163-621: The West Island ( French : l'Ouest de l'île ) is the unofficial name given to the city, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal , in Quebec , Canada . It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Lachine (specifically the Western Lachine area, also known as Dixie and later Summerlea), Dorval , Pointe-Claire , and Beaconsfield ,
326-458: A "bundle of specific and limited rights over productive activity within that territory". The seigneur – habitant relationship was one where both parties were owners of the land, who split the attributes of ownership between them. Estates in free socage were the most macro-level of land division in New France but, within them, there existed several tenurial subdivisions. Immediately below
489-463: A 45.7 km (28.4 mi) segment of the colonial boundary was drawn at the west edge of the westernmost contiguous manorial estates along the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, accounting for the small triangle of land at Vaudreuil-Soulanges that belongs to Quebec rather than Ontario. Only two outlying feudal manors were ever established in the area that became Upper Canada, being located at L'Original on
652-576: A Chemin du Roy laid out in the 17th century that corresponds more or less directly with the Gouin & Lakeshore boulevards of today. Lachine, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Sainte-Genevieve and Pointe-Claire developed in a more or less interconnected fashion as colonial outposts spread out along the edge of the island. During the Ancien Régime of the early colonial era, these communities had their own parish churches, many of which still exist. In addition to
815-744: 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
978-551: A century. This was the prime land; also many Englishmen and Scotsmen purchased manorial estates; others were divided equally between male and female offspring; some were run by the widows of manorial lords as their children grew to adulthood. Over time land became subdivided among the owners' offspring and descendants, resulting in increasingly narrow plots of land. When Quebec was divided in December 1791 between Lower Canada (today's Quebec ) and Upper Canada (today's Ontario ),
1141-431: 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,
1304-536: A densely forested island. Though much of the West Island is today a vast low-density modern suburban development, most of the principal roads were developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, inasmuch as land division follows examples common to the Ancien Régime. Moreover, the West Island has a small number of critical 18th century heritage properties, in addition to parish churches, summer villas, windmills and
1467-471: A few hundred yards—creating something of a proto-neighborhood. Although legislation and enforcement varied depending on the period and administration, a socager's rights of entitlement to their villeinage could not be revoked as long as they paid their duties and fees to the lord of the manor and satisfied the requirements of tenir feu et lieu . This stipulated that they were obliged to improve their landholdings or these would be confiscated. By ordinance of
1630-555: 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
1793-705: 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
SECTION 10
#17327659426821956-522: A priority for many West Island residents. The West Island is home to one of the last large remaining tracts of Montreal-region wilderness on island. The history of human settlement in the West Island of Montréal likely predated European colonization which began in the early to mid 17th century, but little is known of the history of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians who inhabited the island in the pre-colonial era. Indeed, between Cartier's first contact in 1535–1536 and
2119-494: 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
2282-536: A rowed system, wherein the first row bordered the river, and was the first to be filled, followed by the second behind it and so on. Typically, the proportions of such rectangles coincided with the ratio of 1:10 for width and length, respectively. However, extremes all the way up to 1:100 are known to have occurred. This method of land division confers obvious advantages in terms of easy access to transportation and cheap surveying, but also allowed socagers to live remarkably close to families on neighboring plots—often within
2445-587: 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
2608-526: 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
2771-941: 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
2934-590: A series of tunnels connecting all buildings on campus, designed so as to facilitate moving about the sprawling campus. A portion of the system connecting Stewart to Brittain Hall, has been closed since the 1970s and remains largely inaccessible. Cégep Gérald-Godin was opened in a former novitiate of the Fathers of the Holy Cross in 1999 and is a prominent West Island post-modern architectural achievement. It features
3097-837: A significant Francophone cultural influence in the region. The region is home to the Montréal–Trudeau International Airport , John Abbott College , Cégep Gérald-Godin , the Macdonald Campus of McGill University , the Fairview Pointe-Claire and Galeries des Sources malls, as well as Montreal's largest park, the Cap-Saint-Jacques Nature Park . Hospitals include the Veteran's Hospital in Sainte-Anne's and
3260-628: A stranger who has acquired rights originally belonging to our ancestral families". In 1928, the Seigniories Act was amended to require the compilation of all information relating to dues and related capital by municipality. In 1935, the Legislature of Quebec passed the Seigniorial Rent Abolition Act , which aimed to "facilitate the freeing of all lands or lots of land from rentcharges." It provided for: It
3423-494: A summer retreat for wealthy early-Victorian Era Montreal elites. Later, through the start of the century until the Second World War, the village became a town well known for its beaches on Lake Saint-Louis . Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, first explored and settled between 1663 and 1712, though widely used by Iroquois and Algonquins for hundreds if not thousands of years before contact, due to its strategic importance at
