Canadian French
| Canadian French | |
|---|---|
| Français canadien | |
| Native to | Canada (primarily Quebec, Eastern Ontario and New Brunswick, but present throughout the country); smaller numbers in emigrant communities in New England, United States |
Native speakers | 7,300,000 (2011 census)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
| Official status | |
Official language in | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| IETF | fr-CA |
Canadian French (French: français canadien) is a term that refers to a the French language spoken in Canada.
The term Canadian French is a frequently used umbrella term for the varieties of French used in Canada including Quebec French Formerly it was used to refer solely to Quebec French and the closely related varieties of Ontario (Franco-Ontarian) and Western Canada, in contrast with Acadian French, which is spoken in some areas of eastern Quebec (Gaspé Peninsula). New Brunswick has Chiac dialect, Nova Scotia has St. Marys Bay French, PEI and Newfoundland & Labrador have Newfoundland French.
In 2011, the total number of native French speakers in Canada was around 7.3 million (22% of the entire population), while another 2 million spoke it as a second language. At the federal level, it has official status alongside English. At the provincial level, French is the sole official language of Quebec as well as one of two official languages of New Brunswick, and jointly official (derived from its federal legal status) in Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Government services are offered in French at select localities in Manitoba and Ontario (through the French Language Services Act), and to a lesser extent elsewhere in the country, depending largely on the proximity to Quebec and/or Québécois influence on any given region.
New England French, a dialect spoken in northern New England is essentially a variety of Canadian French and exhibits no particular differences from the Canadian dialects, unlike Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole.[2]
Contents
Varieties[edit]
Quebec French is spoken in Quebec. Closely related varieties are spoken by francophone communities in Ontario, Western Canada and the New England region of the United States, differing only from Quebec French primarily by their greater conservatism. The term Laurentian French has limited applications as a collective label for all these varieties, and Quebec French has also been used for the entire dialect group. The overwhelming majority of francophone Canadians speak this dialect.
Acadian French is spoken by over 350,000 Acadians in parts of the Maritime Provinces, Newfoundland, the Magdalen Islands, the Lower North Shore and the Gaspé peninsula.[3] St. Mary's Bay French is a variety of Acadian French spoken in Nova Scotia.
Métis French is spoken in Manitoba and Western Canada by the Métis, descendants of First Nations mothers and voyageur fathers during the fur trade. Many Métis spoke Cree in addition to French, and over the years they developed a unique mixed language called Michif by combining Métis French nouns, numerals, articles and adjectives with Cree verbs, demonstratives, postpositions, interrogatives and pronouns. Both the Michif language and the Métis dialect of French are severely endangered.
Newfoundland French is spoken by a small population on the Port-au-Port Peninsula of Newfoundland. It is endangered — both Quebec French and Acadian French are now more widely spoken among Newfoundland francophones than the distinctive peninsular dialect.
Brayon French is spoken in the Beauce of Quebec; Edmundston, New Brunswick; and Madawaska, Maine. Although superficially a phonological descendant of Acadian French, analysis reveals it is morphosyntactically identical to Quebec French.[4] It is believed to have resulted from a localized levelling of contact dialects between Québécois and Acadian settlers.
New England French is spoken in parts of New England in the United States. Essentially a local variant of Quebec French, it is one of three major forms of French that developed in what is now the U.S., the others being Louisiana French and the nearly-extinct Missouri French. It is endangered, though its use is supported by bilingual education programs in place since 1987.[2]
Sub-varieties[edit]
There are two main sub-varieties of Canadian French. Joual is an informal variety of French spoken in working-class neighbourhoods in the province of Quebec. Chiac is a blending of Acadian French syntax and vocabulary with numerous lexical borrowings from English.
Historical usage[edit]
The term Canadian French was formerly used to refer specifically to Quebec French and the closely related varieties of Ontario and Western Canada descended from it.[5] This is presumably because Canada and Acadia were distinct parts of New France, and also of British North America, until 1867. However, today the term Canadian French is not usually deemed to exclude Acadian French.
