Two languages in one country - the birth of a hybrid language

Having disputed over its official language for a long time, at the end Canada decided to use both languages that are used in the country: French and English. The Constitution of Canada recognizes these two languages as the official languages of the country. Although the presence of two official languages can be enriching and diversifying, there are also conflicts. Reid Spencer, on his article called "Montreal find common language in racing" on Sporting News Today, talks about a solution to one of the problems that the co-existence of two languages brings about: the rising of a new language that is a mixture of English and French.

Spencer mentions the former problem of language issues heavily affected racing in Canada. Not knowing which language to use during races, especially regarding directions given to the drivers during races, people had disputed whether English or French would be preferable. At the end, they came up with a solution: They did not end up choosing English or French. Instead, they decided to merge the two languages and create a new hybrid language. The suggestion was that French and English would be combined and the shortest word from each language would be chosen. For example, "nord" would be used instead of "north," "sud" instead of "south," and "west" instead of "ouest."

I wonder why they would do that. I don't see any difference in practicality between saying "nord" instead of "north," or "sud" instead of "south." Although most of the time both languages must be used as the official languages of Canada, I think that choosing one over the other for purposes of racing would be better than just randomly coming up with a rule and mixing the two languages according to that. English and French words are not much different in word length anyway, so there is no advantage to use both and choose the shortest word each time.

Mixing up English and French and coming up with a hybrid language out of the two, in my opinion, is an issue that should be closely looked at. The French government and people are famous for protecting their language vehemently. They often do not readily welcome the speakers of other languages, especially those of English, as they see the ubiquitous nature of English as a threat to French. The French Academy attempts to find French equivalents for English words that might otherwise enter the French lexicon. This protection on the French side greatly contradicts the idea of merging English and French.

Although both English and French are dominant languages, I still think that merging these two languages for any reason is an unfavorable idea. Two languages have already been influencing each other enough: In English, we use the French word "lieu" in the phrase "in lieu of," while in French we use the English word "weekend." First, there is no need in combining these two languages. They are both distinct and rich languages, and there is no need to combine the two and to create a new language. Secondly, and most importantly, merging the two would only cause them lose the nuance of either language. Both French and English languages are inextricably linked to the cultures they represent. French culture and traditions are different than those of English, and each language embodies the culture and tradition of its own people. Merging the two languages would also make the two distinct cultures blend, and the uniqueness of each culture would disappear.

This issue raises another question for me. Is not having only one official language an infeasible idea? Would the same problem arise in the USA? Having no official language, would the USA face a situation where, for example, people attempt to merge English and Spanish to create a new language? Would there be a need for that? Or is it a matter of reconciliation between the two languages and their speakers?

Link to Article: http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/article/2010-05-05/nascar-and-montreal-find-common-language-racing