SECTION 20
#17327659426823586-519: A testimony to its 300-year-old history, residents and visitors alike will discover 18th-century buildings along the former Chemin du Roy, today Gouin Boulevard and Chemin du Bord-du-Lac, in addition to the remnants of Fort Senneville . The shores of Lake Saint-Louis offer a unique setting with café-terrasses, restaurants and boutiques filled with quaint Old World charm. The area today is largely middle and upper-middle class residential zoning along with
3749-547: 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
3912-554: Is 610 acres of protected urban forest with over 180 bird species, of which about one-hundred breed within the park. It is also home to the Ecomuseum Zoo , which features a collection of species native to the Saint Lawrence River valley. Cap Saint Jacques is Montreal's largest park at 711 acres of protected forest, featuring 30 km of cross-country trails, a beach and a small organic farm. There are also
4075-437: 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
4238-779: 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
4401-472: 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
4564-489: 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
4727-430: 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
4890-462: 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
5053-561: Is at least one hockey rink in every city or town in the West Island. These facilities have, in the past, also served as venues for rock concerts and the like. A notable example was the old Pierrefonds Arena, demolished in the late-1990s, which once attracted bands like the Eagles and Black Sabbath when it was difficult for most West Island youth to reach downtown concert venues. DDO and Pointe Claire both boast large civic centres replete with Olympic-sized pools and appropriate diving platforms, and
West Island - Misplaced Pages Continue
5216-433: Is currently being completed along with campus-wide renovations and upgrades. The site features the nearly completely abandoned Brittain Hall, the former men's dormitory. In this respect, Brittain Hall is a near identical copy of Stewart Hall (the original women's dorm), and features the same stacked 'gym-cafeteria-pool' layout, along with massive fireplaces and other features of an Edwardian-era rural college dormitory. Today it
5379-652: 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
5542-503: 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
5705-761: Is home to the North Shore Lions football Bantam team as well as their older team the North Shore Mustangs, which compete at a midget division 1 AAA level, which holds the most division and provincial titles in Quebec Midget Football League (QMFL) history. Fritz Farm , a community cultural centre in Baie-D'Urfé located at 20477 Chemin Lakeshore on a large common green bordering picturesque Lake Saint-Louis . Fritz Farm
5868-404: 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
6031-406: Is largely understood to mean all communities, independent or otherwise, developed on the island of Montreal West of Highway 13 and 32nd Avenue. The West Island generally consists of the following towns, cities and boroughs: These independent communities constitute the de-merged West island municipalities. In addition, there are two City of Montreal boroughs: In addition to the areas listed above,
6194-467: Is not a city, but rather a collection of independent cities, towns and villages in addition to several boroughs of the City of Montreal that share an intimate relationship and identity with the citizens of Montreal, and yet have also developed a unique common identity and strong sense of local character. Again, for this reason it is difficult to say exactly which communities constitute the West Island, though it
6357-501: Is notable for its many parks and a general emphasis on retaining as much of the rustic, rural charm that characterized the region and led to its development as a popular summer retreat in the early part of the 20th century. Due to these and other traits, a wide variety of flora and fauna common to the Saint Lawrence river valley can be found in a somewhat balanced natural ecosystem in the largely undeveloped Northwestern corner of
6520-469: 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
6683-487: Is one of several examples of preserved heritage homes dating back to the 18th century that can be found in Baie-D'Urfé, which are a direct link to the West Island's colonial era. Église Sainte-Geneviève , a parish church established in 1741 by Antoine Faucon and completed in its present form in 1844. It is located at the intersection of Rue St-Louis and Gouin Boulevard West in the village of Sainte-Geneviève and
West Island - Misplaced Pages Continue
6846-828: 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
7009-562: Is part of a larger complex that includes a presbytery and cemetery and a municipal park along the banks of the scenic Rivière des Prairies . Saint-Joachim de Pointe-Claire Church & Pointe-Claire Village , another parish church established in the mid-18th century, though completed only in 1885 in a Gothic-revival style, designed by noted local church architect Victor Bourgeau . It is located at 2 Ste-Anne Street in Pointe Claire Village. Permanent settlement in this part of
7172-434: Is still owned by McGill University and is almost exclusively used for film and television production. Despite a rapid increase in school population and the subsequent lack of space, there are no plans to renovate or rehabilitate Brittain Hall at the moment. Another feature of the campus is the location of steam pipes and access tunnels located directly under the sidewalks, so as to permit natural snow-removal. Moreover, there are
7335-576: 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 ,
7498-553: 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
7661-483: 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
