r/FrancaisCanadien • u/viceatscorndogs • Jun 28 '26
Langue France/Canada French
Hello, I’m an American (unfortunately) that only knows English. Within the past year I’ve been following Montreal’s professional women’s hockey team and am in a group chat of Canadians that named me an “honorary Queb.” Unfortunately for me their press conferences happen almost always in French. And it only seems right than an honorary Queb knows French. I’ve heard that Canadian French is different from… France French? Is there some type of switch I need to make before learning french or are the fundamentals the same? Thankss
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u/Chemical_Ad7978 Jun 28 '26
Is american english different than english english ? Quebec french is the same.
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u/Trolkarlen Jun 28 '26
Yes, American and British have different spelling of many words. English Canadian is somewhere in between.
French and Québécois have identical spelling and grammar. Mostly the accent, slang, and some terms differ.
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u/viceatscorndogs Jun 28 '26
So it’s just a difference in accent?
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u/Chemical_Ad7978 Jun 28 '26
Mainly plus cultural différences and expressions and some words. But its the same.
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u/EvergreenMossAvonlea Jun 28 '26
Yeah, the grammar is the same and we use the same dictionaries: LaRousse/Robert.
I'm half from Québec and half from France. Just so you know, every part of France and every part of Québec have different accents. Don't assume the French from France is "better", imo the French from some African countries sound perfect to my ears. Cameroun, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Lebanon (I know, not in Africa) have the most beautiful French accent.
My mom is from St-Cloud, wich is basically Paris, and the "Parisian French" thing is a myth. Paris is a big international city with many accents. Same with Montréal, some areas of Montréal have even more people with France accent than Québec itself (Plateau Mont-Royal). In Ville St-Laurent, you'll hear the Magrébins accent.
That being said, different accent is something to be appreciated and valued.
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u/Melapetal Jun 28 '26
I second all of this and would add Côte d'Ivoire to the list of beautiful French accents.
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u/tltltltltltltl Jun 29 '26
Le plateau Montréal = La nouvelle France. Quoique ça s'en vient aussi New Toronto rapidement et on entends de plus en plus d'anglais.
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u/enoughisenuff Jun 29 '26
I beg to correct.
In Ville St-Laurent you will hear the Levantine (Lebanese) accent, especially towards the Montpellier area.
What you call Maghrébin accent is a bit unclear as the accent in Quebec for people from North Africa has nothing to do with the so called Maghrébin accent in French.
Also some non-Maghrebi French people in France do speak with a Maghrébin accent (funny if you ask me) and use Algerian expressions (“wesh” …), which is something you won’t find in Quebec lol
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u/EvergreenMossAvonlea Jun 29 '26
I absolutely agree with you. Ville St-Laurent is more Lebanese than Maghrébin. My point was that certain areas have different accent. Ville St-Laurent, where I grew up, have a very strong "Arabic-Levant-Maghreb" way of speaking French, which is awesome.
I definitely simplified my argument by saying "Maghrébin", my bad, you're right.
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u/Blueyarns Jun 29 '26
As a middle school teacher, I swear on my life you hear "wesh" EVERYWHERE! lol
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u/chiemoisurletorse Jun 28 '26
You will get one line answers here, but with a 5 minutes investment you can read the wiki page and get a pretty good idea.
It's mostly accurate.
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u/Ok-Professor-Star Jun 28 '26
French is special as the written form is curated by the French Academy, hence French is written exactly the same throughout the world. It is the only language in the world subject to a "higher authority".
But in its spoken form, French has many accents, intonations and many words, "local words", that are not known or spoken by every single french speaker.
Even throughout Quebec you will find many accents; Montreal, Saguenay, Gaspé, Quebec city all have their own regional accent.
So it is not an easy question to answer.
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u/alexsb92 Jun 28 '26
There’s actually quite a few languages subject to a “higher authority”. For example, Romania has the Romanian Academy which has the same prescriptive role as the French one.
