User:CJ Withers/Quebec French

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Quebec French or Québécois French is a dialect of French spoken natively by the great majority (82.8%, census 2001) of people in Quebec, Canada. It developed out of 17th and 18th century French and in many respects it resembles that more closely than the contemporary French now spoken in France, although it also includes elements of various provincial dialects and Oïl languages.

In Quebec, depending on one's perception of its status as a rightful dialect, the language may be called le français québécois, le franco-québécois or simply le québécois. The somewhat pejorative Joual strictly refers to a particular working-class dialect, but is sometimes used to refer to the entire Québécois dialect.

As of 2004, about 6,700,000 Canadians speak French as a first language, (most of them speaking le québécois or its sister Acadian French), and unlike with most dialects, these figures are not shrinking. For comparison, this is about 9% of the 77 million francophones in the world, and more than 20% of the 32.5 million population of Canada.

Although Quebec French is sometimes thought of as an almost exclusively non-standard variant, and certain aspects of it are sociolinguistically stigmatized, most aspects of Quebec French that distinguish it from the French of France are found throughout the different registers of speech and writing, including standard and formal usage.

Two similar but nonetheless distinct dialects spoken in the province tend to be confused with Quebec French. Those are Saguenay French, spoken in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, and Gaspésie French, in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

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Sprachraum MAP NEEDED

Quebec French (linguistic features)

Quebec French (syntax)

Quebec French (phonology)

Quebec French (lexis)

Quebec French profanity

Quebec French (socio-political history)

Languages in Quebec (redirect to languages in Canada)

Bill 101 (redirect to Law 101 – Charter of the French Language)

Joual

Office québécois de la langue française

Impératif français

Alliance Quebec

This article is about social variation, status, and cultural attitudes pertaining to Quebec French. For detailed information on the grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary of this language variety, please consult the article Quebec French (linguistic features).

Quebec French (French: le québécois / le français québécois / le français du Québec), and less often "Québécois French", is the dominant and most prevalent regional dialect or variety of the French language found in Canada. The majority of those who speak Quebec French live in the Province of Québec. However, this dialect is also used, both in its formal and informal varieties, by sizeable francophone minorities in bordering areas of Ontario and New Brunswick as well as by small French-speaking communities in Maine and New Hampshire in the United States. Quebec French is often referred to as "Canadian French" by those unaware of the existence of Acadian French (another regional dialect of French in Canada) or by those unfamiliar with Québec's standing as the French-language stronghold of North America.

Vive la différence? – Naming and (Mis)understandings[edit]

Same yet "Distinct"[edit]

Not simply slang or an archaic dialect, Quebec French is identical to all other regional varieties of French in two basic respects. First, all regional standard varieties of French use the same orthography and grammar. Second, as with any regional variety, Quebec French shows a range of internal variation according to register and other social factors. For example, the standard French both of Quebec and of Europe use identical spellings and verb conjugations. Yet, at the same time, Quebec French and, say, Metropolitan French French have their own regionalisms, pronunciations and sets of slangs (Verlan, Javanais, Louchebem, etc. in Paris).

Parlez-vous Frenglish?[edit]

Also, Quebec French should not be confused with franglais (or Frenglish), the common name for three distinct language phenomena that occur in Québec, in Canada, and in other places where French and English co-exist. First, "franglais" can mean an interlanguage resulting from mixing English with French; this practice is common among second-language learners and some other non-native speakers of French or English. Next, the two terms can refer to English and French code-switching, which is practiced by bilinguals. Lastly, the terms may designate the (un)intentional use of anglicisms or gallicisms, a practice both scorned and lauded in all varieties of French and English.

Which Quebec French?[edit]

Just Name It[edit]

remove – In Canada and Quebec, the term "French" without specifying "in France", "in Europe", etc. refers to Quebec French due to its dominance. This also holds true when referring to French as the official language of Quebec and one of the official languages of Canada.

The term "Quebec French", however, is popularly defined more by what is perceived to set this variety apart from other regional varieties rather than by what it has in common with them. Evidence of this difference-based viewpoint can be found in the commonplace saying "Quebec French is so/completely different" and in the fact that many Quebec French-language films are subtitled in European French for international distribution. Moreover, French-speakers from abroad and Quebec francophones alike have a marked tendency to attribute stigmatized, archaic or non-standardized pronunciations, structures and lexical items to what is popularly meant by "Quebec French". Quebec French in itself is comparable to a spectrum containing significant variation in terms of regional pronunciations, social and professional registers, and historical changes.

Social Variation – Sociolects[edit]

A. Continuum from Quebec standard to Joual

Functional literacy, non-readers

littéracie [1] = Functional literacy in Quebec (not to be confused with (il)literacy in its first sense or (an)alphabétisme)

Montréal, capitale mondiale du livre 2005

Quebec Standard (a.k.a le français correct, du bon français, le français de qualité)

Joual (a.k.a le français de chez nous, not' français à nous,le français du (petit) peuple, le français de mauvaise qualité, le français des rues de Montréal)

B. Like many of the worlds great languages, Quebec French shows variation on the following levels: formal-informal personal role plays heavily BECAUSE:

1. place does not equal lect

TV = Newscast or Literature Show or Soap Opera or Comedy

University

overwhelming use of "tu"

failure of French L1 teachers to use standard (prestige) variety

PDGs

2. class does not equal lect

Regional Variation – Accents and Expressions[edit]

Montreal vs. les régions reflections of society now historical patterns perception based on identity

Professional Variation – Jargons[edit]

Hockey, Civil Law, Government, Education, Technical field, etc.

