Philip Newton's journal

For some reason, while I know intellectually that there are two languages in Canada and that there are areas where the majority speaks one language and areas where the majority speaks the other, I never quite internalised that fact.

I realised this when I watched a video on YouTube with a group of (I'm guessing) Canadian girls singing the "Caillou" theme song in French. And it seemed weird to me to imagine that French might be their first language, one they feel completely at home in and that they use every day—rather than a language they learned later on.

When I think of a Canadian, I think of a white person living in Vancouver, Toronto, or Edmonton and who speaks English. Imagining someone whose first language is French and who might not even know any English (or only as much as the average Anglo-Canadian [is that the term?] knows French, which is probably pretty close) seems weird.

Perhaps I need more exposure to French Canadians so that my perceptions will move closer to the reality.