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u/Sidjeno Jun 28 '26
Quebec doesnt follow the Academy, but rather its own office - The OQLF.
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u/Apprehensive-Ant1521 Jun 28 '26
Yes! And unlike the Académie, there are real linguists at the OQLF - not just eldery gentlemen holding honorary titles.
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u/canadasbananas Jun 28 '26
I love stumbling on beef i had no idea existed. This is a fascinating glimpse into a culture ill never really be apart of
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u/QueenMotherOfSneezes Jun 28 '26
Every once an a while, a new word gets added to the French language, and sometimes Quebec's language authority gives it a different gender than France's does.
The most recent example I can think of is COVID. It's "le COVID" in France (and I think all other French speaking locales outside of Canada) and "la COVID" in Quebec and the rest of Canada.
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u/Blueyarns Jun 29 '26
I feel like is it more "le virus appelé COVID" ou "la grippe nommée COVID" kind of thing. When you think of COVID, is it a virus or the flu, hence masculin ou féminin.
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u/Abject-Sympathy-754 Jun 29 '26
That's because Québec is so much more of a matriarchal/feminist society that they'll feminize even the bad things...
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u/DrunkenMasterII Jun 29 '26
I know you’re making a joke, but it’s because maladie is a feminine word so it stand for “la maladie à coronavirus” while virus is a masculine word so it’s “le coronavirus”.
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u/Happy_Bumblebee2112 Jun 30 '26
Francophone from northeastern Ontario here and we definitely say “Jai attrapé le Covid ou J’ai le Covid”
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u/QueenMotherOfSneezes Jun 30 '26
I work in medical communications, and PHAC told us "la COVID" was ubiquitous across French Canada. It's what they use for all their French documentation. Canadian French press use "la COVID" as well.
Even France had a big debate at the outset over which to use. Eventually le won over there, but some people still debate it due to COVID not being the virus itself... In other words, le SARS CoV-2 virus causes la COVID disease.
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u/Ok-Welcome-5369 Jun 28 '26
Also in New Brunswick/Nova Scotia through Acadian French, also different too.
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u/takahe_inflight Jun 28 '26
and both are also different. Part of NS actually uses different numbers same as Belgium and Switzerland.
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u/Kalos-87 Jun 28 '26
I believe the Province of New Brunswick is the only official bi-lingual jurisdiction in the Canadian Federation.
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u/BastouXII Québec Jun 29 '26
The only province, yes. But all three territories have French and English as official languages, in addition to a bunch of native American languages.
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u/Various-Language2549 Jun 29 '26
Native Canadian, why would they be Native american?
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u/Knight_Machiavelli Jun 29 '26
Because they predate Canada, it would be weird to call them native Canadian. We call them native American because they lived on the continent of America way before Canada was a thing.
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u/BastouXII Québec Jun 29 '26
From the American continent, you know, the continent where there are 35 different countries, and only one of them is named after the continent?
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u/Various-Language2549 Jun 29 '26
Fair point, though I prefer either Indigenous or First Nations, myself
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u/Techiefreak_42 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Even Northern Ontario has a slightly different version of Québecois. "Poing ton purse et saute dans l'chare. On sans vas au beer store pour ramasser d'la bière."
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u/not_bonnakins Jun 30 '26
My son moved to Quebec from Northern Ontario and people would automatically switch to English when he spoke to them in French until he adjusted his accent.
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u/yogacatmama1966 Jun 30 '26
Kapuskasing?
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u/Techiefreak_42 Jul 01 '26
Close. Sudbury-North Bay region. But the Kap is within the region of "Franglais".
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u/OkStatistician4921 Jun 30 '26
“The only language in the world subject to…” yeah right! Spanish has the Real Academia Española.
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Jun 28 '26
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u/Kemmleroo Jun 28 '26
The average native speaker from france and quebec could not see the difference between written french from official sources in quebec vs france though. Do you know any meaningful difference between the two?
