What's the Quebec culture?

Question

How is Quebec a distinguish nation

Answer 1

My wife is deepest, darkest, remotest Quebecoise and I find them a very interesting lot.

In an island of 300 million English speakers (with lots of Spanish dotted around the USA), you have 8 million French speakers (maybe less, maybe 6 million, unsure).

They are fiercely proud of their language, which is of course quite different to French in France by virtue of distance, time, politics, culture etc.. So yes, they say "char" instead of "voiture" but they don't say "le weekend, le ferry" etc. On top of this they can take grammar very seriously - good French is highly admired. So Quebec v France is a game of swings and roundabouts. The Quebecois don't identify themselves with France at all, which was a surprise to me. Of course, there is a huge amount of cultural exchange, but the N. American French speakers recognise and appreciate the differences.

There is Quebecois cuisine, from the sublime (oh boy my in-laws can cook!) to the ridiculous - poutine is french fries (chips to me), covered with immature squeegy cheddar cheese, covered by a sort of gravy - very nice! Their films are excellent, and things like home, family, food, house (the state of) and socialising are more important than in the UK. They know their history pretty well and their heritage is important, more-so than the rest of N America I think, I suspect this is because they go back so far - to the 1600's in the case of many families.

The Quebecois consider themselves to be a nation, much as the Scots or Welsh do. A nation within a nation. As for the separation movement, most people that I speak to there are broadly in support of it, but i suspect that we won't see another vote for a good time, the lustre has gone off the Parti / Bloc Quebecois but I have to say that the recent liberal scandals haven't done federal Canada any favours!

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

They have a much higher concentration of French-descended, French-speaking people than the other provinces. But politically, Quebec's not independent of Canada, though they've wanted that for many years now.

I have to say, I'm impressed with sd5's very thorough answer up above, but I might point out one error in something he said: the way that the Quebecois consider themselves to be a nation seperate from Canada or France is NOT the same as the way that the Scotish, Irish and Welsh consider themselves to be seperate from England. Even if their dialect and culture is different from France's after 400 years or so of seperation, Quebec is still directly descended from France. The Irish, Scottish and Welsh descended from the Celtic tribes and were living in the British Isles almost 2,000 years ago, even before the Roman Empire existed. The English descended from the Anglo-Saxons of Germany and the Normans of France, and they didn't infiltrate the British Isles until Medieval times. Then they slowly displaced and conquered the Celts. The English language came from a mixture of French, Latin, Germanic and Norse (Danish & Swedish Vikings). The Celts spoke Gaelic, which is completely different. So, politically, linguistically, and genetically, the Celts actually ARE seperate from the nation that they are now a part of on the map. The Quebecois just WISH they were!

Answer 3

I see Quebec as a province of Canada with a distinct culture, the same way I see Louisiana and New Mexico in the USA. Quebec is not a nation in the technical sense, but many Quebecois see themselves as a nation and not part of Canada. Quebec is majority francophone, therefore there is going to be a strong French culture ranging from food and language to religion. What sets Quebec apart from the rest of Canada is the fact that the majority speak French and not just that. Quebec has different food(i.e. Poutine). Quebec's church membership is majority Roman Catholic and you can still find roadside shrines of Jesus Christ in Quebec. Quebec is not a nation as far as politically, although many attempts have been made to become its own nation. All have failed. However, the Quebecois see themselves as a nation because in Quebec they are the majority and they feel that their culture as far as a French-speaking people makes them a nation.

Answer 4

They are a former French colony I believe, but they have some other Minor influences as well and have evolved independent of France. I have a lot more respect for them an how they keep house than the Actual French. Quebec is an improved French culture, I thought it was a nice place, cold, but nice.

Answer 5

It's not a nation, but a minority culture encompassed by a larger culture. It is French in origin, but since the language migrated over with the original explorers it is a much older dialect than what is spoken in France today. In fact, since the Quebecois use archaic terms, such as the word for chariot for car instead of the contemporary French "voiture," the French tend to joke about he Quebecois as dumb.

Answer 6

Well, quebec is a frech speaking nation in Canada and because they speak french it kinda "distinguishes" their region.

Answer 7

A very French enclave in an English speaking country.

Answer 8

Aren't they all f a g s in Quebec?

Answer 9

it's not Quebec who's distinct, it is Canada who is the same then Usa

Answer 10

they try to be french and think france will come to their rescue if they get in a jam but the truth is france does not give a damn about quebec.
they should blend in with the rest of canada and stop their independence crap.