The People vs. the Nation[edit]

Norms and Standardization[edit]

Prescriptive (Imaginary) Norm

Descriptive (Actual) Norm

Above all, it must be noted that the French language is pluricentric just as Spanish, English, and German are. The two de facto centers or poles of standardization for French are Paris and Montreal, both of which by virtue of the number and concentration of inhabitants, socio-economic and cultural activities, French-language media and universities, and language planning institutions.

L'orthographe comme reflet des variétés; "conventional colloquial spelling" – Mary Bucholtz http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/bucholtz/sociocultural/writingtips.html

Joual; Les Belles-Sœurs ("The Sisters-in-law" or its Scottish adaptation "The Guid Sisters") by Michel Tremblay http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Joual http://www.angelfire.com/pq/lexique/lejoual.html Elvis Gratton, La Florida Lyrics of Québécois songs (range!) Garneau – translations Shakespeare and Lorce into Joual

Status planning and Corpus planning; Denise Daoust diglossia, social variation of language; Philippe Barbeau

debate over prestige articulated through the power word (or buzzword) "quality" Arena = media, school system, language arts

Bombardier vs. Quebec Comedians; Tout le monde en parle, Le Commentaire, Le Devoir

Quebec Standard (a.k.a le français correct, du bon français, le français de qualité) Radio-Canada French, Le Français International, Office québécois de la langue française exogenous norm – Une enfance à l'eau bénite by Denise Bombardier – Anecdote on diction / elocution lessons

Joual (a.k.a le français de chez nous, not' français à nous, le français du (petit) peuple, le français de mauvaise qualité, le français des rues de Montréal)

Maria Chapdelaine – trompeur sur les parlers de l'époque sauf quelques expression de "couleur"..."une piastre" au lieu de "piasse", "icitte" placé entre guillemets

Socio-political History of French in Quebec[edit]

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Quebec French is substantially different in pronunciation and vocabulary from the other varieties of French spoken throughout the world, just as the Portuguese, Spanish, and English languages of the Americas differ from the corresponding European dialects. However, in the case of Quebec French, the separation was increased by the reduction of cultural contacts with France after the conquest of New France by Great Britain in 1759. The French Revolution and its aftermath substantially altered the French spoken in France, while Quebec conserved older forms.

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It should be noted that Quebec French is not Old French – a much earlier ancestor that spanned 1000 to 1300 CE and resembles Latin in many ways. The origins of Quebec French actually lie in the 17th and 18th century regional varieties of early Modern French, also known as Classical French, and of other Oïl languages (Norman, Picard, etc.) that the first French colonists brought to New France. From this language base, Quebec French evolved and was shaped during the following periods and under the following influences:

Unlike in continental France during the 17th and 18th centuries, French in New France became fairly unified (see Barbeau's book below). It also began to borrow words, especially place names such as "Québec", "Canada" and "Hochelaga", from Amerindian languages due to contacts with First Nations peoples.
With the onset of the British Regime in 1760, Quebec French became isolated from European French. This period started with efforts to gain and success in guaranteeing French settlers cum British subjects rights to French law, the Roman Catholic faith, and the French language. Such early yet difficult success was followed by a socio-cultural retreat, if not repression, that would later help preserve French in Canada.
After Canadian Confederation, Québec started to become industrialized and thus experienced increased contact with English speakers. Québec business, especially with the rest of Canada and with the United States, was conducted in English. Also, communications to and within the Canadian federal government were conducted almost exclusively in English. This period included as well a sharp rise in the number of English-speaking immigrants from what are now the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. This was particulary noticeable in Montréal, the face of which grew majoritarily English-speaking. As a cumulative result, Quebec French began to borrow massively from both American and Canadian English to fill lexical gaps in the fields of government, law, manufacturing, business and trade.
As of World War I the majority of Québec's population lived in urban areas. Also, from WWI to the death of Maurice Duplessis in 1959, Québec experienced massive modernization. It is during this period that French-language radio and television broadcasting, albeit with a façade of European pronunciation, began in Canada. While Quebec French borrowed many English-language brand names during this time, Québec's first modern terminological efforts bore a French lexicon for (ice) hockey, the national sport of Canada. Following WWII, Québec began to receive large waves of allophone immigrants who would acquire French or English, but mostly commonly the latter.
From the Quiet Revolution to the passing of Bill 101, Quebec French saw a period of validation in its varities associated with the working class while the percentage of literate and university educated francophones grew. Laws concerning the status of French both on the federal and provincial levels were passed. The Office québécois de la langue française was established to play an essential role of support in language planning.
The post-Bill 101 period is marked by an explosion in information and communications technologies in the 1980's and 1990's and an increased use of English on both North American and global scales. Nonetheless, the rate of assimilation towards English was virtually eliminated. This period is also the beginning of sizeable exports of Quebec-French cultural products and Quebec-French terminology work particularly in technical fields.

Language Demographics[edit]

Language Policy[edit]

For information on all of the various languages spoken in Quebec, see article on Language demographics of Quebec.

This is particularly due to historical and socio-economic ties as well as to the predominance of Quebec French in French Canadian media and cultural productions.

Although one can observe first hand that Quebec French is the de facto dominant variety in Canada and Québec, there are no statistical data specifically on Quebec French. The reason for this goes back to the meaning of the word "French". Both in official legislation and in all materials for the Canadian Census conducted by Statistics Canada, the term "French" is meant to include all varieties, be they domestic or from overseas. However, due to Québec's demographic and cultural weight, one should infer that the majority of native speakers of French in Canada, as well as in and around Québec, do indeed use Quebec French in a host of situations.

What's more, the census data on second language speakers is derived from self-reporting. On the census questionnaire, participants are asked whether or not they can hold a conversation in French. Given that what is meant by "conversation" is undefined or vaguely understood, responses to this question are unreliable not only for attempting to estimate the number of non-native speakers of Quebec French but also for varieties of French all together.