English dialects in Quebec, Canada
Quebec English
encompasses the
English dialects
(both native and non-native) of the predominantly
French
-speaking
Canadian
province of
Quebec
.
[2]
There are few distinctive phonological features and very few restricted
lexical
features common among
English-speaking Quebecers
. The native English speakers in Quebec generally align to
Standard Canadian English
, one of the largest and most relatively homogeneous dialects in North America. This standard English accent is common in
Montreal
, where the vast majority of Quebec's
native English speakers
live.
English-speaking Montrealers
have, however, established ethnic groups that retain certain lexical features:
Irish
,
Jewish
,
Italian
, and
Greek
communities that all speak discernible varieties of English. Isolated fishing villages on the
Basse-Cote-Nord
of Quebec speak
Newfoundland English
, and many
Gaspesian
English-speakers use
Maritime English
. Francophone speakers of Quebec (including Montreal) also have their own
second-language
English that incorporates French accent features, vocabulary, etc. Finally, the
Kahnawake
Mohawks
of south shore Montreal and the
Cree
and
Inuit
of Northern Quebec speak English with their own distinctive accents, usage, and expressions from their indigenous languages.
Quebec Anglophone English
[
edit
]
The following are native-English (anglophone) phenomena unique to Quebec, particularly studied in Montreal English and spoken by the Quebec Anglophone minority in the Montreal area. Before the 1970s, minority-language English had the status of a co-official language in Quebec.
[3]
Phonology
[
edit
]
Anglophone Montreal speaks
Standard Canadian English
, which has the
Canadian Vowel Shift
and
Canadian raising
,
with some additional features:
- Resistance to the
merry?marry
merger: unlike the rest of typical North American English, Montreal English tends to maintain the distinction in words like
Mary/merry
versus
marry
,
perish
versus
parish
, and
Erin
versus
Aaron
. The vowels remain, as in traditional East-Coast American English and often British English,
and
, respectively.
- The
PRICE
vowel is relatively backed.
- The "short
a
" or
TRAP
vowel is not raised before
/g/
as elsewhere in Canada, but it is raised somewhat before
/n/
for ethnic British and Irish Montrealers. Among other ethnicities, such as Jewish Montrealers, there may be no raising of the vowel in any context.
- The following vowel sounds are linguistically-
conservative
: the sets of vowels represented by the words
GOAT
(
back
and
monophthongal
),
FACE
(monophthongal), and
MOUTH
(back).
Vocabulary
[
edit
]
Quebec English is heavily influenced by English and French. The phrases and words below show the variation of meaning in the Quebec English dialect.
Delay: an amount of time given before a deadline. "I was given a delay of 2 weeks before my project was due".
[3]
An animator: is not an artist but is someone who meets and entertains children.
[3]
A sweet carbonated beverage is commonly referred to as a "pop" in many parts of Canada, but in Montreal, it is a "soda" or "soft drink."
A straight translation of the French
liqueur douce
.
A formation - this word in English would normally mean a routine stance used in a professional formation. (i.e. The men stood in formation). In Quebec a formation is a reference to an educational course or training session.
[3]
A pass - this phrase originates from Italian speakers, the word
pass
is often used in phrases such as "I am going to pass by a friend on the way to the movies". The phrase is comparatively used when you are already completing one action but can squeeze in another action on the way to your destination.
[3]
In standard English, the phrase "Your bus will pass in 2 minutes" would mean that you are about to miss your bus or that you have already missed your bus. Alternatively in Montreal the phrase
pass
can also mean to arrive or stop as a way to show that the action will happen in a relatively short time frame. Example: "Your bus will pass in 2 minutes".
[3]
Locations within the city are also commonly described using syntax borrowed from French. If a building is at the corner of St. Catherine and Peel streets in downtown Montreal, it may be described as being "on Saint Catherine, corner Peel." This is parallel to the French expression, "
Sainte-Catherine, coin Peel
" or "
angle Peel
".
[3]
French-language toponyms
[
edit
]
English-speakers commonly use French-language toponyms and official names for local institutions and organizations with no official English names. The names are pronounced as in French, especially in broadcast media. Examples include the
Regie du logement
,
[10]
the
College de Maisonneuve
,
Quebec Solidaire
, the
Parti quebecois
,
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
, and
Trois-Rivieres
.
