Quebec French

As Quebec French ( fr. le français québécois ) is defined as the variation of the French spoken in Quebec, Ontario and the western provinces of Canada. The traditional designation of Canadian French ( fr. le canadien, le canayen ) is increasingly being replaced by the name of Quebec French, however, omits that this variant of the French language is also west speaking province of Quebec (see Francophone Canadians, French in Canada).

Can clearly differentiate from the Canadian or Quebec French is the Acadian French, which is spoken in the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Iceland and in a small part of belonging to Québec Gaspésie, and the Newfoundland French, which on the west coast ( Port-au- Port Peninsula ) Newfoundland is spoken.

Due to the spatial isolation from the rest of the Francophonie, the Canadian or Quebec French as the other variants of French in North America (see French in the U.S., Haitian ) significant differences in comparison with the French in Europe. These differences are particularly pronounced in the vernacular. For formal occasions, many speakers closer to the Français de Radio -Canada ( the French for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ), it is not so far from the European standard.

History

French became in the course of the 17th century the lingua franca in the colony of New France. Most of the French settlers who settled in the St. Lawrence River Valley in the 17th century, came from the Ile- de -France, Normandy, Poitou, Guyenne, Brittany, Saintonge and Aunis. With the exception of the settlers from the Ile- de -France, most were not francophone (see French language ). However, the common language of the settlers was the Paris Koine, so their mother tongues have left no traces in Canadian French.

At the latest with the cession of New France to the British in the Canadian or Quebec French sparked by the development of French in Europe: it preserved on the one hand, many elements of an older language class, on the other hand, took it into his North American environment, many new influences on. Crucial here were the immediate vicinity of the English and various indigenous American languages ​​, as well as the influx of non- Francophone immigrants to Canada.

Lexis

The Canadian and Quebec French has retained a number of archaisms, which are now obsolete in France:

  • French voiture: qc / can. . char
  • French casserole: qc / can. . chaudron
  • French très froid: qc / can. . frette
  • French pull -over, t -shirt, etc.: qc / can. . chandail
  • French pomme de terre: qc / can. . patate

French words were for life in Canada newly created ( neologisms ), some of them with the aim of avoiding anglicisms:

  • A dépanneur is a shop where you can shop beyond the opening times
  • Closely. shopping, qc. / Can. magasinage
  • Poudrerie called a storm in which the wind raises the already snow lying
  • Tuque is a great wool hat that covers the ears ( by extension, any other cap )

Anglicisms in French of France were " French Siert ":

  • French vol charter; qc. / Can. vol nolisé
  • French week-end; qc. / Can. fin de semaine
  • French ferry; qc. / Can. traversier

Other words, however, were taken from English or formed analogous to the English language (English is the target language policy, this push back ):

  • French fève; closely. bean; qc. / Can. bine
  • French travail; closely. job; qc. / Can. job, djobe
  • French ventilateur; closely. fan; qc. / Can. fanne
  • French dentifrice; closely. tooth paste; qc. / Can. pâte à dents
  • French annuler; closely. cancel; qc. / Can. canceller

Also from other languages ​​words were taken:

  • Basque oregnac; qc. / Can. orignal ( North American elk)
  • From the Algonquin comes caribou ( North American reindeer )

Syntax

In colloquial language, there is the question particle -tu, which is used in direct interrogative sentences. A similar question particles can be found even today in some northern French patois, where it occurs originally as -ti, as they emerged from the inversion question (Jean, est -il là? ).

  • C'est -tu loin, ça? " Is it far? "
  • Ta mère est tu là? " Is your mother there? " (With loss of "his" )
  • J'ai -tu l'air fatigué? "Do I look tired? "
  • Y'en a- tu d' autres? "Are there others? "
  • Ça vous tente -tu vraiment d' y aller? "Did you really like to go? "
  • M'as -tu là all? "Will I go there?" ( Comparisons haitian / esk la ma Alé? / )
  • Faut -tu pas être à peu près cave! " Must not there be really stupid? "
  • C'est -tu pas possible, ce qui arrive là! " Is what is found possible?"
  • Qu'est- ce que c'est ça qu'c'est? " What is it? "

In basilektalen variants is the imperfect tense of the verb "to be" analytically apart down with agglutinated present tense.

  • ( Moué ) chu tà APRA manje " I was eating " (from j'suis'tais ( j'étais ) après manger )
  • ( TOU ) té tà
  • ( lui ) i ( é ) tà
  • ( EL) è tà
  • ( nouzot ) ouen tà
  • Vouzot tà
  • ( euzot ) but tà / ( euzot ) i tà

Female forms

The Quebecers or Canadians form female form for a number of nouns in France have no female form in French:

  • L' auteur, l' auteure
  • Le maire, la mairesse
  • Le premier ministre, la première ministre
  • Le professeur, la profess your

Regional variations

There are regional variations even within the Canadian and Quebec French. Spokesman from Lac Saint -Jean or the Beauce are not always easy to understand for the other speaker.

The most striking feature of the Montreal version is especially intense diphthongization of long vowels. Thus, a Montreal spokesman would the word père "father" [ paɛ̯ʁ ] express, while a spokesman from the city of Québec [ pɛ ː ʁ ] would say. There are also grammatical differences, eg in the genus: in Montreal and internationally " le bus", in Quebec City " bus " is colloquially called " la bus".

Koine Greek Lake Saint-Jean Henri Wittmann
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