Should French be used in M-1 rail?

[Newdetroit]

Ok hear me out before you scoff at this idea!!!!

Detroit will be putting into service the new M-1 rail service soon. I was thinking that announcements made about stops etc should be in English and French. Why? Well, to begin, French sells as "sophisticated" "cultured" etc. Detroit has a lot of negative stereotypes..."blue collar" "rust belt" "crime ridden" and the list goes on. I was thinking that visitors would find it a different experience to hear the Detroit Metro system making announcements in French unlike other cities. It might psychologically change people's perceptions of the city as a Midwestern rustbelt city into a more international city.

Secondly, Detroit borders Canada which is officially a bilingual country - French and English. By using French, it would bolster the idea of Detroit being more connected socially with Canada. Detroit would be part of the Windsor - Quebec corridor.

Third, Detroit has French origins. It might not be a bad idea for Detroit to reacquaint itself with its French soul.

Ok...your turn to go off on me that this absurd.

[gnome]

Hmm, hell, why not. It can't hurt. Rue du Woodward. Le Mack. Le Big Mack.

Vincent Vega would approve.

[gnome]

I will say is you really want folks to not say "crime ridden", don't commit crime.

[Wheels]

Ta Gueule!

[dtowncitylover]

Hmm, hell, why not. It can't hurt. Rue du Woodward. Le Mack. Le Big Mack.

Vincent Vega would approve.

Le Petit Mack.

This post is adorable; I remember my first post too. I like the creative thinking but even the Montreal Metro, despite its solid bilingual population, is only in French.

[Gannon]

If we add any language, it should reflect the population of the city and be Spanish.

I'd say go with all three...

[Lowell]

What the heck, throw in Arabic too. There are signs in Arabic in People Mover stations now. That's always been a mystery to me.

[dtowncitylover]

The United Nations of tram lines! How about create six tram lines each using one of the official languages of the UN? [[That would require the usage of British English to boot!)

I could see some Spanish, maybe, being used on signage. But probably not the automated announcements.

[401don]

I think it's a great idea. In fact I'll fill up my trunk with a bunch of the useless French signs on my way to Detroit from my place in the Toronto area on my next trip.

[FormerEastsider]

Perhaps it might be a good idea to decide how Detroit should and should not be pronounced.

[1953]

I like this idea. Who do we approach to make this happen?

1953

[Zacha341]

La Excuse Me, Thank You, and other verbiage of common courtesy will be ok with me, in English.

Jules Winnfield would like that. Hah!

Hmm, hell, why not. It can't hurt. Rue du Woodward. Le Mack. Le Big Mack.

Vincent Vega would approve.

[MSUguy]

Using French is absurd. Any other languages should reflect the local population .ie Spanish and Arabic

[Scottathew]

It's a neat idea, but I agree with others that uses of additional languages should be based on how many people it will benefit, not how "fancy" the language is perceived. Arabic and Spanish would probably be much more beneficial than French.

[Honky Tonk]

I hear French being used all the time on buses and by cab drivers, why not on the Blight Rail?

[mtburb]

I'd say use Arabic, French and Spanish too...for about five years now I've seen Arabic and Spanish signage at People Mover stations.

[RickBeall]

I want to scoff at this silly idea, but I love the sound of French language applied to everything. It will make everything sound like either a scene in Sherlock Holmes book, or sex. Perfect!

The body was found on La Petite Mack.

While walking Rue de Woodward in Detwa ....

[Gannon]

Perhaps it should be skewed by the major attractions for each country of origin.

Most of the Germans I've met downtown are really into Techno and all forms of electronica music. They couldn't care less about our automobile history. So, any stops on public transit that they'd frequent, even during the DEMF/Movement weekend, need to be in German. They're largely deaf, too, so it'll need to be ten or so decibels louder than the rest.

All of the Brits go to the Motown Museum, so they need to be reminded to "Mind the Gap" with the proper accent and diction. After generations of programming through their Tube system, they've likely grown unable to even notice unwarned gaps. Plus, the accent through the speakers will certainly get their attention, after their extended pub lunches, especially. There should be special notice when the M1 gets close to Brad's People's Records, because they all visit him as well.



You get the idea...

[old guy]

Ok hear me out before you scoff at this idea!!!!

Detroit will be putting into service the new M-1 rail service soon. I was thinking that announcements made about stops etc should be in English and French. Why? Well, to begin, French sells as "sophisticated" "cultured" etc. Detroit has a lot of negative stereotypes..."blue collar" "rust belt" "crime ridden" and the list goes on.

No big deal, but I never thought of "blue collar" as a negative stereotype.

[Downriviera]

Could be helpful for the French speaking girls from the Windsor Ballet that come to visit the DIA.

[Wesley Mouch]

Let's also have the Paris Metro add English, please.

[Hermod]

Could be helpful for the French speaking girls from the Windsor Ballet that come to visit the DIA.

Chevrolet coupe, mademoiselle, Cadillac coupe de ville?

[iheartthed]

Le Petit Mack.

This post is adorable; I remember my first post too. I like the creative thinking but even the Montreal Metro, despite its solid bilingual population, is only in French.

This is probably a North American thing. I've used public train systems across Europe and South America and they all announce train stops in the local language and then again in English [[when the announcement is automated). But I don't recall ever hearing multi-language train announcements anywhere in the U.S.

[iheartthed]

Let's also have the Paris Metro add English, please.

They do use English in the Paris Metro...

[Zacha341]

And English of course......!

Using French is absurd. Any other languages should reflect the local population .ie Spanish and Arabic