127-527: Old Montreal ( French : Vieux-Montréal ) is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec , Canada . Home to the Old Port of Montreal , the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street , on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by rue Saint-André, and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River . Following recent amendments,
254-548: A sculpture garden and Smith House, an interpretive centre . At the foot of the hill, overlooking Park Avenue , the park features the George-Étienne Cartier Monument (home to the Tam-Tams ) and a gazebo (more properly, a bandstand ) which has been named in honour of Mordecai Richler . The lush forest has been badly damaged, both by Mayor Drapeau's so-called morality cuts of the 1950s and by
381-567: A snow tube and toboggan run on one of the former alpine ski slopes, as well as 7 groomed cross-country ski and snowshoe trails which total 18 km (11 mi), with equipment rental available onsite. One of the most popular activities to do on Beaver Lake is to skate; this activity is free if you have your own equipment. The former alpine ski slope featured a T-bar and a 100-foot (30.5 m) drop. Mechanical lift devices were first installed in Mount Royal Park in 1945. In
508-531: A 12am to 6am curfew for the Old Port area (all properties south of De La Commune Street ) in response. However, once the violence in the area receded, Old Montreal became a tourism hub once again, even though the Old Port area kept its 12am to 6am curfew in place. New restaurants opened in the area, including a waterfront terrasse called Les Terrasses de la Marina in the Old Port. Old Montreal also saw its first major supermarket chain open within walking distance of
635-744: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
762-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
889-490: A few hundred in 1950), had the effect of emptying the district when businesses closed at the end of the day. At that time, the lack of nightlife gave the district a reputation for being dangerous at night. Old Montreal increasingly found itself changing to accommodate the rise of the automobile. Several prestigious locations, such as the Place d'Armes , the Place d'Youville , and Place Jacques-Cartier, were snarled with traffic in
1016-555: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
1143-512: A great flood that swept up to the town palisades. In 1876, land owner and farmer James Swail began planning residential subdivisions on the western slope of Mount Murray, in what is now the Cote-des-Neiges district. In 1906, a large housing development was started in the area, called Northmount Heights, with homes built along what is now Decelles Street by developer Northmount Land Company. Much of this area has since been expropriated by
1270-705: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
1397-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
SECTION 10
#17327652490531524-532: A riot caused a fire with political consequences when, protesting against a law, a Tory crowd burned down the Parliament building in the old Marché Saint-Anne on Place d'Youville. The site of the Parliament fire housed Montreal's first fire station in 1903; the building still exists as the Centre d’histoire de Montréal. Colonial authorities decided upon the first radical transformation of the area in 1804, with
1651-587: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and
1778-526: A second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only
1905-941: A second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as
2032-525: A skating rink. The park is also home to the CBC 's Mount Royal transmitter facility, which comprises two large buildings: one used primarily by the CBC for its 2 Montreal stations, CBMT-DT and CBFT-DT , and one used by the private television stations. There is also a short (about 100 m (328 ft)) candelabra tower, from which nearly all of Montreal's television and FM radio stations broadcast. Because of
2159-547: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
2286-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
2413-779: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French
2540-470: Is a gabbro composed of pyroxene , olivine and variable amounts of plagioclase . During and after the main stage of intrusion, the gabbros and surrounding rocks were intruded by a series of volcanic dikes and sills . Subsequently, the surrounding softer sedimentary rock was eroded , leaving behind the resistant igneous rock that forms the mountain. The mineral montroyalite, discovered in Montreal,
2667-472: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
SECTION 20
#17327652490532794-577: Is accessible from downtown via the Underground City and is served by several STM bus routes and the Champ-de-Mars , Place-d'Armes , and Square-Victoria-OACI Metro stations. Ferries to the south shore city of Longueuil are available during the summer, as are a network of bicycle paths . French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )
2921-489: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
3048-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including
