Speak White

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The expression speak white is used to order someone to speak English. With racial undertones, this imperative phraseme [1] was mainly used during the 20th century against French-speaking Canadians. It was adopted in Quebec nationalist literature and notably served as the title of a famous poem written by Michèle Lalonde in 1968.

Contents

Historical usage of the expression

According to a widely circulated story, the first known use of the expression speak white dates back to October 12, 1889. During debates in the House of Commons of Canada, anglophone MPs allegedly shouted "Speak White!" at francophone MP Henri Bourassa. [2] However, according to Canadian anglophone journalist William Johnson, this account is a myth. [3] Quebec francophone linguist Gabriel Martin concurs with this interpretation. [1] According to him, the expression speak white is attested in Canada starting in the 1920s and its usage intensified during the 1942 conscription crisis:

During the Second World War, debates over mandatory military service deepened the divide between the country’s two major linguistic communities. While anglophones were largely in favor of conscription, francophones generally opposed it. In this context, the expression speak white became increasingly common in military circles, often hurled at those contemptuously referred to as zombies or frogs. In 1942, Quebec minister René Chaloult repeatedly denounced the presence of signs bearing the words Speak White in certain areas under Canadian naval control. [1]

According to the linguist, testimonies from francophone Canadians reporting being told to speak white stretch into the 1980s, although the expression has become marginal in the 21st century. [1]

On March 7, 2007, journalist Larry Zolf published an article entitled “Speak White” on the CBC News website, stating that in his childhood in Winnipeg, anglophones would often shout “Speak white!” at his mother when she spoke to him in Yiddish. [4] In the same article, Zolf also criticized then Liberal Party candidate Stéphane Dion—who is francophone—by addressing the same “speak white” insult to him. [4]

Artistic and political use of speak white

From the 1950s to the 1970s, nationalist intellectuals in Quebec often drew on the vocabulary of négritude to describe the oppression experienced by francophones in the province. [5] Pierre Vallières’s essay Nègres blancs d’Amérique famously compared the linguistic and socio-economic discrimination faced by French-speaking Quebecers to the racism endured by Black Americans and the colonial domination imposed on subjugated peoples of colonial empires. [6] At the time, Quebec nationalism aligned itself with a broader anti-imperialist movement, of which négritude was one expression, [7] and denounced the oppression of one people by another through language and culture. [8]

The expression speak white spread in Quebec literature of the period within this context. For instance, it appears in the work of Yves Thériault in 1954 to denounce the dominance of English over Yiddish, and in Gaston Miron’s work in 1965 to highlight anglophone contempt toward francophones. [1]

Speak White by Michèle Lalonde

The expression inspired Quebec poet Michèle Lalonde to write the committed poem Speak White in October 1968. It was published in the magazine Socialisme. [9]

The poem was originally meant to be read on stage at the Comédie-Canadienne by actress Michelle Rossignol during a performance titled “Songs and Poems of the Resistance”, but it was Michèle Lalonde herself who read the poem. [10] The event, which brought together several artists including Robert Charlebois, Yvon Deschamps, and Gaston Miron, was organized in support of Pierre Vallières and Charles Gagnon, who had recently been imprisoned for their involvement in the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). [11] The poem, which became famous in Quebec, has often been interpreted as a manifesto. [12]

It quickly became a beacon for the Quebec sovereignty movement. Responses to Lalonde's work include a 1980 short film of the same name by directors Pierre Falardeau and Julien Poulin, a number of reinterpretations, and “Speak What”, a 1989 political poem by Marco Micone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Martin, Gabriel (June 2025). "L'histoire de speak white : entre mythe et réalité". Histoire Québec. 30 (4): 37–39.
  2. ↑ Catela de Bordes, Éliane (1981). Le Mémorial du Québec : Le Québec de 1890 à 1917, t. IV. Montréal: Société des éditions du Mémorial. p. 89. ISBN   2-89143-007-7. OCLC   1015316858.
  3. ↑ "The Canadian Myth of "Speak White!" – A Sociological Analysis | Vision @ William Johnson". 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  4. 1 2 "CBC News: Analysis & Viewpoint: Larry Zolf". 2007-03-05. Archived from the original on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  5. ↑ Warren, Jean-Philippe (June 2010). "Un maudit beau joual". Liberté. 51 (4): 94–101.
  6. ↑ Scott, Corrie (2014). De Groulx à Laferrière : Un parcours de la race dans la littérature. Théorie et littérature. éditions XYZ. ISBN   9782892618204.
  7. ↑ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca. "Les ambitions internationales du FLQ | Radio-Canada.ca". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  8. ↑ Cassin, Barbara, ed. (2023). Le Livre d'une langue. Paris: éditions du Patrimoine, Centre des monuments nationaux. p. 104.
  9. ↑ Lalonde, Michelle (December 1968). "Speak white". Socialisme: revue du socialisme international et québécois (15): 19–21.
  10. ↑ ""Poèmes et chants de la résistance II", 50 ans plus tard". Le Devoir (in French). 26 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  11. ↑ "En bref - Les 40 ans de Speak White". Le Devoir. Le Devoir. 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  12. ↑ Moyes, Craig (June 2022). "Passeurs et passages sociocritiques : Pistes de lecture de Terre des hommes à "Speak White"". Études françaises. 58 (3): 128.
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