Language has always been a reflection of the society in which it evolves. If we take into account the multicultural context of Montreal, the slang spoken in the metropolis is then not surprising, so much so that it has become common practice in Montreal to mix more than one language in the same sentence. First text of our series “French under influence”.
We’ve heard them on the street, in the subway or on school benches for several years: words from Haitian Creole and North African Arabic have gradually been added to Montreal slang, upsetting the traditional dichotomy between French and English.
Creole has particularly imposed itself in the metropolis over the years. Terms like lakay (” home “), kob (” silver “), frekan (“disrespectful”) or mon (“person”, but often denotes a “woman” in slang), to name a few, have gradually become integrated into everyday language. The influence of Arabic is more recent, with the use of words like wesh (used to greet, challenge), kho (” brother “), hess (“misery”) or Wallah (swear by God).
These terms are grafted onto French to form a new language — a kind of rapaillé French, commonly used by Montreal youth.
For Lamia Dib, the use of Montreal slang has become “automatic” when she speaks with her friends or relatives. “It’s a language for me that is more familiar and that will help break the ice,” explains the 23-year-old student.
In the absence of having been officially baptized – like the mixture of French and English that is designated by “franglais” – this new slang is considered a “variety of French”, according to Wim Remysen, professor of linguistics at the University of Sherbrooke. Characterized by the use of borrowings, “Montreal French” comes from a crossbreeding of French, Arabic and Creole, “trades that remain in the universe of French”, he recalls.
The contribution of cultural communities
This sociolinguistic reality is nothing new. “We have always borrowed from other languages,” explains the man who is also director of the Center for Interuniversity Research on French in Use in Quebec. It happens when there are different groups that live together and are in contact” in a territory. The opposite, the absence of linguistic borrowings, would even be surprising, he believes. In Montreal, for example, it is mainly the waves of immigration from Haiti and Maghreb countries that have changed the demographic and linguistic portrait of the city.
Besides a colloquial language used among friends, Montreal slang has “a certain meaning” for Lamia Dib. “It also shows that the Maghreb and Caribbean communities have integrated. These are very present communities in Montreal and Quebec, and it is a way for them to have appropriated the language,” explains the young woman.
“What’s also fascinating to see is that people from Latin America, Asia or even ‘native Quebecers’ will use it,” she continues. A person’s ethnocultural affiliation is no longer a criterion for understanding slang, or even for its use. Today, the majority of young Montrealers can not only understand this vocabulary, but also use it fluently.
In the long run, “we end up not even realizing that they come from other languages,” adds Professor Remysen. Languages are enriched in this way. This is perfectly normal. »
Beyond the Decline of French
If some see it as an impoverishment of French, others rather celebrate its evolution in the metropolis. This is the case of Smaïn Belhimeur. “This language is part of Montreal’s urban culture, it’s our identity,” says the 33-year-old who grew up in Montreal’s east end. It is a reflection of youth. »
“We don’t talk like that with the mandate to erase the French language. On the contrary, we are proud to represent the Francophonie, but we will represent the Francophonie that resembles us, ”explains the Montrealer, founder of the digital media ONZ MTL.
However, it is difficult to ignore the identity tensions that surround the survival of French in Quebec. “The relationship to language is not the same among the youngest or among the slightly older people, who experienced the era of the Quiet Revolution and the struggles to ensure that French was well defended in the public square. in Montreal,” shades Wim Remysen.
Originally from Algeria, Smaïn Belhimeur explains, for example, that his country’s colonial past tints his relationship with the language and makes him see French “like a weapon”. Words that are reminiscent of those of the famous Algerian author Kateb Yacine, who wrote: “French is our spoils of war”. A perspective that certainly echoes in Quebec.
Slang in literature?
Literature, like art or music, makes it possible to testify to these identity struggles that mark entire generations. But if slang has been put forward for a few years in Montreal rap, it still has to make its place in the literary world.
This is the mission given to the artist Joël Nawej Karl Itaj. For the past few years, he has been working on a comic strip project that aims to highlight Montreal talk. Title Mareality, it follows the journey of a group of longtime friends who grew up together in Côte-des-Neiges, in place of Darlington, just like its author. Through his project, the Montrealer of Congolese origin seeks to “legitimize the contribution of certain groups” to the French language. “It’s a bit like portraits or paintings, it testifies to what existed,” he continues.
For the author and self-taught artist, it is time to push the reflection further and to see beyond the decline of French: “It is falling to become what? What is blooming instead? »
In the field of research, this new variety of French is also slow to make its mark. Although Montreal language practices have been the subject of sociolinguistic research since the 1970s, slang remains a linguistic reality that is difficult to study because of its dynamic aspect, explains Professor Remysen. He adds that the first corpora of French spoken in Montreal date back some fifty years and are no longer representative of the Montreal population.
“We’re starting to create corpora that include Montreal Francophone speakers of various origins, but let’s say that we haven’t yet accumulated all the documentation we would like to have to paint a more current and more representative portrait of these communities”, continues the man who launched the first Linguistic Data Fund in Quebec at the start of the year, in order to report on the evolution of the French language.
This text has been modified after its initial publication in order to provide clarification.