning. Non-French poster or sign underneath. Read at your own discretion.'

FOX News

Language cops spark furor after Canadian restaurant told 'pasta' should be in French
Published February 22, 2013

Holy pasta, or should we say pâtes alimentaires.

One Quebec eatery has become the target of the region's overzealous language police who said there was too much Italian on Italian restaurant’s menu.

Creating offense were words like "pasta," "antipasti," "carne," "pesce," and "calamari," reports the CBC.

It all started when the Office Québécois de la langue française, which enforces the province's strict rules that French be the predominant language, investigated a citizen complaint against the Italian restaurant Buonanotte in Montreal.

Quote: Originally Posted by Ron in Regina

Interesting. The 'language police' in Quebec are there to protect the French
language and culture? This is their way to promote tolerance I'm assuming?

Anyone else try this (AltaVista Babelfish Translation for Free)