⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Photo courtesy of waferboard's Flickr page - Canadian flag: https://www.flickr.com/photos/waferboard/5653240459
Photo courtesy of Kyle MacDonald - Quebec_flag: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kylemacdonald/66650789/in/photolist-6TAXx-6PByUt-o8KnGq-4qPhBC-5ayiie-dCfaHU-4YWgTR-6PBuWD-6PBv3k-8874k4-36C9nK-4Z1xFE-7VsSSh-5CVqmf-qnS9jk-3nYz4N-5uNoVP-8bGnfH-cqskgq-5pjedd-dfMmsL-4UK1Et-9t8Dvq-6ZxwKV-brZuEu-6zaCBc-5iPhim-9Qpwe1-4q3mX4-5Crg5U-3Da8ic-4sAr6C-8f6xSg-5hF28N-6BXydy-5huVVF-wwDQK-fwsa8H-5H9Tr5-5aCvVE-5ayg9T-5aCvBs-6Qskwq-cGmdvJ-4zYTWw-bDn7n-4qLneS-3bx179-ajGUD1-8acMDC
Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
My family is French, and so Québec became kind of a natural go to place for us once we really fully discovered just how easy and convenient it can be to get there. We had all been to Québec prior to a Christmas week trip that we took there in the winter of 1988-89, but that trip really opened the floodgates, if you will, for further trips down the line.
From that point on, we began to go there fairly regularly. We went there again in the summer of 1989, and then again in the summer of 1991. My brother and I went with a friend in the summer of 1992. After a four year absence after that, I would go back twice in the fall of 1996, and have gone there quite regularly ever since, not going longer than two years between trips to Québec ever since.
It makes sense because, after all, this is a French speaking land within roughly five to five and a half hour drive from where we live. It is a fairly easy trip to make over a long weekend, and so it became a regular staple for us.
Since becoming a ather myself, it has become a natural place that my son and I take regular trips to, as a means to keep a visible and audible connection to our francophone roots.
When we first started going there, during that initial trip during Christmas week of 1988, Montréal almost felt a bit like France. I saw it through the prism of what it offered that was also available in France, but was not so much available in the United States. It seemed amazing to me that there were seemingly so many similarities. Here was a city with cobblestone roads and sidewalk cafes, which was rare at the time for North America, and which was far more reminiscent of Old World Europe. The Métro trains had rubber wheels on them like the ones in Paris had, and aesthetically looked a bit similar, too. And, of course, there was a francophone presence everywhere. French was very common, although by no means exclusive.
Admittedly, it was only later, after maybe the second or third trip, that I began to truly appreciate Québec and it's unique culture not just for being similar in some respects to France, but being unique and pleasant in it's own right.
Now, I go there, with pleasure, for the sake of being in Québec itself. I appreciate the uniqueness, even if sometimes, I still admittedly enjoy how it still retains a certain Old World charm, or at least far more of it than neighboring provinces and, of course, the United States, where by and large, any Old World feel ended in a hurry. Sometimes, it feels like Americans make a point of tearing down any buildings with any kind of historical significance. That is not true everywhere, but the past enjoys a much more active and vibrant presence in Québec province than it does elsewhere in either Canada or the United States. It can be an attractive quality, and I think that attests to the popularity of La Bell Province when it comes to tourist season.
Québec is a land that has some similarities to both Europe and North America, which was always one of the things about it which I thought offered the most charm. Villages are often dominated by church steeples, like in Europe more than in the United States and English Canada, although these church steeples more often than not have a distinct silver color. Not sure what the history of this is, or why they became so common, but it is one of the architectural traits that seems unique to Québec, more than anywhere else that I have seen or know of.
One thing that is hard not to notice, however, is that the French spoken in Québec is actually quite different in many respects to French spoken in France, and generally elsewhere around the world, where it often tends to follow French as spoken in France much more than French spoken in Québec province has done.
I have heard some people disparage it. One professor of mine referred to French as it is spoken in Canada as 19th century French, which seemed (and still seems) incredibly dismissive to me. There was someone else who said that they felt strange every time that they visited Québec, because the French almost sounded like Americans speaking. That is kind of understandable, as Québec French is spoken with an accent that is likely the French equivalent to the English spoken in North America, as opposed to the English spoken in the United Kingdom. And there have been plenty of suggestions that French spoken in Canada (not just in Québec) somehow does not qualify as "real French."
All of those seemed to be, quite frankly, ridiculous and basically prejudiced positions. They tend to undermine the French spoken in Canada, dismissing it as if it were something annoying to them. French Canadians have had to deal with much the same thing for centuries now, predating the Quebec Act that permitted the French there to stay loyal to the British Crown during the days of the American Revolution, which is probably the reason that French is still spoken in Canada in the first place. But that's part of the thing: when the British conquered Québec City in September of 1759, the French speaking population was cut off from the rest of the French speaking world. And being surrounded by English speakers everywhere, it was inevitable that they would have some English influences. Then, once Francophone Québecois began to gain control of their province and had an eye for protecting the French language there, they cut off, to the degree possible, any English influences, at a time when the English influence in France and elsewhere in Europe was growing. Many French-speaking people think it is cool to incorporate English vernacular and phrases into their language, a fact that might surprise many Americans, and to a lesser degree English people, who automatically assume that the French have a foaming at the mouth hatred for the English and Americans.
