Charter of the French Language Charter's provisions expanded upon the 1974 "Official Language Act" (Bill 22), which was enacted by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Parliament during the tenure of Premier Robert Bourassa's Liberal government to make French the official language of Quebec. Prior to 1974, Quebec had no official language and was subject only to the requirements on the use of English and French contained in Article 133 of the British North America Act, 1867. Bill 101 has been amended more than six times since 1977. Each amendment has aroused controversy over such provisions as the use of French on commercial signs or restrictions on enrolment into
The Universality of the French Language As regards the French pronunciation, Rivarol characterised it as sweet, soft and gracious “marked by the French character”. Finally, he attempted to answer to the second question posed by the Berlin Academy, namely, why could French deserve the prerogative of the universal language. The European continent forms a remarkable diversity of kingdoms and peoples. In order to guarantee the stability of all the nations, it seemed indispensable to have a common model.In this regards, French represented the only linguistic example capable of transposing its regular order and constancy to anyone who would speak it. According to Antoine Rivarol, language is