7824-492: 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
7987-424: 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
8150-749: The Pointe-Claire Windmill & Summer Retreat of the Congregation Notre Dame . Centennial Hall , in Beaconsfield ;– a community cultural centre and small-scale performance venue. Stewart Hall , in Pointe-Claire ;– an art gallery and community cultural centre and small-scale performance venue. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )
8313-1008: The AM broadcast band from 1960–1989. It offered several different program formats including country as well as top-40 music before its sale to the CKO all-news network. Declining revenue led the station's closure in 1989. The West Island boasts multiple public and private sports and recreation facilities, many of which are co-located at local secondary schools or gathered around municipal buildings. As with many suburban areas, residents have access to numerous community pools, parks, greens and playgrounds, in addition to soccer and football fields, rugby pitches and baseball diamonds. All West Island residents have access to amateur sports clubs and associations, and minor-level hockey, soccer, basketball and football are all quite popular. Moreover, various leagues and associations are generally very open to accepting residents from all communities. As with most Canadian communities, there
SECTION 50
#17327659426828476-764: 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
8639-462: 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
8802-449: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the conquest of Quebec by the British during the Seven Years' War , the system became an obstacle to colonization by British settlers, not least because England had already abolished feudal land tenure under the Tenures Abolition Act 1660 . Nevertheless, the Quebec Act of 1774 retained French civil law and therefore the manorial system. Manorial land tenure remained relatively intact for almost
8965-539: 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
9128-485: 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
9291-441: 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,
9454-439: 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
9617-495: The Island of Montreal , including those in the West Island, were merged into the expanded city of Montreal on January 1, 2002. However, following a change of government and a 2004 referendum , the residents of most West Island cities voted for demerger, and were re-constituted effective January 1, 2006. However, they remained part of a new supra-municipal structure: the urban agglomeration of Montreal . Pierrefonds, Roxboro, Sainte-Geneviève and Île-Bizard remained in Montreal, as
9780-431: The L'Anse-à-l'Orme Nature Park , Angell Woods , Terra Cotta Park, Centennial Park, the Rapides du Cheval Blanc linear park, and the Bois-de-Liesse Nature Park . These constitute the major forested areas in the West Island, with remaining community green spaces typically designed in conventional park layout. Other principal large open green spaces include Macdonald Experimental Farm and remaining tracts of open land around
9943-414: The Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe-Claire. Municipalities range in character from the modern bedroom communities of Kirkland or Dollard-des-Ormeaux to the former cottage-country homes of Dorval, Pointe Claire and Beaconsfield. Development and the concentration of industrial activity along highways 20 , 40 and 13 over the last twenty years has made securing the region's remaining tracts of open land
SECTION 60
#173276594268210106-420: 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
10269-537: The Ottawa River and Cataraqui at the eastern end of Lake Ontario at what is now Kingston and Wolfe Island . Tenure in the Upper Canada manors was converted into fee simple (freehold) under the Constitutional Act 1791 . The British Parliament passed legislation in 1825 that provided for the commutation of manorial land tenure, upon the agreement of the lord of the manor and the tenants concerned. As no incentives were given, few such conversions took place. The Province of Canada also attempted to facilitate
10432-520: 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
10595-530: The seigneur with one sack of flour out of every 14. The seigneur also had the right to a specific number of days of forced labour by the habitants and could claim rights over fishing, timber and common pastures. Though the demands of the seigneurs became more significant at the end of French rule, they could never obtain enough resources from the rents and fees imposed on the habitants alone to become truly wealthy, nor leave their tenants in poverty. Habitants were free individuals; seigneurs simply owned
10758-455: 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;
10921-474: 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
11084-510: 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
11247-614: 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,
11410-455: The Company was expected to bring two to three hundred settlers to New France in 1628, and a subsequent four thousand during the next fifteen years. To achieve this, the Company subinfeudated almost all of the land awarded to it by Cardinal Richelieu — that is, parceled it out into smaller units that were then run on a feudal-like basis and worked by habitants . The lands were arranged in long narrow strips called seigneuries or fiefs along
11573-408: 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
11736-625: The French colonial agricultural system in North America. Manorial land tenure was introduced to New France in 1628 by Cardinal Richelieu . Richelieu granted the newly formed Company of One Hundred Associates all lands between the Arctic Circle to the north, Florida to the south, Lake Superior in the west, and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. In exchange for this vast land grant and the exclusive trading rights tied to it,
11899-484: 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