- English toponyms in place of French (nonstandard when written): Older generations of English-speaking Montrealers are more likely to informally use traditional English toponyms that vary from official, French-language toponyms. In a notable generational distinction, it is uncommon among younger English-speaking Quebecers.
[11]
Examples include
Pine Avenue
,
Park Avenue
,
Mountain Street
,
Dorchester Blvd.
,
St. James Street
? often used without St., Blvd., Ave., Rd., etc. (names for the designations "avenue des Pins", "av. du Parc", "rue de la Montagne", "boulevard Rene-Levesque", "rue S
t
-Jacques"; the English-language official designations have reputedly been revoked, but evidence for that is difficult to find);
[
citation needed
]
Guy
and
Saint Catherine
Streets;
Town of Mount Royal
, as it was chartered, and the charter has not been revoked; and
Pointe Claire
(pronounced
[pwa???
?kla???]
or
[?p??nt
?kl??]
with English T and R and typography, instead of official "
Pointe-Claire
" with the French accent).
French loanwords
[
edit
]
The use of a limited number of Quebec French terms for everyday place nouns (and occasional items) that have English equivalents; all of them are pronounced with English pronunciations or have undergone English clippings or abbreviations and so are regarded as ordinary English terms by Quebecers. At times, some of them tend to be preceded by
the
in contexts in which they would normally have
a/an
.
List of French loanwords
- autoroute
[??????uːt]
instead of expressway
- branche
[b?a??e??]
instead of trendy (colloquial)
[1]
- chansonnier
instead of songwriter
[12]
- chez nous
[?e??
?nuː]
instead of "[at] our place"
- the
dep
[13]
? instead of corner, variety, or convenience store; from
depanneur
- coordinates
instead of contact information
- echo
? ultrasound in reference to an
echographie
[14]
- epicerie
? grocery store
[14]
- fonctionnaire
[?foksj??n?ː?]
or
[?f?????ksj??na???]
instead of civil servant
[15]
- formation
instead of training
[3]
- the
gallery
? instead of balcony
- garderie
? nursery
[14]
- the
guichet
[?i???]
? instead of bank machine, even when all
ATMs
are labelled "ATM";
- malaise
- instead of malady or ailment
[16]
- marche
?
market
- the
metro
(or
metro
) instead of the subway, referring to
rapid transit
in urban areas; from the French
chemin de fer metropolitain
;
[17]
[18]
metro
is used outside Canada, though, as in the
Washington Metro
- nappe
? a
tablecloth
- poutine
[puː?tiːn]
? French fries with gravy and cheddar cheese curds
- primary one, two, three
, in contrast to
Canadian English
grade one, two, three
etc.
- resto
? restaurant
- the
SAQ
? the official name of the government-run monopoly liquor stores (pronounced "ess-ay-cue" or "sack"), the
Societe des alcools du Quebec
. That usage is similar to that in other provinces, like in neighbouring
Ontario
, where LCBO liquor stores are referred to as the "lick-bo" (for
Liquor Control Board of Ontario
).
- secondary one, two, three
, in contrast to Canadian English
grade seven, eight, nine
etc.
- stage
? apprenticeship or internship, pronounced as
[staː?]
- subvention
? government grant or subsidy. The word exists in both French and English, but it is rarely heard in
Canadian English
outside Quebec.
- tempo
? driveway shelter in reference to the French commercial name Abris Tempo
[14]
- terrasse
[t???as]
? the French pronunciation and spelling of the translation for 'terrace' is common among anglophones in casual speech and is considered acceptable in semiformal expression such as journalism.
[19]
- undertaking
?
business
or
enterprise
Pronunciation of French names
[
edit
]
The pronunciation of French-language first and last names that uses mostly-French sounds may be mispronounced by speakers of other languages. For example, the pronounced "r" sound and the silent "d" of "Bouchar
d
" may be both pronounced:
/buː???rd/
. French-speakers and Quebec English-speakers are more likely to vary such pronunciations, depending on the manner in which they adopt an English
phonological
framework. That includes names like
Mario Lemieux
,
Marie-Claire Blais
,
Jean Charest
,
Jean Chretien
,
Robert Charlebois
, and
Celine Dion
.
