topsie, I too was in Montreal in 1967, for Expo '67. I also found that the French-speaking Canadians were very hostile to me when I tried to speak French to them. I speak fluent French so it couldn't have been my bad command of the lingo or a bad accent. I've also taught French to 12 yr olds here in Norfolk UK, and found they don't retain it and haven't a good ear for languages. It could be that here in Norfolk we don't have many speakers of other languages, so there's no motivation. My point is that if it isn't needed for social purposes and isn't in practice, a language will fade away and no-one will want to speak it. On the other hand, I've been in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, where Gaelic is spoken all the time. I lived with some Gaelic speakers from Skye and Lewis, and they delighted in using their Gaelic in front of me as (I suspect) a small way of showing their political objections to the English, who historically had wrecked their way of life and their very culture. I've heard the same attitude prevails in Wales. So a second language can end up being a separatist tool rather than a uniting one.