12062-540: The Habitant house-style of the 17th century proved so reliable, affordable and aesthetically pleasing it was repeated well into the 20th century with few major structural modifications. Houses of this kind can be found throughout the region. Two seigneuries were founded on land that is now part of the West Island: This led to the creation of the first three parishes: In 1672, the seigneurie de l'Île-Perrot
12225-478: The Intendant in 1682, a socager could not hold more than two villeinages. The lord of the manor rented most of the land to tenants, known as censitaires or habitants , who cleared the land, built houses and other buildings, and farmed the land. A smaller portion of the land was kept as a demesne (land owned by the manorial lord and farmed by his family or by hired labour) which was economically significant in
12388-766: The Island of Montreal, in addition to the Canadian Aviation Heritage Centre . John Abbott College was opened in the old Macdonald College buildings located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue in 1971 and has since become one of the largest CEGEPs in Quebec, with well-over 7,000 students. The campus was initially split between two sites until the construction of the Casgrain Centre in 1981, and a new science and technology pavilion
12551-564: The Morgan Arboretum in Senneville and western Pierrefonds. The West Island is an informal term for a large territory of low-density middle and upper-middle class housing, low and medium density commercial sectors and vast industrial operations roughly constituting the western third of the Island of Montreal . As such there are no precise boundaries, but rather a fundamentally similar cultural and societal identity. The West Island
12714-489: The SNRRS by the municipalities was made eleven years earlier than planned, on 11 November 1970 instead of 11 November 1981, due to an apparently effective management of the system. Remnants of the manorial system can be seen today in maps and satellite imagery of Quebec, with the characteristic "long lot" or "river lot" land system still forming the basic shape of current farm fields and clearings, as well as being reflected in
12877-662: The SNRRS) to the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec . These documents constitute an amount equal to 20.5 meters of textual records. A comparable manorial system was the patroon system of heritable land established by the Dutch West India Company . The company granted feudal powers to the "patroons", who paid for the transport of settlers in New Netherland . The system was not abolished by
13040-707: The Saint Lawrence's heavy traffic and years of misuse, the ecoregion is negatively effected by high pollution which in turn has resulted in diminished local populations of native fauna. That said, residential development in the greater West Island suburban region (including the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area and parts of Eastern Ontario ), has resulted in occasional sightings of black bears , wolves , lynx and cougars (which are generally believed to be extinct though sightings and some physical evidence suggest otherwise) as they themselves are pushed out of their habitats. The Morgan Arboretum in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
13203-533: The Salle Pauline-Julien a performing arts venue, and is home to roughly 1,200 students. It is so far the only uniquely Francophone CEGEP in the West Island. The development of the CEGEP has had a positive impact on the development of the village of Sainte-Geneviève as a smaller primarily Francophone equivalent to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. Public primary and secondary English-language instruction in
13366-525: The West Island YMCA and YM/YWHA, Dollard-des-Ormeaux's Centennial Park (with hills ideally suited for tobogganing and forests inter-laced with cross-country ski trails), Cap St. Jacques (which features the only remaining beach open to the public on the island) and the facilities affiliated with John Abbott College. In addition, numerous sports leagues for children and youth utilize facilities shared with local primary and secondary schools. The area
13529-486: The West Island dates back at least as far as 1710, when the emblematic Pointe-Claire Windmill was completed. The Village features many 19th century and early 20th century buildings and forms an important local small-business sector. There are many restaurants and boutiques in the area, in addition to the exclusive Beaconsfield Golf Club and the Pointe-Claire Curling Club. Othe sites of interest include
13692-549: The West Island has a noticeable youth subculture focused on swimming, diving and life-guarding at community pools. The world-famous Royal Golf Club of Montreal is located in Ile-Bizard and is one of eight golf greens in the West Island, the majority of which are private. Other typical West Island sports and recreation facilities include numerous tennis clubs and courts, curling clubs and the occasional bocci pitch. Other notable West Island sports and recreation facilities include
13855-566: The West Island tends to give the impression of being a somewhat homogeneous construction. The environment and climate of the West Island is almost identical to that of Montreal , and is affected by the same ecological conditions, namely, it is a large open plain of wide plateaus and marshland. The West Island is surrounded by the other islands in the Hochelaga Archipelago as well as Lake of Two Mountains and Lac Saint-Louis and their inter-connected rivers and creeks. The territory
14018-481: The West Island, in addition to the developed low-density residential areas. Flora and fauna found in the West Island fall within the broader spectrum of the Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests ecoregion. Of note is the presence of non-native, borderline hardiness trees, such as the tulip tree , which thrive in small section of Senneville near the Île aux Tourtes Bridge . Mammalian species that inhabit