Quebec Francophone English
[
edit
]
Francophone second-language speakers of English use an interlanguage with varying degrees, ranging from French-accented pronunciation to Quebec Anglophone English pronunciation. High-frequency second-language phenomena by francophones, allophones, and other non-native-speakers occur in the most basic structures of English, both in and outside of Quebec. Commonly called "Frenglish" or "
franglais
", such phenomena are a product of
interlanguage
,
calques
, or mistranslation and thus may not constitute so-called "Quebec English" to the extent that they can be conceived of separately, particularly since such phenomena are similar for Francophone-speakers of English throughout the world, which leaves little to be specific to Quebec.
Phonology
[
edit
]
Francophones speaking English often pronounce
[t]
/
[d]
instead of
[θ]
/
[ð]
, and some also pronounce
[?]
for the phoneme
[?]
, and some mispronounce some words, some pronounce a full vowel instead of a schwa, such as
[?m?se?d?]
for
message
. Since French-speakers greatly outnumber English-speakers in most regions of Quebec, it is more common to hear French in public. Some Anglophones in overwhelmingly-Francophone areas use some of the features (especially the replacement of
[θ]
and
[ð]
by [t] and [d]), but their English is remarkably similar to that of other varieties of English in Canada (
Poplack
, Walker, & Malcolmson 2006
[20]
).
Other speakers
[
edit
]
There is also a pronunciation (
NP
) of the
phoneme
/ŋ/
as /n/ + /?/ (among some
Italian
Montrealers) or /n/ + /k/ (among some
Jewish
Montrealers, especially those who grew up speaking
Yiddish
),
[21]
such as by high degrees of ethnic connectivity within, for instance, municipalities, boroughs, or neighbourhoods on
Montreal Island
, such as
Saint-Leonard
and
Outremont
/
Cote-des-Neiges
/
Cote Saint-Luc
. Such phenomena occur as well in other
diaspora
areas such as
New York City
.
Vocabulary and grammar
[
edit
]
- janitor
? building superintendent.
- country house
? cottage (vacation home).
- Close
the TV ? Turn/shut off the TV.
[13]
- Close
the door. ? Lock the door.
- Open
the light. ? Turn on the lights.
[13]
- Close
the light. ? Turn off the lights.
[13]
- Take
a decision. ? Make a decision. (NB "Take" is the older British version. Compare French
Prends/Prenez une decision
)
- Put
your coat. ? Put your coat on (from French
Mets ton manteau/Mettez votre manteau
).
- Pass
someone money. ? Lend someone money.
- Pass
the vacuum. ? Run the vacuum (or do the vacuuming)
- The use of French grammar (
NS
): Many of these constructions are grammatically correct but only out of context. It is both the calquing and
linguistic transfer
from French and the betrayed meanings that make these sentences foreign to English.
- He
speak/talk
to me yesterday. ? He spoke/talked to me yesterday. (
verb tense
)
- Me, I
work in Laval. ? I work in Laval. (vocal stress on "I". From French
Moi, je travaille a Laval
.)
- It/He have
many books. ? There are many books. (from French
il y a
meaning "there is/are")
- I like
the
beef and
the
red wine. ? I like beef and red wine. (overuse of
definite article
to mean "in general". From French
J'aime le bœuf et le vin rouge
.)
- You speak French?
? Do you speak French? (absence of
auxiliary verb
; otherwise it means surprise, disbelief or disappointment when out of context)
- We were/are four.
? There were/are four of us. (from French "
nous sommes
" and "
nous etions
")
- We're Tuesday
? It's Tuesday. (from French "
nous sommes
")
- I
don't
find my keys. ? I can’t find my keys. (lack of
English modal auxiliary verb
)
- At this moment I
wash
the dishes. ? I’m washing the dishes right now. (verbal
aspect
)
- I can't join you at this moment because
I eat
. ? I can't join you right now because I'm eating. (verbal
aspect
)
- My computer,
he don’t
work. ? My computer won’t work. (human pronoun, subject repetition,
uninflected
auxiliary verb)
- I would like a
brownies
. ? Could I have a brownie? (plural ?s thought to be part of the singular word in
relexification
process; other examples: "a Q-tips", "a pins", "a buns", "a Smarties", "a Doritos", etc.)
- I would like
shrimps
with
broccolis
. ? Could I have some shrimp and broccoli? (use of regular plural instead of English unmarked
plural
or
non-count noun
; this is not a case of
hypercorrection
but of
language transfer
).
