In the decades leading up to the 1970s, the primarily French-speaking

Question

⠀In the decades leading up to the 1970s, the primarily French-speaking Canadian province of Québec saw its proportion of native French speakers diminish from year to year. The attrition of French was attributed to preeminence of English in the workplace, particularly in affluent, “white-collar” jobs. The French-speaking majority was economically marginalized within its own province, as it was left with the choice of either working in lower-paying jobs or teaching its children English as a first language. The latter option would further erase its cultural autonomy and singularity within a country that primarily spoke English. Facing the risk of linguistic extinction, the province passed Loi 101 (Law 101): The Charter of the French Language. It established French as the only official language of the province, established the primacy of French in the workplace, and led to more economic equity. Since its passage in 1977, the percentage of people in Québec who speak French as a first language has begun to rise..   1 
 1. Which of the following is suggested in the passage as a reason for the decline of French in Québec?

A. economic devaluation
B. influx of English-speaking immigrants
C. efforts of French Canadians to further integrate themselves with Canadian culture
D. emigration of French Canadians
E. outlawing of French in the other provinces

2 
 2. According to the passage,  Loi 101  was significant in that it

A. was a final, unsuccessful attempt at enforcing the usage of French in Québec.
B. curtailed the economic supremacy of English.
C. restricted the teaching of English in schools.
D. highlighted the uniqueness of the cultural identity of Québec from the rest of Canada.
E. provided for bilingual education.

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Carcass · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION QUESTION #1

You are asked why the use of the French language declined in Québec. Researching the passage, you see this mentioned in the first few lines. Specifically, you are told that the “preeminence” of the English language in the best jobs forced people to switch. This indicates that in order to take advantage of the best economic opportunities, one had to speak English. The passage suggests that French became an economically unviable language, stating that “the French-speaking majority was economically marginalized.” Thus, the two groups had access to significantly different economic and professional opportunities. This is reflected in answer choice (A). Choices (B) and (D) are out of scope, as immigrant and emigrant populations are not mentioned. Furthermore, choice (E) is also beyond the scope of the passage, as the outlawing of languages is not relevant to the discussion. Finally, choice (C) is a 180, as the passage states the French sought to maintain their autonomy, not integrate themselves into other cultures.

Carcass · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION QUESTION #2

This question asks you to summarize the significance of the law mentioned in the latter part of the passage. Based on the final sentence of the passage (which mentions the rise in French as the primary language), (A) is untrue—it was not an unsuccessful attempt. (B) is true because the passage specifies that the law “established the primacy of French in the workplace.” No mention is made of language in schools, so you can dismiss options (C) and (E). Finally, while the cultural identity of Québec is mentioned in the passage, the only results of Loi 101 specified are the economic equity of the languages and the rise in the usage of French, so you can also reject (D) as a possible answer. Answer choice (B) is the only option that is based on the information in the passage.

SirSanguine · Answer

Hi carcass,

Option a in first queston says economic devaluation..Did the language get devalued,economically? or the people not knowing english?. Yes, the devaluation caused it but it first triggered emmigration further we saw a decline in french usage. Please help me undertsand this chain of argument. Thanks.

Carcass · Answer

The French-speaking majority was economically marginalized within its own province, as  it was left with the choice of either working in lower-paying jobs or teaching its children English as a first language.

Simply using French as a language in your job, you did not get a GOOD job from the salary standing point. I.E. A low paid salary

The real sense here is that when you have a degree in economics (it is just a stupid example), you can get a job at McDonald's because your degree is economically evaluated. It is not important because now the only degree you need for a good job is Data analysis or Machine learning engineer.

I hope that helps you sir

Carcass · Answer

I do not know frankly why the first question has different answer choices. I found the same passage with the first question in the following way

Which of the following is suggested in the passage as a reason for the decline of French in Québec?

A the disparity of economic opportunities available to French and English speakers
B an influx of English-speaking immigrants
C efforts of French Canadians to further integrate themselves with Canadian culture
D the emigration of French Canadians
E the outlawing of French in the other provinces

Saying like that A makes much more sense as an inference question

In the decades leading up to the 1970s, the primarily French-speaking

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

In the decades leading up to the 1970s, the primarily French-speaking

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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