Parlez vous Cantonese?
A hefty majority of English-speaking Canadians want to be more fluent in French, according to a new poll from Angus Reid.
Hardly surprising, really. Who wouldn't want to have a second language?
But Canada is a trading nation within a globalized economy, and French is just one of several international languages that will help our nation thrive. Here in Vancouver, we've already got a bit of a head start on the rest of the country.
We ought to be promoting bilingualism anyway. Making an intermediate level of fluency in a second language (not just French, but Mandarin, Cantonese and a bunch of other Asian and European languages) a requirement of getting a university degree might be a good start.
Let's get the word out.
Hardly surprising, really. Who wouldn't want to have a second language?
But Canada is a trading nation within a globalized economy, and French is just one of several international languages that will help our nation thrive. Here in Vancouver, we've already got a bit of a head start on the rest of the country.
We ought to be promoting bilingualism anyway. Making an intermediate level of fluency in a second language (not just French, but Mandarin, Cantonese and a bunch of other Asian and European languages) a requirement of getting a university degree might be a good start.
Let's get the word out.
