Quebec had several years of linguistic peace and then we read an unusual
press release. An Italian eating venue had pasta on the menu and received a
visit from the language police. The language police, L'Orifice de la
Grande Francoise, the Tongue Troopers, the Menu Mobsters, the Puristes of Parlance,
the Gendarmes of Jargon, the Sultans of Speech, the Apostrophe SS. A small but
fanatical group who believe that the world would be better off without commas,
except for the women in the group who believe the world would be better off
without periods.
It's those guys. They went into this Italian eating place and saw the menu and
tried to make a case. It was very, very petty. What's the French word for spaghetti?
Spaghetti. Shut up a your face.
To Madame that came as a shock. In her rush to appease every language hawk,
instead of applause for enforcing language laws, Quebec became a worldwide
laughing stock. And we said to ourselves, right, but what if, what if it affects us?
What if they start legislating songs, singing, us? Sometimes, sometimes, you gotta stand on the top.
You gotta stand on the top. Sometimes, sometimes, when you can't take it at all,
then it becomes insupportable. Sometimes, sometimes, you gotta say who you are.
You gotta affirm yourself. Sometimes, sometimes, I gotta play my guitar.
You gotta play the guitar. Can I just sing?
Oh no, Monsieur, we're in Quebec. You can just sing. There are rules.
You have to make a mentation. It's a matter of fact, there's a box, okay?
Keep this with you at all times. Very useful work.
There are people living in Peru, even people living in Alaska.
But sometimes, living in Quebec, it seems we're living in the past.
You have a permit? No. You have to have a permit to sing in English.
Where do I get a permit to sing in English?
Thank you.