14181-577: The West island is provided primarily by the Lester B. Pearson School Board while French-language instruction is provided by the Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys . The LBPSB counts some 28,000 students in 12 high schools, 40 elementary schools, 2 adult education centres and 4 vocational schools. The CSMB counts some 45,000 students across a larger territory principally focused on the western portion of
14344-511: The area on their way to southern breeding grounds. During winter months, depending on climatic conditions and availability of food in the northern Quebec, many species of birds will take up temporary residence, such as great grey owls, snow buntings, snowy owls, and others. The West Island has enough variation in suitable habitats, such as marsh, ponds, forest and field that many species of birds nest here. Various species of reptiles which can be found include garter snakes, red bellied, brown, milk and
14507-549: The arrival of Champlain in 1608, the local Iroquoians had completely disappeared, most probably from near-constant warfare with other neighbouring Iroquois tribes, particularly the Mohawk . The West Island may have had areas of regular human habitation as the history of human settlement in Montreal goes back at least as far as 8,000 years. European colonization led to the establishment of parishes and small trading outposts along
14670-475: The banks of the St. Lawrence River , its estuaries, and other key transit features. This physical layout of manorial property developed as a means of maximizing ease of transit, commerce, and communication by using natural waterways (most notably, the St. Lawrence river) and the relatively few roads. A desirable plot had to be directly bordering or in very close proximity to a river system, which limited plot-expansion to one of two directions—left or right. Despite
14833-430: The boroughs of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève , respectively. One argument for amalgamation was that West Islanders enjoyed lower taxes than the old city of Montreal, but still used its theatres, concert halls, and museums. With amalgamation, tax rates were harmonized across the island. In fact, the West Island contains several wealthy neighbourhoods, parks and historical sites. When referring to
14996-457: The children (both male and female). This could lead to an unusual (for the time period) number of women, generally widows, who were in charge of large amounts of property. However, it is also worth noting that most widows remarried within a short time of their spouse's death and often the meticulous splitting of estates demanded by the Custom of Paris was disregarded in favor of quickly solidifying
15159-435: The churches and rectories, religious orders of various types had set up monasteries and convents, novitiates and the like throughout the West Island, given its proximity to Ville-Marie. Seigneurial system land divisions and the development of the 'montée & rang' main road system allowed for the development of a vast agricultural territory, protected by forts, seigneurial manor houses and the geographic advantages of being on
15322-660: The communities of Pierrefonds, Roxboro & Dollard des Ormeaux when those communities were primarily focused along access routes to and from Gouin and Sources Boulevards and the Sunnybrook and Roxboro train stations. Though the publication was touted as the West Island's only independent weekly throughout the 1960s and 1970s, it died out in the 1980s. Another longtime publication was the English language The Chronicle , which began in 1925 and ended in 2015. A local radio station CFOX broadcast from Pointe Claire at 1470 kHz in
15485-406: The commutation of all feu-duties and rents (other than those relating to cens et rentes ) through payments to the lords from a fund appropriated for that purpose. Some of the vestiges of this system of landowning continued into the 20th century as some of the rentcharges continued to be collected as before on the traditional date of St. Martin's Day . The final steps towards actual abolition of
15648-581: The confluence of the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence rivers and at the western tip of the Island of Montreal. A mission was established at the present site of the Baie-D'Urfé Yacht Club in 1663, while Fort Senneville was developed beginning in 1671. A post office was established in 1835 while the Saint Anne Canal was established in 1843. Train service on the Grand Trunk began in 1854, and the village
15811-671: The construction of a highway to connect the 40 with the 440 , through Kirkland, Pierrefonds, Île Bizard and Laval , but the plan has gone nowhere. A significant portion of the Northwestern corner of the West Island is so sparsely developed it constitutes the last portion of Montreal's pre-settlement ecosystem. Though agriculture on the island is limited to the Macdonald Experimental Farm, the remnants of farmland in Senneville and Pierrefonds are likely to be developed into low-density residential housing. Conserving
15974-558: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Seigneurial system of New France The manorial system of New France , known as the seigneurial system ( French : Régime seigneurial ), was the semi- feudal system of land tenure used in the North American French colonial empire . Economic historians have attributed
16137-519: 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
16300-530: The early days of settlement, though less thereafter. Manorial land tenure in New France differed somewhat from its counterpart in France; the manorial lords of New France were not always nobles, though many were. Fiefs in North America were granted to military officers and – as in France – many were owned by the Catholic clergy. However, the system was feudal in the sense that there was a clear displacement of wealth happening from tenants to their landlords, which
16463-448: 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
16626-594: 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
16789-516: 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
16952-915: 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 ,
17115-829: 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
