ATTN GREMLIN

“Hey there dude. You're from Quebec? I'm going up that direction tommorrow to check out McGill University in Montreal. Tell me about Quebec. Never been there. Do people like yourself look at ya funny when people like myself (from the southern US) say 'y'all??' Have you ever heard the word 'idn't' before? Are all people in the city and surrounding suburbs etc bilingual? I've heard that Parisian style French is totally different from Quebecian (spelling??) French. Is that so? Is Parisian French therefore a foriegn language? Is English tought as a foriegn language? I know McGill is an English speaking University, so everybody there will speak English, or at least Franglais. How literate in French should I be in order to go to school there? This IS fun for you, answering all these queries, idn't? :)”

“pisqah, I haven't been to Quebec, but it is supposed to look like a european city. The canadians like to say "eh" (a), at the end of their sentences, like, how are you doing, eh?”

“what I've heard about Quebec at least is that they'll shoot anybody who says 'eh.' Apparently they don't like other Canadians that well. I dunno how true that is, but we'll see. I figure that they won't hate me quite as much with my southernisms. I'll just be a strange, strange creature.”

“Wow! I won't have time to finish this answer as the lunch bell will ring in 5 min. and I have a rugby training, as well as another on after school - we have a boys' and 2 girls' teams - then senior training this evening (I am women's coach).

Welcometo Montreal and McGill, my alma mater (B.A. English, with French and German, 1975). I am an English as a second language teacher in southwest Quebec, just north of the New York State border. The English school is in the neighbouring village and is about the same size. I'll be back with info on Montreal, McGill and language.”

“Montreal is a beautiful, elegant, almost European-like city that is user friendly, much like Boston, which it resembles.

Almost half of the 3 million people speak a language other than French and you will have no trouble living and communicating in English. About 25% of students at McGill are French speaking and, being an internationally renowned university, you will hear languages from all over the planet.

You might, in fact, have some difficulty with your accent, but in general you will get along fine. Canadians speak quite fast and you will find that we almost hurt your ears with our flat, clipped accent - my in-laws in No. Carolina used to squint in pain when I spoke.

The French spoken here is about as different from the French as spoken in northern France as your accent is from that of southwestern England from where it (your accent) comes. Otherwise there is little difficulty in communicating orally and the written language is identical, or as close as American English is to that of the English variety.

You will find Montreal quite inexpensive compared to other cities in No. America and the low Canadian dollar is a bonus. McGill can seem cold, as it is a school that demands intense competition - join a club or take part in sports and you will have no trouble making friends.

One fine club for you would be the McGill Outing Club which is affiliated with the Montreal Section of the Alpine Club of Canada. Good luck.”