Letters: Broadening the mind with languages

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The French language is in decline in N.B. according to the most recent census. In 2016 31.4 per cent spoke French, whereas in 2021, only 29.5 per cent spoke French. This is a whopping 1.9 per cent decline in five years. It may be due to immigration to the province. Saint John has a lot of new faces in the city from all over the world, which is a good thing.

French is a dying language in the entire world. It is, however, the second language besides English used in the EU. Saint John is getting the Lycée International French School at Market Square. It may be just in the nick of time to encourage French in the city and in the region. I’m glad I studied French in high school, junior high, and elementary school. I thought it a waste of time until recently when I gained a new appreciation for bilingualism. Studying French actually improves one’s English vocabulary, too.

Friends of mine who went to French Immersion seemed ashamed of having studied French in school. I know being bilingual opens doors for employment opportunities from coast to coast in Canada .Personally, I think its better to speak math than French. But you are more likely to get a job from French than math. As one professor put it, ”If we are all bilingual, what’s the point? We can all speak to each other in two different languages.”

Studying a second language broadens the mind which is a good thing.

Paul Cusack

Saint John

Time to reduce the noise pollution

Every time I go shopping in any of the stores or malls I feel as if I’m being discriminated against, just because I happen to be 79 years young!

What I’m getting at is the constant “noise” I hear radiating out from all the overhead speakers. Pray tell me what has happened to Chopin, Mozart, Handel, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, etc.,…? And, oh yes, if you really want to hear lots of “noise” how about Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” as a starter? But make sure you catch the very first few bars as well as the next 20 or so minutes…. Stravinsky believed in making good use of all his instrumentalists at one time or another.

I wonder how many of our high school youth have ever heard of any of the above listed musicians?

All you folks out there who are hooked on cleaning up the environment, how about cleaning up the noise, let alone the silly ads. It’s just total brainwashing and, oh my gosh, how gullible we are.

Joseph Armand Cyr

Saint John