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European and Canadian French | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| abwil208 Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4693 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian | Message 1 of 11 24 January 2012 at 4:10am | IP Logged | ||
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Happy first post to me!
I'd like to move to Montreal as part of my neurological study in the future (I'm only a highschool freshman now), and I was just curious about the language. I know absolutely 0 French, though I would like to study and become fairly proficient at it. While searching through possible resources, the question was presented to me: what's the difference between the French used in Quebec and that of Europe? Would I be fine in using resources based on European French, or should I limit myself to what focuses on Québécois? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| zekecoma Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5348 days ago 561 posts - 655 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 2 of 11 24 January 2012 at 8:21am | IP Logged | ||
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Here's a thread about the same thing that I ask: http://how-to-learn-any-
language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=21344&PN=1 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| microsnout TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member Canada microsnout.wordpress Joined 5475 days ago 277 posts - 553 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 3 of 11 24 January 2012 at 8:29am | IP Logged | ||
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For differences I was going to list a few threads on this forum for you to read but there are too darn many of them so
if you click on 'Search' above and then select the tag 'Canada' you will find lots of threads on this topic. As for resources, if you are a beginner then you have no choice really, there are no known Canadian French based materials so select a standard French study program and dive in. Then start to listen to Radio-Canada radio or TV sources. http://radio-canada.ca http://tou.tv 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5385 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 4 of 11 24 January 2012 at 3:33pm | IP Logged | ||
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Canadian French (or Québec French, as it is by far the most dominant variety of French in Canada and the one you'll be dealing with in Montréal) is a continuum which, at its extremes, is either Standard French with a slightly different accent or a dialect with a very different accent that's difficult to understand without proper exposure or instruction.
Even if you could find material that focused on Canadian French right from the start, you'd still have to learn two varieties of language. I'm assuming that's why no such material exists, and that's certainly why I opted against it as I began working on a QF self-teach method myself. For that reason, starting off with Standard French (as long as your particular book or method is not too biased towards Parisian French or some other local variety of European French) is a viable option, and you WILL be understood. However, as soon as you move to the intermediate level, or any level where you want to start having interactions with people or listening to native material, you'll need to find ways to learn about the different grammar, usage and vocabulary. The real difficulty doesn't lie in the fact that it's a lot of information -- it's actually not that bad and I have witnessed many people throw themselves into an immersive situation in Québec and learn really fast -- it's just that it's mostly a spoken dialect and finding the right information is not always easy. However, if you succeed, I think it can be rather rewarding and you'll make many friends (and fans!) who will welcome you wholeheartedly. Many English-speaking students move there with basic Standard French and just end up staying with their English-speaking friends because the spoken language intimidates them and they figure they can't/shouldn't learn it. So if you have no knowledge of French yet, dig in, but keep in mind that sooner or later, you should start exposing yourself to that particular accent/dialect. Edited by Arekkusu on 24 January 2012 at 3:38pm 7 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| abwil208 Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4693 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian | Message 5 of 11 25 January 2012 at 1:18am | IP Logged | ||
Wonderful post and wonderful advice, I very much appreciate it. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| aodhanc Diglot Groupie Iceland Joined 6264 days ago 92 posts - 130 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchB2 Studies: Spanish | Message 6 of 11 25 January 2012 at 1:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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I definitely recommend learning standard European French.
As the previous post points out, almost all learning materials available are in that version. Obviously, with 70 million Francophones in Europe compared to 7 million in Canada, it's an easy choice which to study. Besides, all French Canadians will understand standard European French, even if they don't necessarily speak it. Also, the written language is almost the same, it's really only the spoken dialect that varies. Bonne chance. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| microsnout TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member Canada microsnout.wordpress Joined 5475 days ago 277 posts - 553 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 7 of 11 25 January 2012 at 2:35pm | IP Logged | ||
One could equally say that if you plan to move to Montreal to study (like the OP), it's an easy choice which to study. The number around you being more relevant than worldwide numbers. 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Aucassin Diglot Newbie United States Joined 5497 days ago 22 posts - 25 votes Speaks: English*, French | Message 8 of 11 26 January 2012 at 5:17am | IP Logged | ||
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Don't be afraid of Québec French! Even though you are still in high school start learning French now. The more
solid your basis in the language, the easier the transition to the local variety- in whatever country. You can listen to Québec radio and even watch TV on the internet. After having studied and lived in France learning "Standard French" I worked as a customer service rep for French speakers from all over Canada. Once I got used to the accent and intonation, picking up the vocabulary was a lot of fun. And people in France don't always speak "Standard French" either. Go for it and have fun! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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