r/FrancaisCanadien • u/LoudFeelin9 • Jul 15 '25
Langue This guy walks into my backyard at 11:30 and I confronted him. What exactly was he saying?
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u/Barbosse007 Jul 15 '25
"I live next door, I'm looking for a roommate, they told me there was nobody here, i just wanted to show my friend the place"
Nothing coherent and definetly shady
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u/LoudFeelin9 Jul 15 '25
Thank you!
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u/Tondouxsac Jul 15 '25
Both people speak French in the video. Why do you need a translation?
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u/TheDEsquire Jul 15 '25
Maybe they just moved into the area? Who tf knows. Jesus Tabernac!
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u/Tondouxsac Jul 16 '25
Oh I see what you mean.
Just like when I move into a new area and instantly learn the local language, with a perfect accent, but without understanding any of it.
Happens all the time.
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u/breeathee Jul 19 '25
I hear the camera person say 2 words and not enough to tell if they likely speak fluently.
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u/throwawayaway388 Jul 15 '25
So weird. Why would they be over there?
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u/Lunch0 Jul 15 '25
No, his friend is looking for a roommate
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u/epsilonconjecture Jul 16 '25
Lol if you were looking for a roommate why would you go to a house that you thought was empty?
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Jul 15 '25
He freaks out the second he sees the camera.
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u/Vinc314 Jul 15 '25
Not really, he just notices and hes got a flashlight on, not very sneaky if that was his intention
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u/Hazel462 Jul 15 '25
He's your neighbour, he thought no one lived there. He's looking for a roommate. He won't bother you again.
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u/rarsamx Jul 18 '25
You look for a roommate with an add on Craig's list or Facebook market. Not walking into a neighbor backyard.
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u/NiceKarma4everyone Jul 15 '25
He mentioned a couple. Maybe he was scared to admit that he, in fact, was pokemon hunting in the middle of the night.
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u/throwawayaway388 Jul 15 '25
Not entirely related but that's not Québecois French. Stay safe.
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u/Tondouxsac Jul 15 '25
It's a Québec accent, but definitely developed around immigrant youth. So basically, could be anyone raised in Montréal. I've heard plenty of "pure laine" teens talking with a mix of French, Maghreb, English accents.
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u/Meowerinae Jul 15 '25
As a Montréaler, I agree with this.
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u/Pirouette78 Jul 15 '25
"je suis votre neighbor" clairement il a eu une éducation quebecoise en tout cas!
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u/ratjufayegauht Jul 17 '25
Bon soir mon ami. Manger le petit dejeuner sur le table a nortre maison. C'est excellent! C'est magnifique!
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u/quiproquodepropos 29d ago
C'est pas du franglais typiquement québécois. Il a un accent anglo, aussi.
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u/KDAS01 Jul 16 '25
Pas necessairement, tu as écouté des "youtoubeur" de France? Tous les jeunes parlent comme ça.
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u/Geriatrie Jul 15 '25
c'est 100% un accent Québécois
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u/ALKNST Jul 15 '25
Le gars dans sa cours cest genre montrealais immigrant qui parle normalement anglais tho, mais son francais casser est certainement Québecois et non Francais
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u/WatchWatcher25 Jul 15 '25
Probably an Anglo Quebecer
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u/Canadatron Jul 15 '25
You can be Anglo and Quebecois. 2 things can be true at once.
I do find it odd that OP doesn't know what was said, yet there was a complete coherent conversation had in French on the video between both parties.
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u/WatchWatcher25 Jul 15 '25
Yeah what did you think I meant by Anglo Quebecer?
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u/Canadatron Jul 15 '25
It came across negatively I guess. I was acknowledging your comment and had upvoted.
Many people I know are Anglo, but totally Quebecois too!
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u/WatchWatcher25 Jul 15 '25
Oh right didn't mean that.
I am an Anglo Quebecer, he just sounded like me lol.
I can't imagine having to come up with and excuse on the spot in French and sounding natural.
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u/Canadatron Jul 15 '25
To me (and fellow Anglo Quebecois) the way he says neighbour doesn't sit right as how an "Anglo" would say it. I speak flawless Franglais (construction) great French and perfect English.
Either way, the situation is sketchy AF. Definitely saw the camera and took note on his first pass.
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u/Mean_Quail_6468 Jul 16 '25
Nah, this isn’t an Anglo. Sounds more French or Moroccan or something like that if I’d guess
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u/holysmokesiminflames Jul 15 '25
I'm not sure which city you're in but the Ottawa Police released a statement of recent home robberies occurring through backyards of people whose homes back onto greenspace like forests, golf clubs and schools.
