Québec French vs France French: Accent, Vocabulary and Swearing

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Two years after my experience in Paris, I returned to French and moved to Montréal in 2007. My experience there was very different. The people I met were patient with my French, and I found it easier to make friends.

Montréal and Québec remain among my favourite places from that decade of travel. I still think fondly of my hilarious flatmates (Je m'ennuie de vous, Marie-Ève et Marlène!), the parties, the jazz festival, Juste pour rire, and the warmth I experienced in the city.

I especially enjoyed Québec's national holiday, often called la Saint-Jean, in Québec City. Strangers kept wishing me Bonne Saint-Jean!, and that friendliness made the celebration memorable.

If you want to learn French in Québec, check current immigration and entry requirements for your own nationality and situation. My personal experience was that Montréal gave me many chances to practise, but one visit cannot represent every learner or every part of the province.

Interview en français avec Geneviève, ma couchsurfeuse

In 2011, I hosted Geneviève, a Québécoise, for a few days through Couchsurfing. As I've described before, hosting visitors gave me a way to practise languages at home.

It had been a few years since I had lived in a French-speaking place, but conversations with francophone guests helped me maintain my French.

Geneviève agreed to let me test my new camera while I asked about Québec and Québec French. We discussed pronunciation, vocabulary, swear words, language identity and our own experiences in Québec and France.

One useful frame before you watch: Québec French has distinctive vocabulary and pronunciation, while its grammar differs much less from other varieties of French. And when Geneviève says that people outside Québec speak only English, remember that French-speaking communities exist across Canada. New Brunswick is officially bilingual. The interview captures two people's perspectives in 2011, not rules about everyone in Québec or France.

The 13-minute interview is in French with subtitles. Here is what we cover:

• 0:00: Introduction
• 0:37: Differences Geneviève noticed between people in Québec and France
• 2:21: Choosing English in Montréal and the desire to protect French
• 3:27: Geneviève's experience of welcoming newcomers in French-speaking Québec
• 4:00: The religious history of some Québec swear words, with examples
• 5:30: Geneviève's ideas for connecting with Québécois culture
• 6:27: Different uses of les Anglais
• 6:53: One pronunciation of the vowel a in Québec French
• 7:41: Getting used to an accent by spending time with its speakers
• 8:11: Vocabulary differences in Québec French
• 10:55: Geneviève's travels and thoughts on keeping an open mind
• 12:41: Wrapping up, including a Québec way to say “I miss Québec”

My French was rusty, but it was enough for a lively conversation. That is what languages are about for me: using them to listen, ask better questions and connect with people.