The English Getto

MONTREAL - The Quebec government has declared war on what French-language activists have targeted as two of the most dangerous words in English: "Press nine."

The move is a victory for language hardliners upset that callers to a host of provincial agencies were being informed early into their calls that they could "press nine" for service in English.

Already, five of the nine departments and agencies that language-defence groups targeted in a campaign launched last November have changed their recorded messages so the English advice comes at the very end, sometimes after close to a minute of French instructions. At least two others plan to follow suit soon.

And Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre, who is responsible for Bill 101, Quebec's French language charter, has ordered a report to identify which government departments have failed to move their English greetings to the end of their messages.

"We will remind them of the correct way to do things," Marie-Helene Paradis, an aide to Ms. St-Pierre, said yesterday.

Brent Tyler, a Montreal lawyer who has represented scores of anglophone clients in language-rights cases, was dismayed to learn government is taking the complaints seriously.

He said when the groups Imperatif francais and Mouvement Montreal francais announced their campaign last fall, his reaction was, " They're scraping the bottom of the barrel to find things to complain about."

Now he sees the Liberals seeking any opportunity to look tough on language and lift their support among francophone voters. "If in fact the Quebec government is changing their policy, that would be unfortunate. It would be satisfying a very intolerant approach to the whole issue of language," he said.

The Office quebecois de la langue francaise, Quebec's language watchdog, published a flyer last summer offering a "proposed" format for all government telephone messages. It recommended that, in keeping with the government's "exemplary and driving role in the promotion of French," the "press nine" option come after the entire French message .

In federal government offices across Canada, it is standard for callers to be told near the beginning of a recorded greeting which number to press for service in French.

In Quebec, however, French is the only official language at the provincial level.

The law guarantees the English-speaking community services in English in the justice, health and education fields.

The issue of recorded phone messages emerged when activists encouraged people to swamp government switchboards with complaints.

Stephanie Tremblay, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said the department's phone system was changed in January to bring it in line with the recommendations of the Office quebecois de la langue francaise.

"It's not a lack of respect ," she said. "It's rather a concern that we conform with measures ensuring the quality of the French language."

A spokesman for the provincial consumer protection office said its phone message was also changed to put English at the end, in response to complaints from the public. Now the office has received complaints from disgruntled anglophone clients .

The provincial transport department had unveiled a voice-recognition system last February, in which the "press nine" option followed an initial greeting in French.

When the controversy erupted in November, the department struck a committee to investigate and now it plans to revamp its system -- which provides tips on road closures, construction sites and hazardous driving conditions -- so English will come last.