Language and Cultural Identity as the Regional Features of Quebec

Abstract

The province of Quebec has distinctively maintained the policy to use the French language as the sole official language and to preserve the French cultural identity for 40 years since the Quebec Charter Bill 101 in 1977, whereas the federal government of Canada proclaimed Canada a multicultural country on the premise of bilingualism. This study focuses on how historical and social background has been reflected in building the current regional features of Quebec. Firstly the present paper examines the historical background in Quebec which is centred on French language and culture. It then investigates current institutional plans enacted by the Quebec government in relation to language and culture, and also looks at cultural landscapes encompassing French tradition in two major cities in Quebec―Quebec City and Montreal. The study finally discusses implications of preserving language and cultural identity in the region of Quebec. This research shows that the consistent endeavors of Quebec to keep their national identity on the basis of policies of regionalism could be seen as sociopolitical phenomena by their own choices to survive against the inequality and hegemony of globalization, even though this may cause tensions and resistance against non-Québécois as well as social and economic losses in Quebec. The province of Quebec appears to position itself well by making good use of its regional features originating from its historical background and by flexibly integrating globalization and regionalism.