Role of the Media in the Quebec Language Portfolio
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概要
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In the Province of Quebec, and in particular on the island of Montreal, large communities of the French-speaking Quebecois majority and the English-speaking Quebecker minority have historically co-inhabited peacefully. There is nonetheless an ebb and flow in the conflict between the two languages. In recent years, the Government of Quebec has legislated mandatory use of French to promote Quebecois identity. To the English-speaking community, mandatory French has meant at times banning the English language. The reporting of language legislation of successive Quebec governments and the public reaction is known as the language portfolio. The study identified important differences in the treatment of the language portfolio between two prominent newspapers in Quebec: one French-language, the other English. To explore the differences, the same three stories were chosen from each. Each article was subjected to a content analysis to quantify the portion of fact and opinion. Then the articles were analyzed to determine how ideas were treated. This was accomplished by, most importantly, considering the journalistic approach in both French and English. At the same time, common rhetorical features shared in the discourse of the two languages were categorized and their contents contrasted for the intended impact on the reader. Among these rhetorical features were openings and closures, quotations, vocabulary, and dramatic devices, including hyperbole and irony. While front page stories in both newspapers were essentially factual, there were varying amounts of opinion in the English editorials (40-60%) and French editorials (50-60%). Analyzing the journalistic approach and rhetorical features of the two languages revealed important differences in impact. Whereas the English paper generally conveyed a message of "holding our own," the French paper conveyed a message of frustration that the majority view could not be respected.
- 北海学園大学の論文
- 2000-07-31