Let's assume that Mr. Duceppe was simply being a politician when blasting Canadian multiculturalism (Daniel Leblanc, Globe&Mail, Oct.11). Then again, let's not, because sticking your head in the sand just to please supporters is not an excuse. M. Duceppe is dead wrong when he claims that multiculuralism is not for Quebec and that it endangers the French Language rights in that province. Two different things, Monsieur Duceppe.

To be sure, culture and language are intrinsically linked. Language is constructed out of the historical and socio-cultural context of its speakers. However, when it comes to the survival of a language or a culture, there are different issues at stake.

The learning of a language or its maintenance within a community do require some limitation of other languages in close proximity to particular contexts. It facilitates the learning of that language and ensures that the language is used in a daily context doing everyday tasks, allowing the language to live, evolve and, become part of the identity of its speakers. Speaking one language means one is by default not speaking another language. For the simple purpose of communication it would be highly inefficient to try and speak two languages at the same time. Although bilingual or multilingual speakers often slip in a word, a pronunciation, or a sentence structure from another language this does not result in a new language. Learners learning a second language are often described as speaking an interlanguage as part of the learning process, but this is a transition phase. That's why Quebec's language policy, such as law 101, was a necessary evil in order to protect French in that province and contribute to its revival. In the end, the policy was extremely successful, according to a recent issue of L'actualite (Benoit Aubin, Oct 16). The statistics speak for themselves: half of Quebecers are unilingual francophones, two thirds of anglophones Quebecers are bilingual in French and English, and one fifth of Montreal residents are trilingual, something not found in any other city in North America. The new challenges the language faces are no longer due to the English spoken in the rest of Canada. It's global English which is creating challenges not just for Quebecers but for speakers in most other countries in the world where English is viewed as the ticket to a better life.

That's language. But it's a different story when it comes to culture. With globalization our world is shrinking. We are becoming closer to people halfway around the globe. People are moving more frequently and more often and the mingling of many different cultures, especially in Canada, is changing our society significantly. But M. Duceppe's assumption that the existence of minority cultural groups within Quebec threatens the French language in that province is silly. Newcomers to Quebec realize that in order to get on with ordinary life they have to learn the language used in everyday transactions and activities. An openness towards those wishing to make Quebec their new home only encourages meaningful integration into Quebec society. To say, "Sorry, I don't do multiculturalism" is to simply deny the reality of today's changing communities. Cultures can exist side by side without one negating the other. In fact a cultural hybridity is a natural process.

Just as languages evolve, so do our societies. We use our language to reconstruct our understanding of the ever-evolving communities in which we live, thus allowing us to re-define our identity vis-à-vis the changes which are occurring. But this process always takes place in the language we speak. It does not take it away. It's time to take your head out of the sand, M. Duceppe.