MONTREAL — In its second high-profile reversal in recent months, Quebec's language watchdog has backed down after trying to get a well-known Montreal pub to change its outdoor sign.

The Office québécois de la langue française had instructed Pub Burgundy Lion to add French language to its sign because "burgundy" is an English word. Following a public outcry, however, the language office now says that further analysis shows the pub's signage does, in fact, conform to Quebec's language rules.

"This is a regrettable situation, and we are sensitive to the reactions it has generated, both from the business and the public," the watchdog said Thursday in a statement. "We will do everything possible to ensure that similar situations do not recur."

Burgundy Lion co-owner Toby Lyle had refused to

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