17278-607: The greater West Island region include white-tailed deer , coyote and cottontail rabbits . The current population of white-tailed deer is substantial, estimated at over a thousand. It is not uncommon for moose to occasionally cross the ice onto the island in winter. Other species endemic to the western portion of the island include grey squirrels, red squirrels, flying squirrels, mink, chipmunks, raccoons, beaver, skunks, porcupines, martens, woodchucks, muskrat, otters, and fox. The number of bird species varies according to season and migration. During spring and fall many species pass through
17441-469: The highest demographic concentration of German Canadians in the province of Quebec. With an even higher concentration located in the Town of Baie-D'Urfé , where the German language school, The Alexander von Humboldt Schule Montréal – German International School is located. Post-secondary institutions The Macdonald Campus of McGill University , which traces its roots back to 1905, when Macdonald College
17604-647: The historic county boundaries along the St. Lawrence River. This form of land use can also be seen in images of Louisiana , which also was founded as a French colony with somewhat similar agricultural patterns. Also, this form of land use can be seen along the Red River in southern Manitoba and along certain portions of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan near Batoche, where significant Metis and French-Canadian settlement occurred. It
17767-466: The island and Anglophones typically inhabiting the western half. The West Island's population is approximately 238,000 and although the overwhelming majority of its residents are today bilingual if not multi-lingual (given the cosmopolitan nature of this vast suburban area), anglophones still make up a plurality of the West Island's population. As late as the 1960s, much of the West Island was farmland populated by French Canadians, which in turn accounts for
17930-617: The island, with 61 elementary schools, 12 high schools, 2 specialized schools, 6 vocational schools and 4 adult-education centres. Important West Island public high schools include, but are not limited to: The West Island is served by several weekly newspapers including the English-language The Suburban , West Island Gazette and Montreal Times as well as Cités Nouvelles , published in French (and formerly published in bilingual format as Cités Nouvelles-City News up until 2010). The North Shore News once served
18093-454: 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
18256-479: 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
18419-612: 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 ,
18582-479: 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
18745-660: The level of free socage was that of the villeinage ( roture ). Throughout New France, several thousand estates in villeinage were developed. Furthermore, these villein tenancies were remarkably uniform in terms of size. Barring extreme cases, it is estimated that around 95% of all villein estates were between 40 and 200 arpents (14 and 68 ha; 34 and 169 acres) in size, though most were likely 120 arpents or less. Estates of less than 40 square arpents were considered to be of little value by villein socagers. To maximize simplicity when surveying, estates in villein socage were almost invariably distributed in rectangular plots following
18908-405: The manorial lord as before. Any amount owing after that date would be paid to the municipality. The amounts paid to the various municipalities were unequal as they did not directly correspond with the boundaries of the former manors. Many municipalities allowed a lump sum payment of the amount owing, rather than impose a small annual tax over the 41 years as permitted. The final installment paid to
19071-474: The matter. The King responded by requiring the minimum plot size which a villein socager might cultivate or reside to be one arpent and a half of frontage by 30–40 arpents in depth. A final characteristic of villeinage is that the size of the fief typically varied in direct proportion with its distance from the nearest town, while its population density varied inversely. Elsewhere this kind of property inheritance law often led to fragmentation of estates. However,
19234-410: The municipalities of Kirkland , Dollard-des-Ormeaux , Baie-D'Urfé , Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue , the village of Senneville , and two North Shore boroughs of the city of Montreal: Pierrefonds-Roxboro and L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève . Historically, there was a linguistic division of the island of Montreal into French and English 'halves', with Francophones typically inhabiting the eastern portion of
19397-420: 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
19560-515: The new union. In order to preserve each of the heirs' access to the river or road, the land would be divided lengthwise, resulting in narrower and narrower lots. In response to these increasingly subdivided farm plots and the issues of diminishing agricultural productivity associated with them, the Governor and the Intendant of New France petitioned the King in 1744 to issue a new ordinance rectifying
19723-569: The northern water snake. Species of turtles include painted, map and snapping turtle. Amphibians include bullfrogs, green frogs, leopard frogs, spring peepers, wood frogs, and others. Salamanders such as the eastern newt, red backed salamander, blue spotted salamander are also found in the more humid habitats. In the surrounding waters of the west island, notably the Lake Saint-Louis side, large fish species such as northern pike, sturgeon, garfish, carp, catfish, muskellunge can be found. Given
19886-499: The official arrangement reached between Cardinal Richelieu and the Company of One Hundred Associates, levels of migration to French colonies in North America remained extremely low. The resulting scarcity of labour had a profound effect on the system of land distribution and the habitant -seigneurial relationship that emerged in New France. King Louis XIV instituted a condition on the land, stating that it could be forfeited unless it
20049-652: 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;
