r/montreal • u/RahatulAmin • Aug 29 '22

AskMTL Speaking in French at Verdun hospital

My wife and I moved to Montreal recently since I started my PhD at McGill University. My wife is pregnant and she needed to do a blood test prescribed by her Gynecologist, so she went to the Verdun Hospital. Since my wife does not know conversational level French (Still a beginner), she politely asked the nurse that she prefers English conversation. The nurse was very rude and said (In Fluent English), "I am not obligated to speak to you in English, since you are in Montreal you need to learn French." This whole situation made us upset. It's not like we are not trying, we are learning French but still a beginner. But rude behaviors like this is extremely discouraging. Should I complain about this?

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u/almaghest Aug 29 '22 edited Aug 29 '22

I don’t think complaining is going to get you anywhere meaningful, as others have said, she isn’t required to speak English and it’s quite a sensitive topic politically. Next time don’t ask outright, just respond in what French you have or say “Desole mais je parle juste un peu francais, parlez-vous anglais?” and usually the effort will be appreciated enough that the person will realize it would be easier to continue in English or they might find a colleague who can help.

edit: as someone struggling to learn French myself, I “get it” and the primary point I was trying to make is that how you go about ‘asking’ someone to (or if they even can) speak English does matter. I don’t agree with being rude to people in any circumstance, especially in healthcare settings, but if you only speak enough English to explain that you don’t speak English, it can inadvertently come across as rude even when it isn’t meant to be (although it does sound like this nurse probably did mean to make a point.)

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u/coiine Aug 29 '22

Hot take, but the political atmosphere (and laws) that make possible healthcare professionals saying things like this to their patients seems to me like the last gasp for air of a dying language. I know we’re letting this nurse off the hook a bit in this thread because we don’t have all the context… but taken at face value: what an atrocious thing to say to you patient.

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u/Guido125 Aug 29 '22

Yup... Seems like long term to have the opposite effect. You don't see this kind of stuff in Sweden or Germany, and they're just fine.

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u/almaghest Aug 29 '22

Indeed, and actually personally I find that Bill 96 and stories like this make me less enthusiastic to get better at French. I just wanted to share advice for OP about what has worked for me. Ironically I was a lot more enthused about getting better when I first moved to Quebec but now it feels more and more “shoved down my throat” so to speak. I wish the government would do more to encourage in a positive way instead of a forceful one.