Bilingualism and Translation in/of Michèle Lalonde’s Speak White

Abstract

AbstractMichele Lalonde’s poster-poem, ‘Speak White’, reflected the ideology of Quebec nationalists in the 1960s as they sought independence from Canada and promoted the preservation of French language and culture. For Lalonde, to ‘speak white’ signified English linguistic, cultural and economic imperialism. This paper examines the function of ‘English’ in the poem from several perspectives, including textual and official bilingualism, code-switching from French to English, and the language debates of Quebec. It then reviews D. G. Jones’ translation of ‘Speak White’ into English and the paradox of this particular translation act. Finally, the paper contextualizes the reading of the poem then (1968) and now (1998).