20212-534: 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
20375-471: 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
20538-676: The process through passage of a further Act in 1845. The manorial system was formally abolished through the passage of the Feudal Abolition Act 1854 by the Parliament of the Province of Canada , which received royal assent on 18 December 1854. It provided for: After the required schedules for each manorial estate were published in 1859, the Parliament passed The Seigniorial Amendment Act of 1859 , which provided for
20701-466: The relatively insignificant sums of money from the feu-duties were used largely in the purchase of luxury items which were almost always imported from France. Altman theorizes that since the villein socagers would have either re-invested this money or bought goods produced locally, this limited growth and was damaging to the economy of New France. Though Altman later altered the precise estimates he made (based on annual outputs) of how much disposable income
20864-593: The remaining segments of local island wilderness has become a focal point of West Island politics over the course of the last thirty years, and is point of common concern. Due to the primarily residential character of the West Island and the influence of the City Beautiful and Garden City movements in residential urban-planning in older suburbs on island, the West Island is primarily composed of single-family dwellings on spacious lots organized along small winding roads leading away from large thoroughfares. The area
21027-468: The remnants of Fort Senneville , constituting the principle remnants from the early and middle colonial period in this area. Other important heritage properties include the numerous 19th century summer homes, farm houses and the turn of the century villages in Pointe-Claire, Saint-Anne's or Sainte-Genevieve. A key element of local architecture, as noted by author-historian Jean-Claude Marsan, is that
21190-471: 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
21353-541: The seigneurial system of land tenure. Three townships, Monroe . Frenchtown , and Raisinville , are unique in Michigan, as having a boundary that does not align with a longitude, but instead is perpendicular to the River Raisin, and aligns with the, still existent, seigneurial system land boundaries. Vestiges of this system are seen in the payment of land tax. The seigneurial system landowners pay on 31 December for
21516-415: The situation of the short cadastre (survey) of 1854, it was determined that annuities owed amount to no more than 25% of the original amount owed by the villein socagers overall. Some had not been paid since the 19th century. To rectify the situation for once and all, the SNRRS issued an edict dated 15 September 1940 stating that whatever was due no later than 11 November of that year was to be paid directly to
21679-421: The socagers might have been deprived of (and therefore the amount of local investment lost), he confirmed his original thesis that the feudal fees reduced growth through wealth transfer. Other historians such as Allan Greer have also argued that the wealth transfer limited the growth of the villein socagers' farms as well as other local enterprises, which in the long run might limit general economic growth. After
21842-466: The strip-malls and other services one might expect in a North American mega-suburb. Large tracts were developed in the period between 1955–1975 (such as Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Pierrefonds, Roxboro and Kirkland) where the majority of homes are similarly-sized variations of the basic bungalow design, though with traditional Québécois architectural influences. Lots tend to be more or less even in size without much variation across entire cities or boroughs. As such,
22005-415: The structure of feudal land tenure itself might have caused delays in economic growth for New France. Morris Altman, for example, argued that by shifting disposable wealth and therefore spending power from the villein socagers to the manorial lords (crown vassals), the system deeply altered the economy of New France. Furthermore, since the manorial lords rarely had their estates as their chief source of income,
22168-425: The subsistence level farming of many of the villein socagers in New France made fragmentation impossible and so it was common practice for one heir to buy out the others' land, keeping estates in more or less one piece. It is also worth noting that anything but direct inheritance meant the property might be subject to the entry fine of 1/12th of the value of the property due to the lord. Some historians suggest that
22331-510: The system of rentcharges took place under the government of Louis-Alexandre Taschereau , when the cause was promoted by Télesphore-Damien Bouchard , the Liberal deputy and mayor of Saint-Hyacinthe . He declared that "a very large number of villein socagers have not yet redeemed for over the seventy years that they have been able to do so [since the passage of the 1854 law]" and they must "make an annual pilgrimage to pay [the dues], very often, to
22494-466: 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
22657-699: The towns that touch Lake Saint-Louis, such as Dorval, Pointe-Claire and Beaconsfield, many people called the area the Lakeshore. Whereas in reference to towns that touch Lake of Two Mountains and Rivière-des-Prairies, such as Pierrefonds, Sainte-Geneviève and Roxboro, they called the area the North Shore. The West Island has a cosmopolitan feel and at times an eclectic design (with modern buildings and classic Québécois country homes side by side). The region boasts large green spaces bordering rivers and lakes, bike trails, nature parks , museums, cross-country ski trails, ecological farms, golf courses and cultural sites. As
22820-679: 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
22983-508: 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
23146-485: 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
