<p>hey all</p>
<p>im a canadian citizen living in ohio, US and waiting for green card. I only know English and Tamil (Indian native language). Would I be able to survive in Montreal without knowing french??? Also am I required to take French in McGill??</p>
<p>Many of my friends don't speak any french, and they do fine. Of course, occasionally you may find yourself in a situation with snobbish Parti Quebecoisers, however they are few and far between, and 99% of the time you will have no problem communicating in english. I speak french pretty well, yet I always use english when I go out shopping, in the city, whatever. McGill doesn't require you to take any french courses while in University (they are really lax overall about their requirements)</p>
<p>However, that being said, I would highly recommend that you learn a bit of french. it's an amazing opportunity to learn it--living in a city where you hear it every day! Plus, the montreal culture is a lot more rich if you know french. I've been getting more into the french music scene, and it is a lot of fun. Not to mention french theatre, plays, movies, etc. While Montreal is a very rich and vibrant culture in english, it is double as much fun if you understand both languages :)</p>
<p>I think if you don't know French, you'll be fine. I speak Tamil as well. :)</p>
<p>Thanks harpgirl. Future'MD how's the desi/indian scene at McGill??? A lot of them? Do they like to have a good time or more focused??</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I have a question about French, too. I already speak French semi-fluently. Will I be able to become fluent in Montreal (use French when shopping, going out, etc) or will it be difficult because they'll hear my accent and switch to English? Thanks</p>
<p>Sorry, vinzzy, but I'm not at McGill, heh. I'll probably be applying <em>next year</em></p>
<p>I know of some Indians at McGill and there are definitely many on campus, but I wouldn't say they are as prominent as some schools in the US, like UC-Berkeley for example.</p>
<p>pamplemousse (hey! grapefrut...for some reason that was the word everyone from my french 1 class remembered...and a word i'll remember forever hahaha), yes, if you speak french to them, most of the time they'll speak french back with you. it's the same dilemma I faced...being semi fluent in french, but very shy about speaking it out shopping and stuff. you just have to make the effort. And if people switch to english if you just tell them that you want to speak french they will be more than happy to oblige. And of course, start getting into social circles with a lot of francophones (try going to quebecois music concerts...great way to meet people!!) then you will have francophone friends with which to practice. and this is the single best way to improve french, I've found.</p>