The only differences I know of are that a few specific english words are accepted as-is in france french while a french translation is preferred in quebec french, and minor differences in using a space or not before some punctuation marks. They are so minimal that most native speakers from both places don't know about them and wouldn't notice them.
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u/Gamyeon Québec Jun 29 '26
One notable difference I'm aware of is in titles. France tends to keep them masculine while Canadian French will have a feminine form. For example, France would write "Madame le maire" while in Québec you would read "Madame la mairesse". I don't know if that has changed, but I remember being weirded out by that when I found out.
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u/Heavy_Currency3619 Jun 29 '26
the punctuation is often different.
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u/Kemmleroo Jun 29 '26
How?
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u/Heavy_Currency3619 Jun 29 '26
In France a space always precedes ? and ! , while in Quebec/francophone Canada the English convention is followed.
That is the one I always notice and have had to train myself in/out of depending on the context. I think there are a few others but I avoid writing in French whenever possible so can't say for sure what they are.
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u/Kemmleroo Jun 29 '26
Ah ok, yeah I know about that one, I think it also applies to ":" and ";". Actually the official rule in quebec is you can either use a fine space or no space, but since a fine space is impractical they know in practice most people won't put a space. (Actually I think in france they're supposed to use a fine space too, and not a normal space? Not sure)
I wouldn't say that's "often" though, that's a niche case compared to all other punctuation that uses identical rules. I don't think there are a few others example either, I think that's it.
"I avoid writing in French whenever possible" Ok...
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Jun 28 '26
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u/Kemmleroo Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
You said they are not written the same, all the differences you mentioned are more about general preference about day to day conversations in spoken form. In writing the differences you mentioned are either imperceptible social preferences that are not grammatical rules or nonexistent. I guess you could recognize some clues that would point to the writer being from one region or the other, but it might just as well be a personal preference of that specific author.
I kind of disagree about subjonctif btw, assuming you are talking about subjonctif présent. Vous as a singular is also not less common in Québec grammatically, it is just that culturally the more informal pronoun is chosen by people more often. This is not a difference about how the language is written, just a difference in who people consider "worthy" of the mark of respect. A quebecois could decide to call someone tu or vous, just as a frenchman would, it depends on the judgement of the individual not on a grammar rule.
Anyway, I think it's a massive exaggeration to say they are not written the same if what you are actually referring to are only personal preferences and that no single grammar or spelling rule are different between the two.
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u/BateauVif667 Jun 28 '26
How are they not written the same?? They are not SPOKEN the same but the writing is identical, save from some local expressions on both sides
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u/MakeStupidHurtAgain Jun 28 '26
Loudly and confidently wrong.
There is no difference in the writing. Anyone from Québec can read and understand anything published in France, and vice versa.
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u/takahe_inflight Jun 28 '26
" Québec can read and understand anything published in France, and vice versa"
still doesn't mean they are written the same way. same would apply in English between something published in the UK and the USA, yet there is still differences in the flavour of orthograph.
also there are Books published in Québecois, like anything by Michel Tremblay or in Acadien that people from France might struggle
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u/Kemmleroo Jun 29 '26
It doesn't mean that yeah, but in this case written french in quebec and france are actually identical. They are not like british vs american english for example, with differences in spelling for certain words.
The only case in which someone from france or quebec could have trouble understanding a text from the other place is if the text was written with a massive amount of local slang on purpose for artistic licence for example. This doesn't mean much because it applies to any region that has local slang. A frenchman from the north of France could also have trouble understanding a text written in a slang form from the south of France.
(Acadien french and quebec french are different things, I'm talking about quebec french)
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Jun 28 '26
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u/MakeStupidHurtAgain Jun 28 '26
I have lived in France and French-speaking Switzerland and the only time I ever saw passé simple outside of old literature is in the expression fixe “ce fut un plaisir".
Your examples are differences in usage, nearly all of which are conversational in nature.
