In the Montreal Gazette this morning there was an article about the Quebec Government adopting a hard line approach to English in the business arena. In Quebec they feel threatened that English is taking over their culture, this also being fuelled by a language debate going on at the University level showing that schools with French language are getting more funding than those that have both languages or are English only in nature. The issue of language comes to the forefront on a regular basis in Quebec and may or may not affect you depending on the amount of business you do in the Province. I meet many people that go to functions and trade shows in Quebec and hope to get by with a few words of French or their English only marketing material. You may be hurting your business in doing that if you’re not careful.
You may feel at the Quebec trade show that you still get business but in the end you may be losing more people than you gain. You also need to think about supporting that business for the long run. If someone does decide to deal with your business do you have the capabilities, the staff, and the support to carry through on your promises. As the language issue increases you may find that those businesses that were willing to deal with English based businesses start looking elsewhere. If you deal with Quebec it is important to look short term and long term to make sure are able to carry through in the long run.
About the Author
Carmen Outridge is a Ontario / Quebec translator with over 30 years of experience. Born in Quebec she understands the difference in French tastes of the Province. For more information on Outridge Translation Services please visit the website at www.outridge.translation.com
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