3175-462: Is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share
3302-652: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
3429-503: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
3556-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
3683-431: Is named after the mountain that provided the definition sample. Circa 3000 BC, the mountain's imposing presence in the centre of the island, views of the river and majestic forests made it a choice location for indigenous peoples travelling through the region. The mountain was also a rich source of hornfels, sharp-edged rocks used instead of flint to make tools and weapons for hunting. Over time, indigenous populations used
3810-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
3937-828: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
Old Montreal - Misplaced Pages Continue
4064-740: Is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachian Mountains . It gave its Latin name, Mons Regius , to the Monteregian chain. The mountain consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix (or Mont Royal proper) at 233 m (764 ft), Colline d'Outremont (or Mount Murray , in the borough of Outremont ) at 211 m (692 ft), and Westmount Summit at 201 m (659 ft) elevation above mean sea level. Mount Royal
4191-576: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
4318-470: Is that the name Montréal was adopted because a Venetian map from 1556 used the Italian name of the mountain, "Monte Real." The name was first applied to the island and was unofficially applied to the city, formerly named Ville-Marie , by the 18th century. In 1643, Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve made a pilgrimage to the top of the mountain to fulfill a vow made in the winter season on occasion of
4445-582: Is the deep extension of a vastly eroded ancient volcanic complex , which was probably active about 125 million years ago. The mountain, along with the other mountains of the Monteregian Hills , was formed when the North American Plate moved westward over the New England hotspot . By a process known as intrusion , magma intruded into the sedimentary rocks underneath the area, producing at least eight igneous stocks. The main rock type
4572-553: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
4699-483: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
4826-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
4953-401: Is the site of Mount Royal Park (French: Parc du Mont-Royal ), one of Montreal's largest greenspaces . The park was originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (who also co-designed New York City's Central Park ) and was inaugurated in 1876, although not completed to his design. Olmsted had planned to emphasize the mountainous topography through the use of vegetation. Shade trees at
5080-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
5207-845: Is true for institutional buildings such as the Old Court House and the Customs House designed by John Ostell , the Bonsecours Market and even the Notre-Dame Basilica (whose façade is the work of an Irish Protestant from New York, James O'Donnell ). The only notable exception is the Montreal City Hall, which was inspired by the Hotel de Ville de Rennes . The character of the Victorian style of
Old Montreal - Misplaced Pages Continue
5334-421: Is usually lit in white, but can now be changed to any colour, including the purple traditionally used upon the death of a pope. Beside the cross, a plaque marks the placement of a time capsule in 1992, during Montréal's 350th birthday celebration. It contains messages and drawings from 12,000 children, depicting their visions for the city in the year 2142, when the capsule is scheduled to be opened. The mountain
5461-435: The 1976 Summer Olympics , the park itself hosted the individual road race cycling event. The hilly roads of the park have subsequently been used for the 1974 UCI Road Cycling World Championships , and the annual Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal cycling race. Mount Royal is about 4 kilometers ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) east to west and 2.5 kilometers ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) north to south. The mountain emerges from
5588-764: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
5715-462: The Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as
5842-469: The COVID-19 pandemic , tourism was absent from the district, which then became a centre of both civil protest against curfews and other public health measures, and of street celebrations as restrictions lessened. In June 2021, The Toronto Star reported that "With the closure of bars downtown, Old Montreal and its many Airbnbs have become a playground for criminals." The Old Port of Montreal then imposed
5969-789: The Château Ramezay and the Sir George-Étienne Cartier National Historic Site of Canada . Further west, Place d'Armes is dominated by Notre-Dame Basilica on its southern side, accompanied by the Saint-Sulpice Seminary (the oldest extant building in Montreal). The other sides of the square are devoted to commerce; to the north is the former Bank of Montreal Head Office and to the west, the Aldred Building and
