In Grade 5 French immersion, for reasons I can’t remember, my classmates and I came into the possession of T-shirts bearing the slogan: “Je Parle Français, Sometimes.” These shirts, needless to say, were a hit. The slogan was apt (our French was quite poor) and captured the absurdity of our everyday, suburban Ontario lives: we could speak French, to a certain degree, but we never really had to.

Throughout most of Canada, “Je Parle Français, Sometimes” has become “Sorry, I Don’t Speak French,” the flat-out denial of our second official language (and culture), and the title of a new book by Graham Fraser, national affairs writer for the Toronto Star.

Careers, political and otherwise, have been founded on the idea that bilingualism is one of the defining characteristics of the country, so much so that one starts to wonder what came first, Canadian bilingualism or the idea of it. Either way, Fraser’s claim that language is at the heart of the Canadian experience can’t be denied. Sorry, I Don’t Speak French joins our collective attempt to articulate just, exactly, what that experience might be.

The thorough, detail-driven first third of the book recounts the modern history of French-English language politics in Canada. It is a dense history, and Fraser’s summary is lucid, if long. The rest of the book looks at how those politics have transformed Canadian communities and institutions and where we might be heading.

The most interesting chapters deal with the negotiation of language in Canadian cities, notably Montreal and Ottawa. Fraser asks: “When two bilingual people meet, what language do they speak and how do they choose their language?” What sounds so mundane, the beginning of a lousy Canadian joke, is the crux of the whole issue: does Canada even know how to be a bilingual nation on a day-to-day basis? Do Canadians understand the etiquette of bilingualism? Will we be able to learn?

It is a reality that language politics still lose currency the further one gets from our nation’s capital, particularly when there’s no crisis to pique the country’s interest. Also a reality, a troubling one I recollect from those years in French immersion, is the sad state of second-language learning in Canada, too often awkward, confusing, and fruitless. Fraser makes a smart call for action in these and other areas of our language policy. Clearly, a few things need to change before this Canadian crisis goes away, if it ever will.