Michel Charette in “Happiness”: a bump full of prejudices?

Michel Charette in the Le Bonheur series broadcast on TVA.

You may have seen the crisis that comedian Michel Charette farts in the new TVA show Le Bonheur . He plays a teacher “to the bottom” who violently insults the intelligence and quality of French of his students, eliciting applause from older generations who consider the scene “hilarious” and “so real” on social networks. But is she really soii fair?

“I think this situation is glaring with the truth, yes, but about a prejudice and a generational conflict according to which the generation which follows us is not worthy of what represents us”, estimates Marie-Hélène Giguère , professor in the Department of Specialized Education and Training at UQAM. & nbsp;

The young people of today would be no less intelligent than those of yesterday. The older generations have always complained about the younger ones. The proof is this quote from Socrates: “Our young people love luxury, have bad manners, mock authority and have no respect for age. In our time, children are tyrants. ” You would think you were hearing one of our contemporaries. & Nbsp;

The teacher believes that young people today know how to write French like their parents, “that is to say, neither better nor worse” . & nbsp;

A wider education & nbsp;

“What has changed between the boomers and the current generation is that society has the ambition to educate everyone, not just the upper classes of society », She emphasizes. & Nbsp;

“We include students with disabilities and with adjustment or learning difficulties. We aim to educate them, socialize them, qualify them, whereas before, we let them leave school when things were not right, she continues. We have the social objective of making them responsible citizens and we have delegated to schools the task of teaching them ethics, economics, sexuality, computers, art & # 8230; All this in addition to reading and writing, science and math. The first boomers were learning arithmetic, French and catechesis. It reduces knowledge quite a bit, so they could spend more time on spelling, but between you and me, knowing how to spell doesn't mean knowing how to write. “& Nbsp;

In other words, just because the older ones have suffered from having to learn Bescherelle by heart does not mean that the young should drool over it too. Teaching methods are changing. In particular, they allow young people to have a greater openness to the world and priorities in line with the current context. There were, for example, few or no computers in schools 30 years ago. That’s to say. & Nbsp; & nbsp;

It should also be mentioned that with social media writing is much more visible today than it was then. Before the advent of blogs and Facebook, once classes were over, the writings remained in individual notebooks stored in desks, not displayed in the public square.

“A collection of myths “& nbsp;

If the scene aroused the enthusiasm of many viewers, other language experts appreciated it much less. & nbsp;

“This excerpt is a collection of myths about French and the language of young people, ”says Sandrine Tailleur, associate professor at the Language and Communication Sciences Teaching Unit at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi. & nbsp;

“The character of Michel Charette could not be more wrong in his reasoning. This is a pretentious opinion and not based on the science of language, “says Béatrice Réa, linguist at the Center for Interuniversity Research on the French in Use in Quebec. & Nbsp;

In the footage, the show's writers are effectively attacking youth language by ridiculing the new spelling and inclusive writing, including saying that teens want to change the gender of a chair. “But no young person wants to change the gender of common names”, assures Béatrice Réa. & Nbsp;

Inclusive writing only applies to animated names, like job names, which refer to people , “And young people know it”, believes Sandrine Tailleur. & Nbsp; & nbsp;

The professor considers, in fact, that the extract uses the French language to criticize the movement woke . & nbsp;

However, a new so-called “rectified” spelling was recently launched in order to “simplify the writing of words, standardize certain rules and eliminate certain language anomalies”, explains the educational platform Alloprof. Thus, the plural of certain nouns, the use of the hyphen, accents and umlaut have in particular been simplified. dangerous & nbsp;

There are risks in perpetuating myths such as those presented in the scene in question at prime time and with well-known actors, according to linguist Béatrice Réa. & Nbsp; & nbsp;

“This kind of scene further widens the generation gap and creates a feeling of isolation among young people. “& nbsp;

The language specialist believes that if young people continue to be constantly criticized in relation to their use of French, tired of being told that they are zero, they will turn to a more permissive language, more open to variation, like English. Critics of them would only create linguistic insecurity and cause disinterest. & Nbsp;

“The worst part is that it is people who claim to be great defenders of the French language who are the more critical of young people and they are the ones who serve their cause the least “, she indicates. & nbsp;

” It is a shame to reinforce the boomers in their opinions [ unfavorable towards young people] with this scene which can cost dearly for the future of the French language and the mental health of young people. “& nbsp;