6096-600: The Congregation Notre-Dame ) and the arrival of the Jesuits and Recollets in 1692, helped to ensure the Catholic character of the settlement. The original fortifications of Montreal, erected in 1717 by Gaspard Chaussegros de Léry, formed the boundaries of Montreal at the time. De Léry had the fortifications constructed to secure the settlement from a British invasion and to allow future expansion inside
6223-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
6350-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
6477-559: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
SECTION 50
#17327652490536604-599: The Golden Square Mile ). Anglophone influence became the dominating force in the areas of banking, manufacturing, commerce, and finance. St. James Street became the financial centre of Montreal, with large banks such as the Bank of Montreal and the Royal Bank of Canada , insurance companies and the stock exchange. Most of the financial buildings on St. James Street were designed by anglophone architects. The same
6731-580: The Ice Storm of 1998 , but has since largely recovered. The forest is a green jewel rising above downtown Montreal and is known for its beautiful autumn foliage as well as its extensive hiking and cross-country ski trails. Biking is restricted to the main gravel roads. From 1885 to 1920, the Mount Royal Funicular Railway brought sightseers to its peak. After it ceased service, Montreal's No. 11 streetcar brought visitors to
6858-439: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
6985-420: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
7112-435: The Rue Notre-Dame , the Rue Saint-Paul and Rue Saint-Jacques . Buildings of the era include the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal , the Saint-Sulpice Old Seminary and Notre Dame Church (replaced later by the Notre-Dame Basilica ). In the early 18th century, the name "Montreal" (which originally referred to the mountain Mont-Royal ) gradually replaced that of Ville-Marie. The arrival in 1657 of Marguerite Bourgeoys (who founded
7239-424: The Seven Years' War . British rule radically changed the face of Old Montreal, partially due to significant fires that destroyed much of the city and provided the British with a mandate to rebuild it. In May 1765, fire destroyed about 110 houses before destroying the old Hôtel de Callière and the former General Hospital. In April 1768, 88 houses between rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Hotel Vaudreuil were burned, including
7366-520: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
7493-432: The Université de Montréal . In 1914–1918, the Mount Royal Tunnel was dug under the mountain by the Canadian Northern Railway , a predecessor of the Canadian National Railway . It is currently used by the Réseau express métropolitain . The area was briefly considered as a candidate for the site of Expo 67 before the exposition grounds were ultimately built on adjoining islands in the Saint Lawrence River . For
7620-436: The colony . The new system gave them the island of Montreal, with the obligation to live there and ensure its development by cultivating the land. In 1665, Louis XIV sent 1,200 men from the Régiment de Carignan-Salières. The Sulpicians organized seigneuries at the centre of the island. François Dollier Casson established the first grid of streets in the colony, following the paths of existing trails. These early streets included
7747-433: The plains occupied by Montreal and neighboring regions . Two roads cross the territory: Mount Royal is home to many animal species including gray squirrel , raccoon , fox , marmot , striped skunk , bee and various species of birds. From the point of view of the flora , the mountain shelters a set of natural spaces and semi-natural rich in trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants The first Mount Royal Cross
SECTION 60
#17327652490537874-488: The 1888 New York Life Building , the oldest skyscraper in Canada. The rest of Saint Jacques Street is lined with old bank buildings (like the Old Royal Bank Building ) from its heyday as Canada's financial centre. The southwest of the old city contains important archeological remains of Montreal's first settlement (around Place d'Youville and Place Royale) in the Pointe-à-Callière museum. Architecture and cobbled streets in Old Montreal have been maintained or restored to keep
8001-613: The 1940s, there were two and a half miles of ski slopes available. A ski shop was first installed in the park in 1938. Prior to that, in the 1920s, one of the best ski jumps in Canada was the one on Mount Royal, near Côte-des-Neiges . Founded in 1840, the now-defunct Montreal Snow Shoe Club , with members drawn from some of Montreal's prominent businessmen, would meet each week during the winter at nightfall on Sherbrooke Street near McGill College Avenue to snowshoe through Mount Royal Park, lit by torchlight. Club members began wearing blue tuques on their outings around 1870. Recently,
8128-455: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
8255-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
8382-510: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