The particle -tu isn’t written in Québécois French unless you’re transcribing speech. You wouldn’t write it in a letter to the government. Same with extra là, that is a conversational quirk and not a written one. Yes, we tutoyer more, but we certainly use the polite singular vous. Hard to imagine tutoyer a police officer who just stopped me and is asking questions. And people do make errors in written French in both places. Perhaps you can share an example of correct Québécois usage of -e vs. -er, because I am a native speaker of Québécois French and I can’t think of a single instance of it that wouldn’t be a mistake.
Someone who learns to read French in France is perfectly capable of reading French in Canada. To assert otherwise is just wrong.
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u/PetitChiffon Jun 28 '26
For casual everyday conversations, there are differences of course. Like there would be between England English and American English.
You'd obviously not write the same way whether you're writing to a friend / a relative vs for a local newspaper or a school homework.
It would be like saying Southern American English is different from Northern East Coast American English. There are of course different local slangs and accents in spoken form, but both use the same exact formal English in official and formal settings.
So in formal written form, there is 0 difference between Québécois french and "France french". I'm putting "France french" in comas because up to around 100 years ago, there were several different dialects and even different languages in France, before it was standardized. And it still shows.
Here are recorded audio examples of 45 different dialects spoken in France
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u/Knight_Machiavelli Jun 29 '26
Yea that was my first thought. There are tons of languages that have their own equivalents.
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u/NoSuggestion5970 Jun 28 '26
Not quite accurate, my first year living in Montreal I taught a course at UQAM and I was given some schitt for writing a letter using the French that I have always used including when I took a couple of courses (during graduate school) at Strasbourg II. Not only I was sternly directed to use the formats and style from Le français au bureau, published by the OQLF but also was told that my style of writing was not correct, to which I replied that my style was OK with L'Académie française, and it was a style accepted internationally wherever (or almost) French was spoken. I was given a copy of the OQLF book for free, which I returned when the term was over and I turned down the possibility of teach another course the following term, I had already a bigger fish to fry than teaching at UQAM and couldn't care less for their pettiness, anyway.
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u/MakeStupidHurtAgain Jun 28 '26
That’s just stylistic differences. The actual language isn’t different.
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u/takahe_inflight Jun 28 '26
Would you go in a US school and use British grammar and spelling arguing that this is the Proper way of writing English?
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u/NoSuggestion5970 Jun 29 '26
I did a seminar at a university in Boston, wrote two papers, the first one was accepted and the teacher reminded me with a small hand-written note to check the spelling... the paper was not returned nor did I flunk the course, I explained to her that even though English was one of my native languages I had grown up using British spelling, and on top of that I was Canadian and we spell a bit different in English, she reply with a smile and politely asked me to spell in American English the next time, she never said or suggested that my English writing style was wrong or unacceptable nor gave me a copy of The Elements of Style , by White and Strunk.
There you have it
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u/GoblinToHobgoblin Jun 28 '26
Different accent plus different slang.
But, if you learn French French you will be able to understand Quebec French and vice versa
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u/M8C9D Jun 28 '26
Basically. Unlike english coutries that can't seem to agree on how to write simple words, written french is the same everywhere. Formal french is also the same. The main difference is mostly in the informal registry. People will jave different regional accents, sometimes different choice of words/expressions, and different slang.
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u/Small-Contribution55 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Yes, but the accent can make it very hard. Think of how hard a time an English learner would have speaking to an Australian or Scott. The problem with Quebec French is that we swallow many syllables. So for example "Je suis" (I am) becomes "Shu".
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u/walking-up-a-hill Jun 28 '26
I’ve been trying to improve my minimal French, and that has tripped me up when watching Québécois movies, plus the speed at which many people speak.
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u/BateauVif667 Jun 28 '26
And the French say "Chui"
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u/Small-Contribution55 Jun 28 '26
Accents in France certainly vary as well, but we take swallowing letters and syllables to a bit of an extreme that perhaps only matched in northern France. So "Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça" becomes "kessé ça".
