[1]One of the signs that had to be changed due to incorrect wording. Photo by William Proulx
[2]By William Proulx [3]
BELLEVILLE – Bay of Quinte Tourism [4] has made changes to signs along Highway 401 because of a mistake in the original French wording.
Late last July, the organization placed a pair of signs in two different locations alongside the 401: one set beside the westbound lanes just outside Deseronto, and the other beside the eastbound lanes near Colborne. At each setup, one sign is in English and the other in French. The colourful signs featuring photographs of the area promote the Bay of Quinte region and tell motorists they can get there via the next 10 exits.
When the French signs first went up they read “Suivantes 10 Sorties,” which translates to “Following 10 Exits,” rather than “Next 10 Exits.” The standard French wording for “next exit” on highway signs – in Quebec and France, for instance – is “Prochaine Sortie.”
A month after the signs went up, while working with a translation service on other promotional materials, the organization discovered that the signs were not correct, according to Bay of Quinte Tourism president Ryan Williams.
“By the time the sign was up we were pushing for, we had the wrong translation in there. So had we had to correct it,” said Williams.
The organization, which represents several municipalities and chambers of commerce around the Quinte region, had pushed for the signs because Quebec is one of the area’s largest sources of tourism. Sixty-five per cent of the travel and leisure tourists who visit the Bay of Quinte are from Quebec, Williams said, adding that it is important to serve those people.
But at the time the signs were being planned, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario [5] told the group that it could not erect French signs. The ministry said that the Quinte region is not “a French-designated area” under the guidelines for the language of signs on the 401, Williams said. Bay of Quinte Tourism fought that ruling and got it reversed.
The original cost of the signage was $7,000.
Once the error was discovered, it took six months to get the new, properly worded signs. They were put up about a month ago, and the signs now read “10 Prochaines Sorties.”
The correction came with a price tag of $1,500, Williams said.
“It’s better to have the correct sign up there than not to,” he added.
Jeremiah Mackenzie, executive director of Bay of Quinte Tourism, agreed that it was important to get to the wording on the signs right.
“It’s an appreciation of the French language,” said Mackenzie.
These are not the only French signs in the region. Bay of Quinte Tourism has also posted signs in French promoting beaches, boating and fishing.