“This weekend, my boyfriend and I had dinner at the sugar shack. We had so much fun.” This is the type of hybrid phrase between Quebec French and mainland French that you can hear in Quebec. And for good reason: the French community has more than doubled in the province over the past two decades. The number of French people has increased from 59,215 in 2006 to more than 140,470 in 2021, according to Statistics Canada. But why do some people lose their accent more than others when they arrive here?
“Already, upon arrival, the degree of understanding of Quebec French is very different from one individual to another. There are people who understand everything, right away. There are people who understand absolutely nothing and who say that it is like a foreign language,” explains Nadège Fournier, a doctoral candidate in linguistics at the Université de Montréal. She knows something about it: she herself immigrated to the Quebec metropolis from France in 2016.
Upon her arrival, the then linguistics student noticed very different perceptions and anecdotal comments about the linguistic adaptation of the French in the province. Observing a gap in the scientific literature, in 2020 she undertook a thesis with Professor Julie Auger on the language practices of the French community in Montreal.
From accommodation to acquisition
“Everyone adjusts the way they speak based on a certain number of parameters,” says Wim Remysen, professor of linguistics at the University of Sherbrooke. “When we talk about the adjustment we make based on our interlocutor, we’re talking about linguistic accommodation.”
Children will have a much easier time absorbing a new variety of their native language than adults, particularly when it comes to the sound system.
This strategy can be “quite interesting to establish contact, to make sure that we’re starting off on the right foot, so to speak,” the researcher mentions. And it’s obviously not specific to French people in Quebec. After a while, “there are people, probably most of them, who will start to adopt Quebec traits: sounds, words, structures, intonations. Sometimes, it’s very conscious: there’s a decision to do it. Sometimes, it just comes out,” reports Nadège Fournier.
To achieve this, there are multiple tactics: listening to YouTube videos that explain the differences, consulting French-Quebec dictionaries, watching local TV series or films. Others “will simply rely on immersion,” notes Mme Fournier. Over time, the appropriation of certain traits becomes more durable. “We are no longer really in the simple phenomenon of accommodation, but we are really in the acquisition of another variety of language,” explains Wim Remysen.
A multitude of factors make some people adapt more or less quickly. “Children will have a much easier time absorbing a new variety of their mother tongue than adults, particularly with regard to the sound system,” explains Nadège Fournier.
Social interactions can also play a role in the portrait. “If we have friends, spouses, colleagues who are part of the local community, obviously, that will promote acquisition,” describes the doctoral candidate.
“I had dinner with my girlfriend”
What do you mean when a French person is adapting linguistically? “I think that there are many French speakers in Europe who end up adopting the names of meals: lunch, dinner, supper,” says Wim Remysen. “The names of the members of the couple “chum” and “blonde” can be used,” says Nadège Fournier.
All the experts consulted also observed that the famous diphthongization of certain words — the lengthening of a vowel — is sometimes adopted. Examples? Pâte, pronounced “paoute” (paut), or father, pronounced “paèr” (paeʀ).
The acquisition of Quebec French is also a phenomenon that can be found in writing. Julie Auger, a professor of linguistics at the Université de Montréal, noticed this, among other things, in certain posts from the Facebook group Les Français à Montréal. “The message begins: ‘Hello, la gang!’ So, there’s the ‘Hello,’ which the French use. But ‘la gang,’ is clearly something from Quebec. And then, this person continued by saying: ‘Little debate with my girlfriend.’”
There is always a kind of tension, if you like, between the desire to go towards the other and the desire to also show who we are, where we come from.
Furthermore, some acquisitions are sometimes misused, which can be perceived badly. “We can have the impression that we are ridiculing Quebec French or ridiculing the Quebec accent,” explains Wim Remysen.
Nadège Fournier also thinks of an example: in Quebec, “we use the familiar form in certain situations where we would not use the familiar form in France, and some people start to think that we can use the familiar form in all contexts in Quebec. Sometimes, [ils] start to use the informal “tu” in inappropriate contexts, which will sometimes shock Quebecers.
Identity at the heart of language
“Some people told me that, for them, it’s very important to keep their way of speaking, their familiar words. That it’s part of their identity. So, they don’t see the point in changing. They told me: ‘If there are problems understanding, Quebecers can ask me what it means.’” reports Nadège Fournier.
“There is always a kind of tension, if you like, between the desire to go towards the other and the desire to also show who we are, where we come from,” believes Wim Remysen.
The result? Our ways of speaking are increasingly hybrid, mixed, explains Julie Auger. “What strikes us are the French elements that are preserved in the speech of people of French origin who live in Montreal. Whereas what strikes people in France are the traits that have changed.”
” I think that [chez] “People who come here, their way of speaking also reflects, to a certain extent, their own history,” explains the woman who also speaks from experience. Born in Quebec, Julie Auger spent 27 years in the United States. “As a result, I speak a funny French. There are people who don’t believe me when I say I’m from Quebec. I ended up accepting my funny way of speaking, which essentially reflects my personal history.”
Which goes to show that it is better not to always rely on the accent to know where someone comes from. The experience of Mr. Remysen, originally from the Flemish part of Belgium, also proves this. Dutch is his mother tongue. But since he has been in Quebec for over 20 years, his way of speaking has gradually evolved towards Quebec French. “When I go to Belgium, I pass for a Quebecer. When I go to France, I pass for a Quebecer. That always amuses me a lot.”
An influence in both directions?
If the French adapt, so do Quebecers. “It’s certain that this contribution of people of French origin and this consumption of YouTube videos, all of this together means that Quebec French is diversifying and incorporating more and more elements that come from France,” mentions Julie Auger.
In the presence of French people, many Quebecers adjust or demonstrate linguistic accommodation, according to Wim Remysen. “For me, this is really the image that the French can embody in terms of good usage [du français] or in terms of a norm that leads many people to avoid certain features of their Quebec accent.”
As a result, the language of Quebec is changing and evolving.
With Jasmine Legendre