What Makes Quebec French Unique?

By Sarah-Claire Jordan

The French spoken in the province of Quebec in Canada has long been an interesting topic for those who study or speak French. It has also been a cause for dispute over which French is “better”, which is ridiculous since no language or dialect is better than another. Regardless of your feelings about Quebec French, no one can deny that it is certainly unique. Here’s why:

Its closest relative is from the 17th century

The French spoken in Quebec has an interesting history that dates back to the 1600s, when the first French settlers arrived in the area. Since they were cut off from France once they moved, the Classical French they spoke wasn’t influenced by other changes in the French language that occurred in France. This in turn led to the use of many archaic French words and grammar aspects. Any French speaker from France will tell you that listening to a French speaker from Quebec is a lot like going back in time.

The pronunciation of Quebec French is unique, as well as the accent

Since it was left to evolve on its own, away from the rest of the French dialects, Quebec French developed its own distinct accent. Many would say that it has a very melodic quality to it, especially compared to Metropolitan French. In terms of pronunciation, two key characteristics distinguish Quebec French from the rest: the replacement of “il” with “y”, as in “Y fait bon” instead of “Il fait bon”, and “je suis” being pronounced as “chu” or “chui” (“Chu(i) une femme”).

Quebec French has special vocabulary just for the meals of the day

If you learned French and remember all of the terms for the different meals of the day, the way Quebec French speakers talk about meals is going to confuse you. In Standard French, breakfast is called “le petit-déjeuner”, lunch is “le déjeuner”, a snack is called “un goûter”, and dinner is “le dîner”. In Quebec French, breakfast is “le déjeuner”, lunch is “le dîner”, a snack is “une collation”, and dinner is “le souper.”

The way questions are formed when talking with friends is a bit different

In terms of grammar, when talking in a formal setting in Quebec, the structure of questions and everything else is the same as Standard French, except that in Quebec the formal “vous” is used much more than in France. However, when it comes to asking questions in an informal setting, an extra “tu” is added at the end of the question to emphasize the informality of the situation and sound more friendly.

Anything influenced by English is avoided

Since Quebec is still a part of Canada, which has both English and French as official languages, the influence of English is hard to escape entirely. However, efforts have still been made to try to eliminate anglicisms, like “le week-end” and “faire du shopping”. In Quebec, the say “la fin de semaine” and “faire du magasinage”, for example.

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Tags: french

Category: Foreign Language