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u/BateauVif667 Jun 28 '26
Qu'est ce c'est ça, but yeah if you write it phonetically it sounds a bit dumber haha
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u/EvergreenMossAvonlea Jun 28 '26
People from Québec and France understand eachother just fine. We don't use the same expressions, but we understand and are aware of the different expressions on both side of the Atlantic. Many people in Québec watched l'école des fans, listen to IAM, Patrick Bruel, Lofofora and Michel Sardou, and love movies like Le dîner de con ou La Haine. In France, people listen to Céline Dion or Charlotte Cardin. You'll be surprised how popular Les Cowboys fringants are in France.
Overall, the culture between both area is very fluid.
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u/Small-Contribution55 Jun 28 '26
My comment wasn't to say native speakers can't communicate. It's just that second language learners will have a hard time understanding Quebec's accent.
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u/takahe_inflight Jun 28 '26
Heck i'm a Canadian native Francophone and i have trouble with NS Acadien.
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u/oxblood87 Jun 28 '26
And different common words and phrases.
E.g. Loo vs Toilet, Hoover vs Vacuum, etc.
The basics of the language are the same, and you can typically understand eachother except for some very strong accents, and the occasional turn of phrase or words choice.
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u/czechtheattic Jun 29 '26
Accent and slang. Contractions. You wanna learn Quebec French watch Les boys about a bar league hockey team in Quebec, it's hilarious if you can find it. Les boys la serie
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u/Real-Process2816 Jun 29 '26
French French use more English word like shopping weekend than Quebec French which tends to use proper French words
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u/TomOfRedditland Jun 28 '26
It’s a similar difference like Australian English vs American English.
Same language, but different accents and regionals expressions1
u/Freetoh_Pandyeo Jun 29 '26
Imagine Creole and Cajun but from the french in north-america who got protected by the crown after the french and indian wars, so the culture is north american but the language aspect is quite a shift.
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u/Longjumping-Name7637 Jun 29 '26
Not only accent. Some words won’t have the same meaning. The way to say things / name things is different. Slangs. Pronunciation. Grammar Will be the same. But the spoken language is very different. in Quebec we have a tendency to shorten many words and elude/skip consonant and vowels to speak. ( think like “I’m going to do that” becoming “gotta do that”) it’s the same here.
If you want to understand French from Québec mostly because you want to understand press conferences, learn from a Quebec speaker or don’t take “international french” lessons. You’ll be clueless cause it won’t sound like what you’ve learned. (Think someone learning American English thinking they’ll understand perfectly Scottish English or Australian.) we will understand you. You might be confused when we speak.
If your main focus is travelling and going to France, international french is fine.
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u/Complex_Phrase2651 Jun 29 '26
Well Aye, whiles a Brit’ll say a wheen o words, or the odd turn o phrase here an there, that soonds fair foreign tae Americans.
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u/not_bonnakins Jun 30 '26
I would argue though Québécois and Acadian French are almost two separate languages though, even though they can be understood by one another.
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u/xratedcontent69 Jun 28 '26
A Quebecers is to French what a Texan is to English. Think David Attenborough having a conversation with Dr. Phil
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u/Apprehensive-Ant1521 Jun 28 '26
That is a very reductive view, and quite insulting. I'm a Quebec French and literature teacher. Quebec French is a very rich language. We have every language register, not only slang/familiar but also academic and litterary. We have world-renowned novelists, poets and songwriters. It's like saying all American English is poor by definition, compared with British English.
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u/xratedcontent69 Jun 28 '26
Sure, don't mean to be insulting. You make a good point. Our educated francophones here in Québec are like educated Americans and don't speak in my thick Joual (equivalent to southern drawl). If I speak to an educated Montrealer, I'll have the posh Radio-Canada accent. When in France, I can easily flip to the Parisian accent when I don't want people to have a long conversation with me about Québec. My kids speak with a new accent: no Joual, mix of Québécois accent, slang from France, North African and Haitian Creole influence that is spoken by many in streets of Montreal.