8509-614: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
8636-411: The Congregation Notre-Dame convent. Between the two fires, nearly half of the buildings in the city were destroyed. In the following years, the city was rebuilt even more densely. On June 6, 1803, a massive fire destroyed the prison, the church and the dependencies of Jesuits, a dozen houses and the Château Vaudreuil . Two speculators bought the Château's gardens, offered one-third to the city, and divided
8763-408: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
8890-416: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
9017-447: The Saint Lawrence Seaway. Champ de Mars is a large public space located between Montreal City Hall and the Ville-Marie Expressway . It offers a view of downtown Montreal and Chinatown . It is notable due to its location and its archaeological remains. The two parallel lines of stone are one of the few spots in present-day Montreal where you can still see physical evidence of the fortified settlement from colonial times. Old Montreal
9144-591: The area when IGA opened its doors on Robert-Bourassa Boulevard in August 2021. Old Montreal is a major tourist attraction. With some of its buildings dating to the 17th century, it is one of the oldest urban areas in North America. In the eastern part of the old city (near Place Jacques-Cartier) the following notable buildings can be found: Montreal City Hall, Bonsecours Market and Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel , as well as preserved colonial mansions, such as
9271-469: The area's infrastructure. The Place Jacques-Cartier and part of the Place d'Youville have been redesigned, and a restoration of the Place d'Armes is in progress. A lighting plan was also developed to highlight the different façade styles. There is now a consensus that the historical legacy of Old Montreal is its major asset. Aided by redevelopment, it is now the leading tourist destination in Montreal. During
9398-447: The bottom of the carriage path would resemble a valley. As the visitor went higher, the vegetation would get more sparse to give the illusion of exaggerated height. However, Montreal suffered a depression in the mid-1870s and many of Olmsted's plans were abandoned. The carriage way was built, but it was done hastily and without regards to the original plan. None of the vegetation choices were followed. The park contains two belvederes ,
9525-493: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Mount Royal Mount Royal (French: Mont Royal , IPA: [mɔ̃ ʁwajal] ) is a mountain in the city of Montreal , immediately west of Downtown Montreal , Quebec , Canada . The city's name is thought to be derived from the mountain's name. The mountain
9652-519: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
9779-481: The destruction of the fortifications surrounding the heart of Montreal. Completed in 1815, this enlarged the perimeter of Old Montreal and improved access to suburban communities. The 19th century witnessed the emergence of a bourgeoisie of mostly Scottish merchants. The growing activity of the port changed the urban landscape. Old Montreal became less residential, as the rich Scottish and English merchants built extravagant homes closer to Mount Royal (in what would become
9906-527: The district from destruction during the early 1960s. As assistant director of the City of Montreal's newly formed planning department, he persuaded authorities to abandon plans for an expressway that would have cut through the old city. In 1964, most of Old Montreal was classified as a historic district; despite this, the Quebec government razed several 19th-century buildings to build a new courthouse. In addition to
10033-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
10160-594: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
10287-447: The federal Department of Transport because of the proximity to the flight path to Trudeau Airport nearby. The engineering challenge was to combine all the desired antennas in the limited space between the mountain top and 1100 feet above sea level, which led to the "candelabra" design. Outside the park, Mount Royal's slopes are also home to such Montreal landmarks as Saint Joseph's Oratory , Canada's largest church; McGill University ;
10414-567: The financial sector, and the municipal government helped to maintain activity until the Great Depression began in 1929. During the Depression, the relocation of port facilities further east deprived Old Montreal of many companies related to the maritime trade, leaving many abandoned warehouses and commercial buildings. The downtown-area relocation several blocks to the north, and the near-complete absence of residents, (there were only
10541-516: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
10668-915: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
10795-829: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
10922-454: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
11049-479: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
11176-612: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
11303-479: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
