DCHP-2

two solitudes DCHP-2 (November 2016)

• n. — French relations, especially Eastern and Central Canada

  the English and French communities in Quebec (or Canada generally) as indifferent or antagonistic to each other.

  Type: 1. Origin — The term was likely coined by Hugh MacLennan in his 1945 novel Two Solitudes, an account of the tensions between English and French Canadians in Quebec (see the 1945 quotation). Two solitudes now is widely used to describe French-English relations in Canada, where the term is most prevalent (see Chart 1).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "two solitudes", which is marked "Cdn".

  See also: Canuck (meaning 2a)  

  • 1945  Hugh MacLennan's "Two Solitudes" is a novel that I would not hesitate in recommending to anyone. It deals with a very pertinent topic of today; that of racial prejudices in Canada. Dr. MacLennan approaches the French-English problem in a sympathetic but just manner. 
  • 1966  Equally important, the intellectual community was the first to take up the English-French debate of the early 1960's. The two solitudes became so busy with each other that they scarcely noticed the economic, cultural and political invasion that was descending on them from another quarter. 
  • 1970  "We regard ourselves as a Quebec paper. We do not regard ourselves as a sort of flagbearer for any one section." He added in response to Mr. Fortier that his newspaper would rather meld than bridge the two solitudes. 
  • 1973  As a former longtime resident of that province, it is possible to state that great strides are being made by both English and French pupils in learning the other's langauge. Unfortunately, this has not been the case with the older generation. Because of the Two Solitudes it was possible for an Anglophone to live and work in an environment where the other language was seldom, if ever, heard. 
  • 1977  Ron Denham, a board trustee, told the audience of about 110 that indeed we have the reality of two solitudes in this community . . . and in this school. 
  • 1987  [Robert Browne] also learned all about walking the tightrope between Quebec's two solitudes. 
  • 1993  The recent election has shown that we are becoming a nation of many, not just two solitudes. 
  • 1997  A quarter of our population is francophone, but you'd never guess from watching TV dramas made here. It seems that our two solitudes are still too touchy to share airtime on the tube. The accent's on English for Canadian TV producers. 
  • 2008  Fluent in French and English, Lepage emerged from Quebec's vibrant cultural scene to become an international phenomenon, in part because he could shift so easily between our two solitudes. 
  • 2016  Astonishingly, when we sat down this week at a restaurant on Mont-Royal Ave. E., Martin Matte told me this would be his first interview with an anglophone journalist. That sums up the odd bicultural thing we still have going on here in Montreal. I don't want to call it two solitudes - I'd rather just say it's a little silly. If you're feeling crankier, you might say it's simply wrong.