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Speak White

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"Speak White" was an insult used by Anglos against Francophones in Canada when the Francophone were speaking French in public. For example, a francophone in Québec customer could get the reply "Speak White" simply for saying "Bonjour" while entering an Anglo owned shop.

Based on this insult, Québec poet Michèle Lalonde wrote a poem with the same name. Her poem was based on the daily reality of Canada's Francophones during the 70's and before.

Pierre Falardeau and Julien Poulin, two Québec-based film producers, created in 1980 a short film based on Michèle Lalonde's poem.


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