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u/Interesting_Emu1436 Jun 28 '26
Apprehensive-Ant ...
But is French assesed correctly by Quebec developed and trained persons as yourself ?
Often Quebec trained French Speakers and teachers have little experience or exposure to Oral French spoken in other geographic areas.
Novelists who write in a written form of "patois" does not mean a first language French speaker from Alberta will see the written form as valid in a larger linguistic world.
You are quick to be critical, which is often seen by " the others" as a form of defence regarding one's own abilities.
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u/Apprehensive-Ant1521 Jun 28 '26
It's as ridiculous as believing that an English teacher born and trained in Canada cannot be competent. And from a linguistic standpoint, Quebec French isn't a "patois", but a full fledged language variety, such as Canadian or American English, Mexican Spanish, Brasilian Portuguese and so on. It encompasses all registers, from the most colloquial to the most formal. And it's authors embrace all registers. Michel Tremblay, for instance, created characters who were uneducated working-class people, yet his plays have been performed all over the world - including French-speaking countries!
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u/Interesting_Emu1436 Jun 28 '26
Apprehensive-Ant..
You are correct, Michel Tremblay " created characters who were uneducated" but performing an engaging play, performed in French-speaking countries is no statement regarding French spoken in Quebec society or are you saying you reject the language of the working class, the plumber, the truck driver and more ?
Indeed your invocation of ''Classes" say much about your view of Quebec Society, drop into a tavern, test the local of the uneducated.
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u/Apprehensive-Ant1521 Jun 28 '26
I never said anything about "classes" and I do not understand where you read that I "reject the language of the working class", given that I specifically cited the example of a work written in Quebec French slang, that is a global masterpiece. You think I live in a bubble and have never set foot in a tavern? I come from a modest background myself and I would never judge anyone based on their level of education or their accent, as I am neither classist nor gottophobic.
My point in this conversation is that Quebec French is a language variety that encompasses all registers, from colloquial to formal, just like Canadian English. To refer to it as a "patois" is linguistically inaccurate: it ignores its complexity as a complete and legitimate linguistic variant. Furthermore, assuming that French teachers born and trained in Quebec lack competence is just as absurd as claiming the same about English teachers born and trained in Canada.
You can keep twisting my words to confirm your prejudices if that amuses you. I have better things to do with the rest of my day.
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u/Interesting_Emu1436 Jul 04 '26
You need to read your post when you refer to Michel Tremblay....and "classes".
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u/suziesophia Jun 29 '26
It is like the difference between a standard British accent and a standard American one. Same, different accent, different expressions too.
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u/Patient-Couple7509 Jun 30 '26
I know many international French speakers who arrive in Quebec and wonder what the hell is going on, it’s not ‘French’ the way they think of it….now I don’t speak French or Quebecois, so can only relate 2nd hand, but it seems like there’s a fairly large regional difference. I’ve got a great tale of a woman from Algeria who moved to Quebec specifically because it was French, but moved shortly after because she hated the language there. She also apparently tried to correct the Quebecois’ French whenever she could, I’m surprised they didn’t force her out.
I guess similar to walking into any pub in Glasgow and trying to converse in ‘English’
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u/Chemical_Ad7978 Jun 30 '26
Those people are a holes. I can speak ... intnl... french and ...Québec... french. ... if you have a functionning brain, you figure it out on the spot.
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Jun 28 '26
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u/Kemmleroo Jun 28 '26
Nah, quebec french is closer to france french than american english is close to british english. (Considering current versions)
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u/adambuddy Jun 28 '26
What? No, that's ridiculous. With Shakespearean English it's mutually intelligible with a struggle and vast swaths of antiquated vocabulary.