All of those seemed to be, quite frankly, ridiculous and basically prejudiced positions. They tend to undermine the French spoken in Canada, dismissing it as if it were something annoying to them. French Canadians have had to deal with much the same thing for centuries now, predating the Quebec Act that permitted the French there to stay loyal to the British Crown during the days of the American Revolution, which is probably the reason that French is still spoken in Canada in the first place. But that's part of the thing: when the British conquered Québec City in September of 1759, the French speaking population was cut off from the rest of the French speaking world. And being surrounded by English speakers everywhere, it was inevitable that they would have some English influences. Then, once Francophone Québecois began to gain control of their province and had an eye for protecting the French language there, they cut off, to the degree possible, any English influences, at a time when the English influence in France and elsewhere in Europe was growing. Many French-speaking people think it is cool to incorporate English vernacular and phrases into their language, a fact that might surprise many Americans, and to a lesser degree English people, who automatically assume that the French have a foaming at the mouth hatred for the English and Americans.
There are differences, and that is to be expected. It certainly is nothing to look down on anyone over, as it often is quite common to see different dialects of languages spoken depending on different geography. Frankly, I find the French spoken in Québec to be often quite charming as well, although admittedly, I tend to have a more difficult time understanding it compared to French as it is spoken in France.
Well, I recently, accidentally ran into this video which actually helped me to understand the reasons behind it a little better, as well as to understand certain phrases and uses of words unique to Québec better. It is an interesting video, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has wondered about some of these same things, or is simply interested in finding out some more about the differences in the French language in Canada versus France.
Enjoy!
For the most part I'm inclined to agree that the differences between Québécois French and its European counterpart tend to be greatly exaggerated by people on both sides of the pond. Québécois people do tend to have a thick accent which takes some getting used to, particularly in light of the fact that they also have their own distinct slang and idiomatic expressions. Add to this the fact that, as explained in the video, Québécois tend to grammatically structure certain phrases in a way that's clearly a result of being surrounded by English speakers, and it can present some challenges in terms of communication between the two. But those challenges are not insurmountable by any means, and the two are mutually intelligible. Also mentioned in the video was the fact that the way certain things are said in Québec can appear dated or even archaic to European speakers. One example they didn't mention would be a Québécois word I've encountered frequently up there – "breuvage", meaning "beverage" – which would sound weird if not slightly comical if used in France. But to me, there's nothing pejorative about making that observation. It's only natural that the French spoken in Québec (and to a lesser degree other Canadian provinces) has evolved differently than the French spoken in Europe. Acknowledging the differences in the ways a language is spoken doesn't have to be based on presumed superiority or inferiority. And frankly, English words and expressions seem to be used increasingly in France as well, much to my chagrin. I don't know if you remember the way the late Jean Gallia used to close his "France Radio" program on WFUV, but he was absolutely right: "Parlez en français ou parlez en anglais, mais pas les deux à la fois !" Speaking of English, it too has countless accents and dialects, and very few people actually speak "the queen's standard English", which I suppose is considered its ideal and purest form by linguists and scholars. There are certain accents in places including but not limited to northern England, Scotland and Ireland that I sometimes have trouble comprehending, and I'm not alone in that. But those challenges are surmountable as well, and one can acknowledge them and ultimately consider them to be a good thing. From my vantage point they're part of what comprises the richness of a language. If everyone sounded the same I for one would find that incredibly dull, as you'll presumably agree.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is ridiculous to try and set some kind of artificial hierarchy of languages, or to assign one as superior to another. That professor who said that the French spoken in Quebec/French Canada was 18th century French was intelligent and insightful with many things, but that was a stupid and dismissive comment. French spoken in Quebec, and in other parts of French Canada, is different, to be sure. And it obviously caters to a smaller population, as only a quarter (or less) of Canadians speak French as their mother tongue, and Canada as a whole has a bit less than half the population of France. Also, many people see France (and Europe more generally) as more sophisticated and, thus, prestigious. But Quebec is a wonderful place, as you and I both know, because we have gone there and gotten used to it enough to appreciate it for what it is, even if initially, I think, the main attraction was that it reminded us of France. As for the various different dialects of English, you are right. Some accents are so difficult to understand, that it sounds almost like another language entirely. I have heard English as spoken by some native Welch, and it sounded almost incomprehensible. I literally picked up a word or two, here or there, and could not get the rest. Ditto with English Creole, which sure sounds like English, but which I can only "get" a few rough words and/or concepts, here and there. Nothing saying that it is better or worse, but definitely different. And I agree, these are the kinds of differences that essentially add spice and different flavors to life. It would be boring if there was uniformity in dialect and accent. I enjoy listening to different dialects, such as Scottish accents, which I always enjoy listening to. Even when they talk about ordinary things, it almost sounds like poetry.
ReplyDelete