There’s a language storm brewing over the name Burgundy Lion, an English pub in the Montreal neighbourhood for which it is named.
It started with a surprising heads-up that co-owner Toby Lyle said he recently got from the Office Quebecois de la langue francais (OQLF).
“That my sign is no good — it’s not French enough,” he said.
In an email obtained by Global News, a language enforcement official wrote in French that “the word ‘Burgundy’ is not attested in French, even though it refers to the Little Burgundy neighborhood. Corrections are required.”
Those corrections include adding elements in French such as descriptions, the letter explained.
In Quebec, the law states that business signs must be in French, and that if there’s another language, French must be clearly predominant.
In Lyle’s opinion, his sign conforms with the law.
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“Burgundy is a neighbourhood, ‘pub’ is a French word and ‘lion’ is both French and English,” he told Global News.
He argues that the area for which it is named is of national significance.
“It’s know by the residents of the neighbourhood as ‘Little Burgundy’ and not ‘Petit Bourgogne’,” he pointed out.
“It’s the historical neighbourhood of Oliver Jones, Oscar Peterson. The (Montreal International) Jazz Fest doesn’t exist without this neighbourhood.”
Lyle is refusing to change the sign that’s been in place for nearly two decades.
It’s not the first time that the English pub has run afoul of the language police. Eight years ago the eatery got into trouble for a 7.5-cm English-only Trip Advisor recommendation sign in the window.
But there were no objections from the OQLF about the sign at the time.
Human rights lawyer Julius Grey told Global he thinks the order to remove the sign is ridiculous.
“What I’m suggesting to you is that it isn’t against the law,” he stressed. “It’s only against the law if it’s interpreted in the narrow way in which the office is interpreting it.”
He believes the law should take into account the different origins of place names in Montreal, and that a reasonable interpretation of the law would find no fault with the name Burgundy.
Grey argues that the OQLF has been overzealous recently.
“Their position is that everything must appear to be in French. I don’t think that’s the purpose of the law.”
He says the legislation does recognize the role of other languages and cultures in the province.
In a statement to Global News, the OQLF wrote that they are still analyzing the file and that no final decision has been made about the Burgundy Lion sign.
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