April fool!… Maybe not.

A recent story reported by the FoxNews website (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512781,00.html) sounds like it could be an April Fool (honestly, governments should avoid introducing legislation on 1st April). It is reported that computer games sold in Quebec with an English version must also be sold in French if there is a French version in existence elsewhere in the world. This seems straightforward enough, but, as France apparently uses one video format and Canada uses another, it can mean a significant delay while the French version is converted to be compatible with the Canadian format, during which time many fans will just order the English version from neighbouring states/provinces, with the result that sellers in Quebec lose out.

Now, I’m all in favour of legislation that increases work for translators (although this one seems more likely to favour programmers), but you’d like to think that such legislation would be a bit more logically thought through.

Should we introduce similar laws relating to Welsh and Scots Gaelic? I look forward to people’s thoughts on the subject.