I like that. I loved Canada it was beautiful

Unfortunately you also have a government doing everything it can to stop this. Bill 101, then bill 96 to "rid Quebec of English" https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/bloc-wants-to-switch-out-bonjour-hi-for-bonjour-ho You also have "language police" who fine people for not having French in a larger font. https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-language-police-conducted-over-5-000-visits-last-year-annual-report-1.5117163 the bilingual nature is great, but how long will it last with the relentless attacks from the QC government?

Used to be this way in a lot of Louisiana, too. Not as common now.

True, but there's also that undercurrent of English (the use thereof) being frowned upon. There's always been a rather difficult cohabitation of English and French in the province of Quebec, where Montreal is situated.

Felt very familiar. Then i saw it's Montreal and it all made sense. Remember when the politicians decided to Bann "bonjour, hi" and nobody gave a f**k?

My experience in Montreal was very much not bilingual but rather that many MANY people spoke French and only French (except maybe a few words). There's certainly nothing wrong with that but I wouldn't go back or suggest it for anyone who isn't at least good enough at French to expect to get around in France proper.

Not so much bonjour-hi anymore, the French language police are cracking down. Businesses must promote the use of French only when dealing with customers

Cool I can speak French and English too!

Codeswitching like that is a sign of being truly bilingual, not just having learnt a second language in school

I loved visiting Montréal too. Beautiful, clean, safe city and everyone dressed nicely (Fall 1980s). From Texas.

I love, je aime Canada.

Trés Good!

We have that too in Romania.

In Singapore you'll commonly find three languages in one sentence in a conversation - English, Malay and a Chinese dialect.

This is logical - Québec is the one French-speaking province of Canada.

More in French area, Montreal a border city practically all English.

That could ONLY be Montreal! I love that city for it's super bilingualism.

My husband was spoken to in Spanish by the greeter at Walmart (CA). My husband said, "Huh?" All I caught was Auga, which means water. It was raining.

I was born in Montreal 70 years ago, always been like that

I've been to Montreal. I've friends from France. When they visited Montreal with me they were taken aback, said that they speak pidgin French. I tend to agree.

I talked to a friend in Canada many years ago who expressed his strong feelings about speaking French in Canada .The French speaking population increased so much that French became mandatory in schools after the Government Administration was French majority. This was not very popular with the rest of the Canadian population.

If only it was as bilingual as you say. I too am from Montreal and finding bilingual salespeople is now few and far between. In fact you can speak in English to them and they answer you in French.

If you really want to mess with immigration officials, reply to their bilingual 'Hello, Bonjour' with another 'Hello, Bonjour'. They don't know which language to continue in.

I'm from Montreal - did you know we have LANGUAGE POLICE? The OQLF (Office Quebecoise de la langue francaise) is a government office that can go into any business to ensure that French is being used, whether it's in your store, office or on your website - they have the authority to go into your files and computer records to make sure the business is not breaking any language laws, and that French always appears in a larger font than any other language on signs and that regular, ordinary people can report each other if they see any "infractions" of the Law, including the whole Bonjour/Hi thing? Fines are huge...this province is a mess when it comes to language...it's not as lovely as you might think...

Awesome

Franglais, aka Frenglish

There are many countries like this. Especially in Europe. In Amsterdam you are as likely to hear English as Dutch. In Luxembourg, French and German are spoken frequently, maybe even more so than Luxembourgish (although I'd admit that I don't speak either German or Luxembourgish, so perhaps I just cannot distinguish). And I think around the world, English has become the language of commerce in general. When I was growing up in my country, everybody was taught French. It was the language of diplomacy, and so all "educated people" were taught it. Today, nobody learns French, it's all English. My nephews don't speak a word of French. But they all speak English. And to go to a good college, you have to take an English exam, and score a certain proficiency. A few places in Latin America are doing this now I think. But certainly, no stores in Rio de Janeiro will great you with "Hello, bom dia".

Info that all the time and I'm from America. Maybe I was from Ireland in a past life lol

I've heard even more people say that if they speak in English, most people they encounter in Montreal refuse to answer.

I live in Montreal and know only a little French. I have had cashiers that are down right hostile to me when I say that I'm sorry, I do not understand. Some refuse to speak english, some say that because I live in QC that I need to speak french. What bothers me the most is that they don't know if I live here or if I'm a tourist. It's a s****y way to show people that they aren't welcome because the aren't french. The number of strangers who have literally screamed at me for not knowing the language is mind blowing.

Absolutely incorrect! The few people in Quebec that speak (or at least admit to it) English are low. They want English out of their province. They quite frankly want to seperate their province from Canada. If you travel there, prepare to learn french to get by. Street signs aren't even multilingual!!!

I loved Montreal. I mostly remember that every single place we ate, the food was just terrific. It's a beautiful city too.

c'est f*****g nice sa

Ben Ya, also from Montreal, people amazed when someone speaks another language (live in TO now)... um where I was born and raised every one does... most of my friends spoke 3 languages

In Belgium as well we have Dutch French and English

I love Montreal. I loved walking into the convenience stores and the cashiers would greet you with a 'bonjour!'. Even their squeegee guys who clean your windows at traffic lights are polite.

I know ew it wS Montreal before OP said it! I'd love yo go there some time

That's a really good tip to know for when I actually get to Canada lol I can also say that a lot of South Texas towns are like this with Spanish/English... good thing I speak Spanish.

In many places in southern Slovakia they greet in Hungarian too, but they speak both.

French and English are Canada's official languages but many more languages than that are spoken in Montreal! It's the country's most diverse city!

I love that! I truly enjoyed Montréal when I visited many years ago. I would love to visit ahain.

Brit here. Can confirm this is delicious.

Yes! Some bakeries are open on sunday morning but that's it. But if one has to do some urgent shopping on a sunday, there are always fuel stations with slightly overpriced groceries.

Ramstein playing, up voting.

It's not just rural towns. I grew up in Melbourne and this was true for everyone we knew in melbourne suburbs. We would come home and my mates would be in the living room or garage watching tv waiting for me to get home. Doors would never be locked...still rarely are to this day.