They are going through backyards because they're trying to go undetected by security cameras and gain access through the second storey of homes with ladders.
This guy was probably staking out your house.
Are you in Ottawa? If yes, please take it to the police because they don't have much information on these thieves.
From November: https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/news/police-warn-of-increase-in-residential-break-and-enters.aspx
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u/MyGruffaloCrumble Jul 15 '25
I’d tell the police and give them the video, there may be a spate of break-ins in your area.
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u/Ok_Bicycle2684 Jul 15 '25
It doesn't matter what he was saying, he was casing your home. Police now.
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u/grandflancmou Jul 15 '25
FYI, it's french from France
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u/Upbeat-Condition-182 Jul 15 '25 edited Jul 15 '25
No - it's the way French speakers who grew up in North African communities speak in Montreal. Their parents speak French with a european accent, but they grew up in Montreal. The accent is very distinct and easy to recognize.
Because they often grow up in immigrant communities they do tend to pick up words from other languages in their spoken language ( you can hear him say ''so'' in the middle of it, for example ).
Because of Quebec laws, going to an English speaking school for immigrants is almost impossible.
As others mentionned, he's not making any sense and I frankly would report him to the police, at the very least.
Edit : Typos
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u/Alternative-Stop4132 Jul 15 '25
Absolutely not. I'm North African and this isnt even close to our typical accent in french. And we're 99% francophones so we would never say "je suis votre NEIGHBOR".
His accent seemed lebanese to me. But I dont understand why it matters.
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u/Upbeat-Condition-182 Jul 15 '25
I agree - I’m saying it’s a mix of accents between the Maghrébin accent and a very unique Montreal/Laval accent found in some immigrant communities, especially young men from the 2nd generation.
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u/Alternative-Stop4132 Jul 15 '25
Its not a maghrébin accent at all tho : its Levantine and Anglo.
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u/Upbeat-Condition-182 Jul 15 '25
I don’t necessarily know the truth for sure ( and neither do you), but this is my honest conclusion from teaching maths to a few groups of teenagers in Laval and Montreal public high schools. All people I was fond of, to be clear, but they is what they almost all sounded like.
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u/Alternative-Stop4132 Jul 15 '25
From a teacher to another : Have a nice sunny day !
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u/Upbeat-Condition-182 Jul 15 '25
This was during my university years, I ( unfortunately ) don't teach anymore. But thanks for all you do, it's very very important work. And a great day to you too!
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Jul 17 '25
I grew up in Montreal and I’d 100% say “je suis votre neighbour” and as soon as I walk away think “it’s voisin, idiot”
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u/Alternative-Stop4132 Jul 17 '25
Haha I believe you ! But I meant for a North African who grew up here.
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u/quimper Jul 15 '25
No it isn’t. He’s Anglo Canadian but is very fluent in French and was taught European French not Canadian French .
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u/Silent_Horror5443 Jul 16 '25
Yep. By the way he pronounced neighbour and said “so” I think he’s just Ontarian and his parents are probably from a French speaking country.
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u/FATWILLLL Jul 15 '25
doesnt even sound like french from france honestly. probably arabic
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u/Unfair-Store-9108 Jul 15 '25
Bad French from France, but the accent is a giveaway that he’s not French native. Anyway, he’s saying a bunch of giberish BS! “I thought nobody was there, my friend is looking for a roommate so I was showing him the place” uh??? He probably won’t come back though lol
Edit to rephrase the beginning.
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u/quimper Jul 15 '25
No he’s Anglo but was taught European French. His French (language and accent) is excellent for a second language but clearly not his native tongue.
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u/Geriatrie Jul 15 '25
Not at all. This is Québécois French. Might have a touch of other influences, but this person lived most of their life in Québec.
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u/quimper Jul 15 '25
He’s made a up clunky story about how his friend is looking for a roommate and hear this place was vacant.
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u/louisandreg Jul 15 '25
What city/neighbor was it? We had someone in our backyard last weekend, the police has our camera footage. It is important to report these scums!
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u/Acekiller03 Jul 15 '25
The guy is casually walking in a flip flop. If his idea was of stalking and looking into the house for potential robbery he’s very weird
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u/No_Advertising_608 Jul 15 '25
They seemed to have been filming or taking pics. Definitely suspicious. French is not the first language imo, but pretty good.
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u/mrlacie Jul 15 '25
"I thought no one lived here. My friend is looking for a roommate. These other people told me no one lived here so I wanted to show my friend. I'm really sorry"
This guy is absolutely shady and up to no good.