- Do
you
want
to wash the dishes? ? Will/would you wash the dishes? (lack of English
modal verb
; modal
vouloir
from French instead ?
Voulez-vous faire la vaisselle?
)
- We have to
go in by
downstairs ? We have to go in downstairs (via the non-standard French '
entrer par
')
- You're going to
broke
it! ? You're going to break it! (mixing of homonymic French tenses; "
casse
", past, versus "
casser
", infinitive)
- False cognates
or
faux-amis
(
NS
): This practice is quite common, so much so that those who use them abundantly insist that the false cognate is the English term even outside of Quebec. Note that these French words are all pronounced using English sounds and harbour French meanings. While the possibilities are truly endless, this list provides only the most insidious false cognates found in Quebec.
- a stage
? an internship (pronounced as in French, from the French word for internship, "
un stage
".)
- Cegep
[se?????p]
(
cegep
;
collegial
,
cegepien
) ? the acronym of the public college network preceding university in Quebec.
- Chinese pate
[t???a???niːz
p?æt??e??]
or
[t???a???niːz
p??ː?t?e??]
?
shepherd's pie
(
pate chinois
; Quebeckers' pate chinois is similar to shepherd's-pie dishes associated with other cultures)
- a cold plate
? some cold-cuts (reversed
gallicism
?
assiette de viandes froides
)
- coordinates
? for address, phone number, e-mail, etc.
- (a) salad
? (a head of) lettuce
- a subvention
? a (government) grant
- a parking
? a parking lot/space
- a location
? a rental
- a good placement
? a good location
- That's it.
? That is correct. (from
C'est ca.
)
- all-dressed pizza
? a deluxe pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers (from
pizza toute garnie.
)
- soup, two times
? two soups, or two orders of soup (from "deux fois.")
Few anglophone Quebeckers use French grammar or false cognates, but many use French collocations and most understand such high-frequency words and expressions. Some of these cognates are used by many francophones, and others by many allophones and anglophone accultured in allophone environments, of varying English proficiencies, from the bare-minimum level to native-speaker level.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"History of Braille (UEB)"
.
Braille Literacy Canada
. 2016
. Retrieved
2 January
2017
.
- ^
Ingrid Peritz, "Quebec English elevated to dialect,"
Montreal Gazette
, 20 August 1997
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Boberg, Charles (2012). "English as a minority language in Quebec".
World Englishes
.
31
(4): 493?502.
doi
:
10.1111/j.1467-971X.2012.01776.x
.
- ^
"Regie du logement ? Welcome"
. Gouvernement du Quebec. 24 November 2006. Archived from
the original
on 11 December 2006
. Retrieved
25 June
2009
.
- ^
Scott, Marian.
"One of Montreal's linguistic divides is generational"
. Montreal Gazette
. Retrieved
July 20,
2012
.
- ^
"Former PQ leader Jacques Parizeau dies at 84 | Montreal Gazette"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Scott, Marian (February 12, 2010).
"Our way with words"
.
The Gazette
. Retrieved
15 March
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Andrew-Gee, Eric (2023-09-20).
"
'Meet me at the dep': How anglos borrowed from French to create a 'Quebec English' all their own"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
2023-09-29
.
- ^
"Equality Party"
. Archived from
the original
on March 6, 2005.
- ^
"Leading Montreal AIDS researcher Mark Wainberg dies in Florida | Montreal Gazette"
.
- ^
"Frequently Asked Questions"
. metrodemontreal.com.
- ^
"Two separate communication glitches shut metro system, STM says | Montreal Gazette"
.
- ^
Chez Alexandre owner takes down terrasse to comply with city bylaw
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/chez-alexandre-owner-takes-down-terrasse-to-comply-with-city-bylaw-1.3060453
- ^
Poplack, Shana
; Walker, James; Malcolmson, Rebecca (2006). "An English "like no other"?: Language contact and change in Quebec".
Canadian Journal of Linguistics
: 185?213.
- ^
Scott, Marian (February 15, 2010).
"That 'aboat' sums it up"
.
The Gazette
. Retrieved
15 March
2011
.
[
permanent dead link
]
|
---|
Europe
| |
---|
Americas
| |
---|
Oceania
| |
---|
Africa
| |
---|
Asia
|
|
---|
Related
| |
---|