Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Air Canada fined for not using French
language
Both English and French are the official
languages of Canada. They are mandated to have equality of status, rights, and
privileges as to their use in government and official institutions. This official
bilingualism also applies to public services and businesses. For example, signs
and announcements in the airport and on the airplane are supposed to be made in
both languages equally.
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the
largest airline of Canada. The airline was sued by a French-speaking couple at
a court in Ottawa for not making announcements or showing signs in French as
much as in English on the flight they took. For example, some signs were shown
only in English and others were written in small French words than English
ones. A judge ruled that the airline had breached Canada's bilingualism laws
and ordered it to pay the couple CND21,000 for compensation and write a letter
of apology for violating their linguistic rights. You can assume that the
couple must have taken a lot of photos and recorded announcements on board for
proof.
Even though an announcement or statement is created
with clear intention, it is often compromised during the translation process. Language
learning seems still essential even in the era of automatic translation.
Enjoy reading the article about how strict
Canada’s bilingualism is.
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