23309-491: The wealth gap between Quebec and other parts of Canada in the 19th and early 20th century to the persistent adverse impact of the seigneurial system. Both in nominal and legal terms, all French territorial claims in North America belonged to the French king . French monarchs did not impose feudal land tenure on New France, and the king's actual attachment to these lands was virtually non-existent. Instead, landlords were allotted land holdings known as manors and presided over
23472-791: The western communities located in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality , are part of what is known as the Off-Island area, which is sometimes considered as an extension of the West Island: Population From the Canada 2006 Census : The West Island is home to Quebec's largest concentration of native English-speakers, most of whom are bilingual. Includes West Island municipalities only, not West-Island boroughs of Montreal. The West Island can also claim to have
23635-536: 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
23798-462: 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
23961-490: The year just over, while the rest of Michigan pays on 1 January for the year to come. Vestiges of the former system still emerge from time to time. In February 2005, the Superior Court of Quebec issued an order cancelling mortgages that could still exist for feu-duties on a property that was once part of Beauport Manor, Four years later there was an announcement that a wind farm , consisting of 131 wind turbines ,
24124-417: 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
24287-800: Was also the pattern in the Illinois Country developed by the French east of the Mississippi River, as in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois . This system is also visible in the streets of Detroit, Michigan . The earliest streets were named after the owners of each farm, such as Livernois being named after the Livernois Family ribbon farm. In Monroe County, Michigan , land on the River Raisin just west of Monroe , 35 mi (56.33 km) south of Detroit, also clearly shows
24450-420: Was cleared within a certain period of time. This condition kept the land from being sold by the seigneur , leading instead to its being sub-granted to peasant farmers, the habitants . When a habitant was granted the title deed to a lot, he had to agree to accept a variety of annual charges and restrictions. Rent was the most important of these and could be set in money, produce or labour. Once this rent
24613-443: Was contemplated that the manorial lords would receive their commutation payments by 11 November 1936, in consideration of the capital represented by the feu-duties to be collected. However, the work of the SNRRS was briefly on hiatus from 1936 to 1940 during the government of the Union Nationale . It was resumed by the new provincial Liberal government in 1940, after which the final feu-duties were paid in November 1940. Compared to
24776-531: 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
24939-470: Was first incorporated a year later. Though the village had been principally oriented on parish activities and agriculture throughout the 19th century, the early 20th century saw the development of Macdonald College in 1907, the creation of Gardenvale and the Harpell/Garden City Print Company , an important industrial cooperative, in addition to the Veterans Hospital in 1917. As part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal , all individual cities on
25102-402: Was founded, which is now part of the Off-Island region. Key early settlements leading up to the major post-war suburban developments include: Dorval, founded between 1665–1667 as a Sulpician mission, became a village in 1892, a town in 1903 and a city in 1956. Its development came largely in 1855 when the Grand Trunk Railroad established a station at Dorval, leading the hamlet to develop into
25265-400: 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
25428-469: 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
25591-436: Was largely agricultural from the 17th century until the middle of the 20th century, when it was then quickly developed into a sprawling network of bedroom suburbs. The West Island has numerous large tracts of uncultivated land, some of which are protected parks while in other cases they're merely the fallow fields of former farms, waiting to be sold to residential property developers. Other portions of land have been designated for
25754-406: Was not at all based on market forces (as land was plentiful and labor was not), but rather a system institutionalized by the crown. Villein socagers were able to divide their land for their children according to the Custom of Paris once they had families of their own, meaning that in the event of the death of a spouse, half the estate went to the surviving spouse, with the other half divided among
25917-407: Was originally constructed as an agricultural college. The buildings which currently house John Abbott College are those of the original Macdonald College, which in 1972 became a satellite campus of McGill University and moved into newer buildings east of the original site. The Macdonald Campus supports McGill's Morgan Arboretum , the J. S. Marshall Radar Observatory and the last operational farm on
26080-406: Was set, it could not be altered, neither due to inflation nor time. A habitant was essentially free to develop his land as he wished, with only a few obligations to his seigneur . Likewise, a seigneur did not have many responsibilities towards his habitants . The seigneur was obligated to build a gristmill for his tenants, and they in turn were required to grind their grain there and provide
26243-411: 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
26406-437: 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 ,
26569-415: Was to be developed there. In September 2014, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld a Superior Court ruling that private ownership of the bed of a lake and related fishing rights were not conferred by the terms of a 1674 deed of feoffment creating the Manor of La Petite-Nation . The work of the SNRRS can be evaluated by reviewing the fonds given in 1975 by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs (which looked after
#681318