11430-463: The late-19th-century buildings was a significant change from the stone masonry used during the French era and affected the appearance of Old Montreal. The district continued to grow during the early 20th century, evidenced by construction of prestigious buildings such as the Aldred Building (1929–1931), La Sauvegarde Building (1913), and the first Stock Exchange (1903–1904). Port activities,
11557-496: The look of the city in its earliest days as a settlement, and horse-drawn calèches help maintain that image. The old town's riverbank is taken up by the Old Port (Vieux-Port), whose maritime facilities are surrounded with recreational space and a variety of museums and attractions. The Iberville terminal on the Alexandra Pier serves as the cruise terminal for about 50,000 passengers annually from large cruise ships plying
11684-415: The mid-20th century. For municipal authorities, unaware of its potential heritage value, Old Montreal was an anomaly. City planners considered wider streets, which would have meant razing many older buildings. A proposed elevated highway along the river over the rue de la Commune spurred a movement to preserve the district. Dutch-born architect and urban planner Daniel van Ginkel played a major role in saving
11811-585: The more prominent of which is the Kondiaronk Belvedere, a semicircular plaza with a Mount Royal Chalet overlooking Downtown Montreal . Built in 1906, it is named for the Petun chief Kondiaronk , whose influence led to the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701. Other features of the park are Beaver Lake (a small artificial lake), a snow tube and toboggan run, cross-country skiing trails,
11938-467: The mountain's wood to build villages and its fertile land to grow their main agricultural crops—corn, squash and beans—known as the Three Sisters. The first European to scale the mountain was Jacques Cartier , guided there in 1535 by the people of the village of Hochelaga . He named it in honour of his patron, John Royal. He wrote in his journal : "And among these fields is situated and seated
12065-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
12192-492: The neighbourhood has expanded to include the Rue des Soeurs Grises in the west, Saint Antoine Street in the north, and Saint Hubert Street in the east. Founded by French settlers in 1642 as Fort Ville-Marie , Old Montreal is home to many structures dating back to the era of New France . The 17th century settlement lends its name to the borough in which the neighbourhood lies, Ville-Marie . In 1964, much of Old Montreal
12319-652: The official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco;
12446-678: The old Jesuit gardens in 1873. In 1812, a fire destroyed the luxurious Mansion House hotel, which had been popular with the Beaver Club and had housed the first public library in Montreal. It was replaced by the British-American Hotel, which contained the John Molson -built Royal Theatre, the city's first permanent theatre. The hotel burned in 1833, and was rebuilt in 1845 at the Bonsecours Market . In 1849,
12573-534: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
12700-530: The outpost due to incursions by the Iroquois . The original settlement of Montreal was founded in 1642. It was known as Ville-Marie , and was located in roughly the same location as the trading post set up by de Champlain. The founder, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve , built a fort in 1643 which would serve as the headquarters for the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal , an organization whose mission
12827-474: The peak until 1959. A roadway named for longtime but controversial former mayor Camillien Houde now bisects the mountain, although Houde had been opposed to the idea of putting a road through the park. The park, cemeteries, and several adjacent parks and institutions have been combined into the Mount Royal Natural and Historical District ( Arrondissement historique et naturel du Mont-Royal ) by
12954-471: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
13081-525: The provincial government in order to legally protect the rich cultural and natural heritage of the region. In June 2017, during the 375th anniversary of Montreal, the city formally named the greenspace surrounding the Outremont peak Parc Tiohtià:ke Otsira'kéhne , Mohawk for "the place of the big fire," reflecting how the hill had been used for a fire beacon by First Nations people. It has an area of 35 hectares (86 acres). Mount Royal Park currently hosts
13208-431: The proximity of this tower to public areas of the park, in recent years significant concerns have been raised about radio-frequency radiation exposure; at several points formerly accessible to park users near the tower, radiation was found to be significantly higher than that permitted for the general public. The "shortness" indicated above was dictated by the maximum allowable height (1100 feet above sea level) dictated by
13335-544: The rest into seven lots of their own. The city's oldest public monument, Nelson's Column , was erected in 1809 on part of the former garden plot and given to the city. This space became the new market square, called Marché Neuf (New Market) before assuming its present name of Place Jacques-Cartier in 1845. The space occupied by the church of the Jesuits became the Place Vauquelin and Montreal City Hall arose from
