[lg policy] Hockey Canada's French-name policy criticized by Quebec-based politicians

[Harold Schiffman]

Hockey Canada's French-name policy criticized by Quebec-based politicians
Hockey Canada says players' names should be pronounced the way players say
them

The Canadian Press Posted: Feb 22, 2018 8:49 AM ET Last Updated: Feb 22,
2018 2:03 PM ET
[image: Hockey Canada said Tuesday it wants announcers at Olympics to
respect anglophone pronunciation of names that appear French.]

Hockey Canada said Tuesday it wants announcers at Olympics to respect
anglophone pronunciation of names that appear French. (Nathan
Denette/Canadian Press)
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Hockey Canada was widely criticized Wednesday after a news report indicated
a public address announcer at the Winter Olympics was told by the national
governing body to stop using French pronunciations for the names of some
Canadian players.

Federal Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said she was "extremely surprised"
by Hockey Canada's position, while Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard called
it "deplorable" and "ridiculous."

A story in Le Journal de Montréal said Sébastien Goulet, the
French-speaking PA announcer at the Gangneung arena at the Winter Games,
was told by a Hockey Canada official to stop using French pronunciations
for Team Canada players Derek Roy, Rene Bourque and Marc-André Gragnani.

On Tuesday, Hockey Canada responded to the article with a statement saying
player names like Roy and Bourque should be pronounced the way they say it
them themselves, rather than using the French pronunciations. Roy and
Bourque are common names in Quebec.


   - *Hockey Canada objects to French pronunciation of players' names
   <http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/pyeongchang/ice-hockey/language-spat-olympics-hockey-name-pronunciation-1.4544114>*

Roy, of Rockland, Ont., pronounces his family name in English, as
does Bourque, of Lac La Biche, Alta. It was unclear what issue the
organization had with Gragnani, of Île-Bizard, Que., who says his name the
Latin way — not pronouncing the second G.

Gragnani told the Journal he never asked for his name to be anglicized but
didn't want to dwell on it because he was preparing for an upcoming game.
Heritage Canada 'on the file'
Joly said her office was "on the file" and would work with the office of
Sports Minister Kirsty Duncan.

She said Hockey Canada's decision was "highly questionable" and added that
"we always have to affirm the importance of the French language."

Couillard said, "as francophones, we need to object to this and to protest
this strongly."

"I am waiting for Hockey Canada to rectify the situation immediately. It
just doesn't make any sense."

Pascal Bérubé, a Parti Québécois member of the legislature, said he was
outraged.
[image: Fake News Joly 20180221]

Federal Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said she was "extremely surprised"
by Hockey Canada's position said her office was "on the file." (Justin
Tang/Canadian Press)

"It's insulting," he said. "It's a lack of respect. Especially as French is
an official language at the Olympics."

Hockey Canada's statement also said the organization "respects all players,
their background and their culture and makes best efforts to ensure that
player names are pronounced as the player desires."

"At international events Hockey Canada provides a pronunciation guide based
on how players pronounce their names to both broadcast media and the game
operations personnel at the venues. The pronunciations are on occasion
reviewed with individuals when requested or required."

Goulet does hockey play-by-play on TVA Sports television in Quebec and is
the back-up PA announcer to Michel Lacroix at Montreal Canadiens home
games. He has been an announcer at three previous Olympics as well as world
junior championships and other events.

Hockey announcers from Montreal have been hired for Winter Games since 1998
in Nagano, Japan, mainly because they can speak in the International
Olympic Committee's two official languages, English and French, while a
second announcer handles the local language.

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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