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Québec French Thread -- Ask any question

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Arekkusu
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 Message 1 of 82
05 September 2012 at 5:12pm | IP Logged 
Come here to ask any question about Québec French, be it grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc. I will do
my best, with other members' help, to help you. In particular, I hope to help demystify everyday spoken
Québec French.

Edited by Arekkusu on 06 September 2012 at 3:31am

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sillygoose1
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 Message 2 of 82
05 September 2012 at 6:40pm | IP Logged 
1. Is it only in certain situations, or is it normal for most people to incorporate English words in conversation? I watched a documentary filmed in Quebec and saw this was the case.

2. What should I listen out for to understand the accent/speech a bit better compared to Parisian? Any particular slurs like "je sais = che" etc?

3. Are there any words with a different gender than in France that you know of?


Thanks
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Arekkusu
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 Message 3 of 82
05 September 2012 at 6:55pm | IP Logged 
sillygoose1 wrote:
1. Is it only in certain situations, or is it normal for most people to incorporate English words in conversation? I watched a documentary filmed in Quebec and saw this was the case.

2. What should I listen out for to understand the accent/speech a bit better compared to Parisian? Any particular slurs like "je sais = che" etc?

3. Are there any words with a different gender than in France that you know of?

Thanks


1. If the speaker is unilingual, then he can only use English words that are already in common use. And the English word may sometimes have a slightly different connotation than the French one. On the other hand, several words borrowed from English that are commonly used in French are not that common in Québec, such as chewing-gum, shopping, etc. Did you have any specific examples in mind?

2. Well, there are a few common rules that apply to Québécois and that would probably help you understand better. However, I don't know of one site that would give a comprehensive list. (although I am working on such a list) Off the top of my head, I can mention:

- t and d becomes ts and dz before i and u sounds (tsu dsis),
- final è becoming a (tu fa instead of fais),
- word-final consonant plus l or r cluster lose the l or r (capab', liv', tab')
- distinction between two types of a (pattes vs. pâtes)
- short vs long vowels (faite vs. fête)
- l deletion in articles la and les, and the preposition contractions that stem therefore (s'a, s'es = sur la, sur les; dins = dans les, etc.)
- epenthetic t after all present tense forms of the verb to be (j't'arrivé, etc.)

It would probably also be important to get all the subject and object pronouns right, like y and a instead of il and elle, on instead of nous, etc.

Many other grammatical features are seldom explained but would make listening easier.

3. sandwich, job, business for instance are all feminine in Québecois, but masculine in France. Yes, these are borrowed words. Much fewer French words have a different gender. They exist but I can't think of them. Vidéo is masculine, for instance.

Edited by Arekkusu on 05 September 2012 at 7:46pm

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sillygoose1
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 Message 4 of 82
05 September 2012 at 11:10pm | IP Logged 
Awesome. The explanations on the slurring helped a lot.

I can't remember any examples pertaining to the first question unfortunately. I just remember thinking it was more than I would have thought.

One more question. I know "depanneur" in France is a repairman, and a type of store in Quebec. What do the Quebecois call repairmen then?

Thanks again.
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Arekkusu
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 Message 5 of 82
05 September 2012 at 11:21pm | IP Logged 
sillygoose1 wrote:

One more question. I know "depanneur" in France is a repairman, and a type of store in Quebec. What do the
Quebecois call repairmen then?

Thanks again.

Un réparateur.

By the way, une dépanneuse is a towing truck.

Edited by Arekkusu on 06 September 2012 at 3:51am

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grunts67
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 Message 6 of 82
06 September 2012 at 3:23am | IP Logged 
Arekkusu wrote:
[QUOTE=sillygoose1]

3. sandwich, job, business for instance are all feminine in Québecois, but masculine in France. Yes, these are borrowed words. Much fewer French words have a different gender. They exist but I can't think of them. Vidéo is masculine, for instance.


You need to be careful about those kind of words (ex: un vidéo). Actually, they are use in everyday conversation but they are consider 'québécisme', and therefore, aren't usually accepted in written form (except in a dialogue in a novel). The word 'job' is not the word people should use. The correct word is 'emploi'.

But I have to agree about the rest: sandwich and business are 2 words with different genders between France and Quebec.

Overall, those few words shouldn't be a major difficulty for comprehension.

Edited by grunts67 on 06 September 2012 at 3:25am

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Arekkusu
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 Message 7 of 82
06 September 2012 at 3:26am | IP Logged 
grunts67 wrote:
Arekkusu wrote:
[QUOTE=sillygoose1]

3. sandwich, job, business for instance are all feminine in Québecois, but masculine in France. Yes, these
are borrowed words. Much fewer French words have a different gender. They exist but I can't think of them.
Vidéo is masculine, for instance.


You need to be careful about those kind of words (ex: un vidéo). Actually, they are use in everyday
conversation but they are consider 'québécisme', and therefore, aren't usually accepted in written form
(except in a dialogue in a novel). The word 'job' is not the word people should use. The correct word is
'emploi'.

But I have to agree about the rest: sandwich and business are 2 words with different genders in Quebec
compare to France.

I hope to provide insight about how the language is really used in Québec, not about how officials dictate
what should or shouldn't be considered acceptable. There are enough books on that. It's specifically because
most teachers have a background in literature and would like to guide their students on what is correct or
incorrect that we have so few resources explaining the language as it really is.

Edited by Arekkusu on 06 September 2012 at 3:29am

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grunts67
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 Message 8 of 82
06 September 2012 at 5:42am | IP Logged 
Arekkusu wrote:

I hope to provide insight about how the language is really used in Québec, not about how officials dictate
what should or shouldn't be considered acceptable. There are enough books on that. It's specifically because
most teachers have a background in literature and would like to guide their students on what is correct or
incorrect that we have so few resources explaining the language as it really is.



My apologies, carry on ! :)

Then, I will add the use of 'moé', 'toé' instead of 'moi' and 'toi'. The 'oé' sound is only use in Quebec and it's largely use in oral. This is some old French that we kept (if you read Les essais de Montaigne is like listening to French Canadian most of the time).

Also, if people are interested in hearing the language, there is no enough French Canadian movie to give you a good overview of the language. Also, I would recommend, interview on the street done by tv news.

Edited by grunts67 on 06 September 2012 at 5:44am



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