13462-471: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
13589-481: The return of a residential base, the area has become attractive to the hotel industry. While in the 19th century all major hotels were in Old Montreal, by 1980 there were none. In 2009, there were about 20 hotels, mostly in restored older buildings. A steady stream of tourists and the presence of new residents encourage nightlife and entertainment. In addition, municipal authorities have invested large sums to renew
13716-439: The safety of those present. Although initially controversial in light of the event's communal and countercultural vibe (as well as a permissive attitude towards then-illegal cannabis use), the police presence has not led to conflict. Facing the mountain across Park Avenue is Jeanne-Mance Park . A popular recreational area, Jeanne-Mance Park features a playground, a wading pool, tennis courts, various sports fields, and in winter,
13843-736: The said town of Hochelaga, near to and adjoining a mountain.... We named this mountain Mount Royal." One theory is that the name of the Island of Montréal derives from Mont Réal , as the mountain's name was spelled in Middle French ( Mont Royal in Modern French). However, Cartier's 1535 diary entry refers to "le mont Royal." Another argument, mentioned by the Government of Canada on its website concerning Canadian place names,
13970-513: The same time, encouraging others to dance. In addition, many children and adults participate nearby in a battle with foam-padded weapons. The Tam-tams began in the late 1970s with a workshop on African drumming at a jazz bar on Ontario Street. It is not organized by the municipal authorities. Despite initial resistance by participants, the city now intervenes in the event, restricting commercial activity to registered members in designated areas and assigning police and first aid technicians to ensure
14097-466: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
14224-663: The tradition has been revived as the Tuques Bleues celebration by the Les amis de la montagne , a charitable organization that works to protect and preserve the park. In the summer, Mount Royal hosts a popular activity known as Tam-Tams, or the "Tam-Tam Jam", whereby a number of Montrealers and visitors play hand drums (such as djembes ) on the east slope of the mountain, near the George-Étienne Cartier Monument . The Sunday afternoon gatherings attract people of various backgrounds. Often, dozens of tam-tam players perform their art at
14351-679: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
14478-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
14605-485: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
14732-417: The walls. Though the walls may have provided security from invasion, they created a different problem: a large concentration of wooden houses (with fireplaces) led to many devastating fires. In 1721, Montreal received a royal order from France to ban wood construction; buildings were to be constructed using stone, but the ban was never fully respected. Canada (New France) became a British colony in 1763 after
14859-536: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
14986-462: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
15113-417: Was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French
15240-647: Was declared a historic district by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec . In 1605, Samuel de Champlain established a fur - trading post at Place Royale (Old Montreal) at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River and the Petite Rivière St-Pierre , a former river in the area. It was adjacent to present-day Place D'Youville and the Pointe-à-Callière Museum . However, the settlers were later forced to abandon
15367-819: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
15494-463: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
15621-652: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
15748-579: Was placed there in 1643 by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve , the founder of the city, in fulfillment of a vow he made to the Virgin Mary when praying to her to stop a disastrous flood. Today, the mountain is crowned by a 31.4-metre-high (103 ft) illuminated cross, installed in 1924 by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and now owned by the city. It was converted to fibre-optic light in 1992, and then to LEDs in 2009. The cross
15875-594: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
16002-570: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
16129-712: Was to convert members of First Nations to Christianity and establish a Christian settlement in New France . The company in charge of managing the settlement was founded by the Sulpician Jean-Jacques Olier and by Jérôme Le Royer (Sieur de La Dauversière) . After the Société Notre-Dame dissolved on March 9, 1663, the Sulpicians (who arrived in 1657) became the Seigneurs of Montreal, as King Louis XIV of France took personal control over
#52947