Phylogenetically, Quebec French, Métis French and Brayon French are representatives of koiné French in the Americas whereas Acadian French, Cajun French, and Newfoundland French are derivatives of non-koinesized local dialects in France.[6]
Vocabulary[edit]
| France | Canada | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Glace | Crème glacée | Ice cream |
| Pastèque | Melon d’eau | Watermelon |
| Myrtille | Bleuet | Blueberry |
| Un steward, une hôtesse de l’air | Un(e) agent(e) de bord | Flight attendant |
| Citronnade | Limonade | Lemonade |
| Petit déjeuner | Déjeuner (Belgium and Switzerland too) | Breakfast |
| Déjeuner | Dîner (Belgium and Switzerland too) | Lunch |
| Dîner | Souper (Belgium and Switzerland too) | Dinner/Supper |
| Téléphone portable | Téléphone cellulaire | Cellphone/Mobile phone |
| Maillot de bain | Costume de bain | Swimsuit |
| Shopping | Magasiner / Magasinage | Shopping |
| Chouette | Hibou | Owl |
| Pékin | Beijing | Beijing
|
| Parking | (Parc de) stationnement | Parking |
| Gomme | Efface/Gomme à effacer | Eraser/Rubber |
| Weekend | Fin de semaine | Weekend |
| (Woman): Copine/Meuf/Petite amie
(Man): Copain/Mec/Petit ami |
(Woman): Petite amie/Blonde
(Man): Petit ami/Chum |
Girlfriend/Boyfriend |
| Cartable | Sac d’école/Sac-à-dos | Backpack/Schoolbag |
| (Coupon) réduction/Bon réduction | (Coupon de) rabais | Discount (coupon) |
| Chewing-gum | Gomme/Gomme à mâcher | Chewing gum |
| Caddie/Chariot | Chariot | Shopping trolley |
| Ferry (boat) | Traversier | Ferry/Ferry Boat |
| Un job (masculine) | Une job (feminine) | A job |
| Elfe | Lutin | Elf |
| Monter (à bord) | Embarquer | Climb on board |
| Aspirateur | Balayeuse | Vacuum cleaner/Hoover |
| Milkshake | Lait frappé | Milkshake |
| Mixeur | Mélangeur | Blender |
| Tuto | Astuce | Tutorial (Video type on the Internet) |
| Sponsor/Sponsorisé(e) | Commanditer/Adhérer | Sponsor |
| Buanderie | Salle de lavage (inside a house) | Utility room/Laundry room |
See also[edit]
- Official bilingualism in Canada
- French language in Canada
- Franco-Ontarian
- Joual
- Demographics of Quebec
- Québécois
- Association québécoise de linguistique
- Franglais
- French language
- Métis French
- History of French
- French Canadian
- French language in Canada
- Languages of Canada
- Dictionnaire des canadianismes
- French language in the United States
- Michif language
- Quebec French
- American French
Notes and references[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ French (Canada) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ^ a b Ammon, Ulrich; International Sociological Association (1989). Status and Function of Languages and Language Varieties. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 306–308. ISBN 0-89925-356-3. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- ^ Ethnologue report for Canada
- ^ Geddes, James (1908). Study of the Acadian-French language spoken on the north shore of the Baie-des-Chaleurs. Halle: Niemeyer; Wittmann, Henri (1995) "Grammaire comparée des variétés coloniales du français populaire de Paris du 17e siècle et origines du français québécois." in Fournier, Robert & Henri Wittmann. Le français des Amériques. Trois-Rivières: Presses universitaires de Trois-Rivières, 281–334.[1]
- ^ Francard and Latin, in Le régionalisme lexical, write:
- "Le français du Québec a rayonné en Ontario et dans l'ouest du Canada, de même qu'en Nouvelle-Angleterre. [...] Le français québécois et le français acadien peuvent être regroupés sous l'appellation plus large de français canadien2, laquelle englobe aussi le français ontarien et le français de l'Ouest canadien. Ces deux derniers possèdent des traits caractéristiques qui leur sont propres aujourd'hui dans l'ensemble canadien et qui s'expliquent surtout par un phénomène de conservatisme, mais il s'agit de variétés qui sont historiquement des prolongements du français québécois.
- 2Il faut noter ici que le terme de «français canadien» avait autrefois un sens plus restreint, désignant le français du Québec et les variétés qui s'y rattachent directement, d'où l'emploi à cette époque de «canadianisme» pour parler d'un trait caractéristique du français du Québec."
- ^ Robert Fournier & Henri Wittmann. 1995. Le français des Amériques. Trois-Rivières: Presses universitaires de Trois-Rivières.
References[edit]
- The lexical basis of grammatical borrowing: a Prince Edward Island French
- Language in Canada. Edwards, John R.
- Collective (2004). Canadian French for better travel. Montreal: Ulysses Travel Guides. ISBN 2-89464-720-4.
Further reading[edit]
- Darnell, Regna, ed. (1971). Linguistic Diversity in Canadian Society, in Sociolinguistics Series, 1. Edmonton, Alta.: Linguistic Research. Without ISBN or SBN
External links[edit]
| Look up Canadian French in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |