Quote:
Originally Posted by saffronleaf
For example, sources suggest 15% - 23% of people in the UK speak French, while only 9% of Anglophone Canadians do. And people in the UK do not really have as many practical incentives to learn French; for example, their public service doesn't have many positions reserved for people who know French and no region within their country is French-speaking.
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As others have noted, those statistics for the UK look questionable, but I would think that Brits have a far greater motivation to learn at least
some French than Anglo Canadians do simply for when holidaying in France.
What percentage of Canadians desire jobs in the public service where being bilingual is needed?* What percentage of Canadians outside of Quebec take vacations there?
Clearly those proportions, and raw figures, would be exponentially lower than for Brits taking pleasure trips to France, which is right next door. While Spain is famously the number one destination for the British going abroad, the vast majority of tourists on two-week package holidays to "Little England" enclaves don't need to know any Spanish.
*For that matter, what percentage of public service jobs outside of Quebec require it? And for that matter, what percentage of jobs
in Quebec require it?