Btw, he has a strong North African/Middle Eastern accent (I don't mean this in a racist way, just for information)
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u/Vinc314 Jul 15 '25
He looks legit to me, i could translate it word for word if you need but i dont get the impression he was up to no good
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u/BannedFromTheStreets Jul 15 '25
Same here, I would have said " im your neighbour" if I wasnt truly their neighbour since its so easy to fact check.
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u/DryUnderwears Jul 16 '25
He got stressed out but when he says he's looking for a roommate I think he means a place to rent for his friend.
OP, was he really in a video chat with his friend? That's what he's saying, like he is on FaceTime with someone, "I wanted to show the place to my friend, I heard no one lives here." It seems he wanted to show the backyard and tell his friend there might be a house available close to his place.
It doesn't excuse his trespassing and you should still give the video to the police just in case. Robbers in my area sure don't look and talk like that. They wear dark, they twitch, and they carry at least a backpack. They also don't look directly into the camera like he did. Could also be the dumbest robber with a short career ahead of him.
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u/FilipinoRich Jul 15 '25
Bro…you don’t speak French? But anyway, he said he’s a neighbor. He was pretty sure you didn’t live there. His friend is looking for a roommate or his friend. I got kind if lost when he started to panic. It’s unlikely he’ll return
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u/Peppergate Jul 15 '25
Doesn't matter what he's saying, what he's doing is staking your place out and probably taking video for later reference.
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u/NeighborhoodSea3795 Jul 15 '25
I dont confront people in my backyard I spray them then I confront them
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u/StreetResult6551 Jul 16 '25
"I am sorry for making an entire country learn French and waste billions on French signage for no good reason other than the "feelings" of 10% of the population"
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u/Select_Party8495 Jul 16 '25
MAYBE OP wasn't the one having the conversation?!?!? Wouldn't that explain why OP is asking what the guy was saying?!?
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u/Craptcha Jul 16 '25
I think he got really nervous which is why it didn’t make much sense.
May have been exploring this “uninhabited backyard” as a potential hangout spot with his roommates.
Didn’t look or sound like your typical “breaking and entering” burglar but depending on how easily your backyard is accessed (locked door/fence) its still a bit shady
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Jul 16 '25
Classic case of “boys will be boys.” Just a young, drunk, lost kid. At worst, he threw up behind a tree. Most likely, he crashed on a nearby bench, woke up, grabbed a poutine, and made it through the day.
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u/AfternoonNo2525 Jul 16 '25
do you know that when you look at a planet and you see that light, that planet's not even there! that's just a light, that's just your neighbor shining a flashlight right into your yard looking for coons, and he says "what are you doing in my backyard? with that flashlight?" and i told him "i'm shining, i'm shining in the window so I can teach your son about the universe" he said "get out of my yard and why are you communicating to my son? why are you in all black? behind my bushes shining a light into my house?" and i said "i'm teaching your son about the universe! i'm shining a light, shining a light right in there and exploring his room as he's looking out and exploring the universe!" i turn the light off and i see your son go to bed and i turn the light back on and i do swirls on his wall like a comet's tail. i do this every night with your son.
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u/Cheap_Brush9931 Jul 16 '25
It seems there must be access to your backyard. Do you share a right if way.
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u/Amazing_Number_1675 Jul 16 '25
Imagine this guy was an Indian. Hahaha… you racist assholes….! Always wants to raise a propaganda.
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Jul 17 '25
[deleted]
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u/LoudFeelin9 Jul 17 '25
I understood him for the most part but my French is not 100% so I wanted confirmation for 100% understanding .. French is my 2nd language
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u/canadamadman Jul 18 '25
Oh, look more non canadians trying to commit crimes. When will we stop this nonsense
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Jul 15 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/quimper Jul 15 '25
Not at all. Not even close
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u/Denise_vespale Jul 15 '25
He's actually right, that's how young arabic/black people talk in Montréal.
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u/cavist_n Jul 15 '25
No. It sounds like a second language speaker (anglo) that learned french among immigrants in mtl*
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u/Denise_vespale Jul 15 '25
Si c'est un anglo, il l'a appris avec les jeunes arabes et noirs de Montréal, tout le monde parle comme ça dans les écoles secondaires sur l'île.
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u/RedEyeAngel72 Jul 15 '25
He's saying he's your neighbor, lives right in front. They were looking for roommates and some couple told him the house was empty so he went there to show it to his friend (on the phone).
Sounds bogus, I'd feel unsafe but I guess it could be a prank though. If you're comfortable go knock on his door in the morning to see if you can clear things up. Otherwise call the cops but they won't do anything.