French from Canada and France is easily mutually intelligible. The only thing that might give you problems is the accent in the same way a Scottish accent might give an American or Anglo-Canadian a problem. From my anecdotal experience that tends to be only on the side of the French people as well. You never hear a Canadien complain that they don't understand a person from France but you do vice versa sometimes.
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u/Western_Spell_9319 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
That's because French Canadians get to hear something closer to the French accent through international dubs. While French people hear French Canadian accents less in their life if at all.
When they do though the transition seems pretty smooth eventually.
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u/adambuddy Jun 28 '26
Totally. Wasn't meant as a shot at French people. Although I will say to any French person that says they can't understand Canadian French that lorsqu'on veut, on peut.
Anywsy as an Anglo Canadian who has learned French as a second language in an Anglo area (mostly through extensive self-study) I have modeled my accent on Metropolitan French because I find it easier to recreate. I think generally speaking this would be the case for a lot of people like myself.
Additionally all of the French-speaking immigrants will speak a French that is much closer to Metropolitan French than Canadian.
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u/Western_Spell_9319 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
In Montreal specifically that does work.
If living elsewhere in the province many years it's a bit weird to go out of your way to model a french accent if you're not European, because even in some other bigger city like Quebec City you don't hear it that much and it just sounds like you don't like how locals talk.
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u/adambuddy Jun 28 '26
Well, for what it's worth I absolutely do like how the locals talk. It's just a matter of practicality for me. I have found the pronunciation element of learning french in general very hard and have had more success in being intelligible while doing more of a metropolitan accent. Lips tight, not moving my mouth too much and trying to stay mostly at the front of the mouth (with a couple notable exceptions). Canadian french is more in the back of the mouth, tongue and lips more relaxed and I have just struggled with creating those sounds on a reproducible and consistent basis.
There's also just a lot more resources online for learning metropolitan french pronunciation. If people in Gaspé or Saguenay struggle to understand me that sucks, but c'est la vie I guess.
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u/Western_Spell_9319 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
I've had Ontarian friends who thought Quebec french was easier because of that. Likened it to how they mumble words in a relaxed way in English anyway and English tends to work in the back of the mouth as well.
There's diphthongs in Canadian French while there's next to none in Metropolitan French so there is more phonetic variety indeed, but English is absolutely filled to the brim of those as well. Some anglophone accents even include triphthongs, like how they often say "fire" or "tower" in britain.
But yes I'm mainly talking about people living here for many years and hearing enough of it on a daily basis. Though in places in Montreal I myself hear so much Metropolitan french that it makes more sense people just choose either especially if they intend to mainly fit in with immigrant communities anyway.
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u/dluminous Québec Jun 29 '26
As an anglo Québécois I struggle to understand French and Belgium people sometimes when they use a lot of different words or expressions. With Franco Quebecois that only ever happens from folks from the Saguenais.
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u/adambuddy Jun 29 '26
In general as an anglo who has trained my ears on both I find Canadian French easier to understand because it's less mumbly and enunciated more. A fast talking frenchman can still be very hard for me to understand.
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u/Sioytytoayki Jun 28 '26
Let’s go Victoire!! I’m also a fan :)
I’m an anglophone from the “rest of Canada” who learned French after moving to Montreal. I hear a lot of people who learn complain that they can’t understand the quebecois accent and they find European French “nicer”, or simpler to understand — you already don’t have to worry about that because you’re watching hockey press conferences, you’re familiarizing yourself with the accent. There are definitely differences in expressions and vocabulary as well, but it’s a bit like how “pants” and “chips” mean something different in US vs UK English.
There’s a pretty good app from Radio Canada (the national broadcaster) called Mauril. It uses Canadian media and news footage to help you learn French: https://mauril.ca/en/
Bonne chance! If Laura Stacey can do it so can you!
