In what do "Canadian" French and "French" French differ?

Answer 1

Canadian French, or le quebecois, is different from normal Parisien French. Le quebecois uses some terms of english within the language, and also there are different expressions in quebecois than in normal french. For example, in quebecois, if a guy says "tu es ma blonde" or "elle est ma blonde" that means that the woman is his girlfriend, his woman (not married). Whereas in France, they use "copine" for girlfriend, or they just say they live with a woman. Also the quebecois has a certain accent to it, that sometimes makes it indistinguishable to comprehend what the person said, especially, if they speak fast. I learned Parisian French, and grammar etc. So My french is different and understood around the world, whereas the quebecois isn't well understood around the world. I have heard that even people from France have difficulty in understanding the quebecois, the quebecois is unique, has its own expressions, and intonations and dialect, which are different from Parisian French. I believe that the grammar for both is relatively the same, except for the english words incorporated into the quebecois, and their way of expressing themselves, like for example "elle est ma blonde". Originally, French people from France came to Canada and English people from UK came to Canada as well, but we don't have a British accent here in english, and the french just developped into quebecois. Each region in the world has its own dialect of a particular language. I mean there are differences in English too: Australian English, American English, Canadian English, British English, Irish English, Scottish English, they all have different sounds and intonations in their language and differnt words, that we may not understand, it is because they come from a different culture. So it is the same in French.

Answer 2

Well for being French and listening a lot the news and watching documentaries here is what I know.

Canadian speak a purer French language than we French people do. I mean that in France we use a lot of English words : "parking, mail, spam..." And Canadian have a tendency to reject the use of English words in their language. So for "mail" they will use "courriel" and for "spam" they will say "pourriel" ( pourri meaning rotted ).

So they invent new words that even oui French have difficulties to understand because they aren't use anywhere. So sometimes on the internet when a new US/UK movie comes out and I download a French version, I often have the Canadian one which is a bit hard to understand.

Answer 3

Canadian French borrows more words from the dominant English language. Québécois French also has some distinct phonetic features such as the affrication of dental consonants before high vowels (I may be mistaken about the precise environment of that sound change): e.g., "tu" -> "tchu", "suis" -> "chuis". There are quite a few more, and of course, not all the sound changes occur for every speaker of Canadian French, but it is certainly different from Parisian French.

By the way, Canadian and French French are mutually intelligible in spite of what an earlier poster had said.

Answer 4

The accent and pronunciation in Quebec, Canada, is different for evolution reasons, and French in France can immediately tell and are quite dismissive of Quebecois as "provincial" or "colonials", as rude as they would be to USA/Americans, or worse. There is nothing wrong with the Quebecois really (although being from NY I'm obliged to pick on them as they do me), if you try and speak French in Quebec they at least recognize and appreciate it, can't say the same for French in France by my experience. So while they may use the same words (and of course a mix of English/Indian/Acadian) they prononce them differently in Quebec than in France.

Answer 5

French fries are french fries and are pretty much the same anywhere in North America. Usually with ketchup, or salt and white vinegar, or mayonnaise. Poutine is probably what was meant by "Canadian" french fries. Poutine when done properly is double-fried french fries with the gravy and cheese curds on top. Too many places (especially the further you get from Quebec) don't double-fry and it ends up being not quite the same.

Answer 6

The accent is different. Much of the slang is different. The French language used in everyday situations is much less formal in Canada than it is in France, or Belgium, or Switzerland.

There are more anglicisms in Quebecois French than Parisian French.

Answer 7

I am Southern US. I once had a French teacher who was English, I believe. I asked him if Quebecois French was different from French French. He said, "Yes, but not as different as your English is from real English!"

Answer 8

french as in france r the true french
french canadians r a different culture because they actually speak a different type of french. they do not understand each others language and as far as that goes, the F.C. speak different dialects all across canada.
example, my sister-in-law is FC , born in ontario, when we go to Quebec fishing, she can barely understand the people in that province because they put another twist on the same language

Answer 9

french canadians speak a different slang of french . My friedn who is parisiene from Paris explained it to me .He said it was like someone who is British listenning to someone who is Jamaican speak with a slang . By the way when a group of friends and I went to France . My friend who speak Quebecois English gaved up ...soon as she started speaking she was given looks of dismay their .Culture is also not the same !!!

Answer 10

because language shifts over time. If you wantto see a real difference, go to the French areas of Louisiana.. My step dad who grew up in small town Quebec, can't understand anyone down there, yet they are speaking French