B
eing raised trilingual in
Saskatoon opened the doors
to many opportunities in my
life, from translating the different
languages of my parents as a child (En-
glish, French and German) to allowing me
to move overseas and live abroad as an
adult. Today, many francophones in the
mainly English-speaking Canadian Prai-
rie provinces struggle to maintain their
French-Canadian heritage, as English is
the dominant language.
French immersion schools are rapidly
gaining in popularity in these areas; how-
ever, institutions are oversubscribed (with
classes of 30 upwards), facing budget cuts
and struggling to keep up with demand in
terms of teaching resources. To be accepted
as a student at a French-only school, having
a French parent is a must—of course, nearly
all see the benefits of raising their children
bilingual. But, like many of my peers, I’d vir-
tually lost my ability to speak French by my
20s, as English became more relevant for
me as I searched for work overseas.ROOTS ARE IMPORTANT
I think it’s important to encourage all people
to learn a second language. French would
be great if you’re an English-speaking Ca-
nadian, or English for a French-speaking
Canadian. My mother was German and
my father, Fransaskois (a French Canadi-
an living in Saskatchewan). At around the
age of five, I remember my dad lecturing
me for dropping the accent from the ‘e’ in
my name, stating I should use it as a sign
of my French-Canadian pride, despite theCANADIANS ABROADA young
Félix at École
Canadienne-
Française in
Saskatoon.GROWING UP
TRILINGUAL
Growing up with three languages was beneficial,
but also drove home how important it is to maintain
a sense of your heritage by Félix Turcotte, Berlin
58 More of Our Canada SEPTEMBER 2019