Speak White
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Speak White was an insult used against French-Canadians by English Canadians when they spoke French in public. [1] André Laurendeau said in 1963 that the expression had probably come from the Southern United States [2], implying perhaps that it was originally used against the French-speaking Creoles of Louisiana.
In his Dictionnaire québécois-français, Lionel Meney quoted a Maclean's article from 1963:
For every twenty French Canadians you encounter in my house or yours, fifteen can affirm that they have been treated the discreditable 'speak white'.
The stereotype is that someone would speak French in an English-owned store (especially Eaton's [3]) and quickly be cut off with "Speak White." The expression was also used against politicians who spoke French in the Canadian Parliament [4], most notably Henri Bourassa in 1889. When he was booed by English-speaking Members of Parliament, he tried to reply in French and was shouted to "Speak white!" [5]
The expression has fallen out of use and has rarely been heard since the 1960s, although it is not unheard of. [6].
[edit] Poem and Film Adaptation
Speak White is also the name of a French language poem composed by Québécois writer Michèle Lalonde. It was first read aloud in 1970 and was published in 1974 by Editions de l'Hexagone, Montreal. According to the [7] at the University of Sherbrooke, it denounces the poor situation of French-speakers in Quebec and takes the tone of a collective complaint against the dominant majority.
In 1980, Speak White was made into a short motion picture by the Pierre Falardeau and Julien Poulin, the six-minute film featured actress Marie Eykel reading Lalonde's poem. [8] It was released by the National Film Board of Canada.
Quebec journalist and playwright Marco Micone also wrote a poem in response to Speak White called Speak What [9]
