Why do quebec speak french

Read More. How people communicate with one another varies wildly from culture to culture. In our fully Topics: Localization , Translation , Service. Octave Login Search. Canadian French vs. Here are just a few examples: When speaking, Canadians are much more likely to address others informally, using the informal pronoun tu and its associated informal verb forms.

That said, business will still use the formal vous most of the time. Subject and object pronouns are often different in Canadian French versus French. These include, but are not limited to: Differences in the way some vowels are pronounced.

In , French explorer Jacques Cartier ventured across the Atlantic in search of a more direct route to Asia. French settlement was established in eastern Canada by the early 17th century, with Samuel de Champlain founding Port Royal in Acadia in and Quebec City in By there were around settlers living in Quebec , mainly working in the increasingly profitable fur trade. In Ville Marie was founded as the settlement that would eventually become Montreal.

Further political and economic consolidation of the French colony continued through the century. The 18th century experienced a series of wars and treaties that saw French Canada fall to British Rule, piece by piece from the Atlantic territories into Quebec.

During this time, the French language was reduced to a lower rank in terms of trade and political power, though in general the attempted Anglicization of the French-speaking population failed. In order to encourage the coexistence of the two linguistic groups, in , the Quebec Act was passed by the British Parliament, which restored French civil laws. Canada was emerging as a federal state by the late 18th century, which involved dividing the Canadian colony into two designated provinces: the primarily English-speaking Upper Canada now Ontario , and the predominantly French-speaking Lower Canada now Quebec.

In Quebec , French was established again as the official language. There were also significant French communities in the Maritime Provinces. If you want to fit in, drop some of these phrases:. Mon chum — This one can be a bit tricky. It can either mean boyfriend or bud, depending on context. Ma blonde — translated directly, this means my blonde. This one has nothing to do with hair color, it just means girlfriend. And then, of course, there are religious words — les sacres. But these exclamations are more appropriate to yell while stuck in traffic than during church.

At a boulangerie in Montreal, even if you switch from French to English halfway through a sentence, or sprinkle Anglicisms into your French, no one will bat an eye, but will instead continue in whatever language you opened with until they are asked to switch. Taking a deep dive in a new language is important, but if you need some training wheels first, maybe save the trip to Europe for after your six-week intensive French course and instead head to the Great White North.

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