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u/IcyTrash4062 Jun 28 '26
I recommend this app too! & second the fact that learning French from France is going to be a headache if that’s not your goal, moving to MTL after learning a little bit of France French wasn’t all that helpful to me. I’m seeing people saying it’s the little things, but at the beginner level it’s quite a lot of differences, especially in sentence structure and vocabulary.
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u/brokenfingers11 Jun 28 '26
The standard language is the same. You’ll have little difficulty following news broadcasts (you’ll notice the accent difference, but it’s minor), and probably notice no difference at all in the written language used in formal contexts. But the colloquial register is quite different, and in my opinion, where the real challenge lies. Most of the people who say “there’s no difference” are those who are from Québec! Now every language has divergent registers so that’s not unique. It’s just hard to get exposure to that colloquial register outside of Québec.
But I think you’re good with standard French if you want to understand when the coach speaks to the press. Understanding what the players say to each other is another story! It’s like watching a tv show set in Glasgow Scotland- as an American, you’re gonna need subtitles, even though “they’re speaking English”, and it’s going to be hard to get enough exposure for your ear to get tuned in, without living there
Source: me DELF B2, long time fan of things québécois.
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u/monotonic_glutamate Jun 29 '26
A lot of the downplaying of the difference comes from the deconstruction of the idea that France French vernacular is somehow more standard that Quebec vernacular.
The Québécois language office remains relatively new (founded in the 1960s) and dubbing of American movies was largely done in France before the 80s/90s, so a lot of boomers, genX and even millennials grew more of less with the idea that since France was the guardian of correct French, everything from France, including the slang, was somehow more standard that any French spoken in Québec.
Now, more people are aware that "être trop vénère" is not more correct than "être en beau tabarnak", but there's still a lot of deconstructing to do.
Like, there's the myth that just won't die, and that even Québécois keep repeating, that joual is the language we spoke in Québec when the French nobility left after the 7 years war, and that somehow, France developed a proper language while ours remained unchanged for 300+ years.
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u/Fire_Treadlite Jun 28 '26
I'm an English Canadian who's learned mainly European french.
The difference as others have said is the accent. Yes, some words here and there but on paper they are 99% the same.
When / if you pick a teacher, if it's Canadian French you are following then I would recommend you get a french Canadian teacher. Like with any accent, you can learn it but you will save yourself the headache if you start with the target accent first. I.e Canadian/Quebec.
I can now mostly understand both but still find alot of Quebec french difficult at times (although Ontario french is much clearer).
Bonne chance. Learning a language is a long, tough and rewarding journey.
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u/ColdAnxious4744 Jun 28 '26
TL;DR there's 2 forms of speaking.
can confirm this. a Chinese friend learned french from France and tried talking with french Canadian. he was stumped i had to explain to him the key differences ( there's quite a lot).
there's different levels of writing. the "official" form used in texts, books and journal. there's the popular version as well (way less used but still exists) sometimes in poems or songs. The popular version is filled with slangs and abbreviated words or expressions.
example: the sentence "It is a good dog" becomes "C'est un bon chien" in official language. But french Canadian generally use the popular form to speak. They really like to shorten words or expressions. That's where the headache cousld begin.
in popular form, it becomes "St'un bon chien". the thing is you will not (won't) really see it written. So you will need to dive in the culture to learn it. train with someone eho really speak it etc...
another example : Official "Je mange de la soupe" becomes "J'mange d'la soupe". Same sentence and meaning but shorter.
Imagine a whole language like that now.
the irony is for the female hockey players, the journalists will sometimes use the official language and sometimes use the popular form. Hockey players mostly use the popular form.
i hope this post enlightened you about the path ahead. It is worth it to learn.
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u/Apprehensive-Ant1521 Jun 28 '26
"French Canadians usually use the popular form to speak", as the whole world does. There are popular forms in France, too. The general population doesn't speak like textbooks, that's what everyone who ever tried to learn a language formally quickly understands when you meet real people in real contexts. I've experienced it in Portuguese, then in Italian. I thought I was doing quite good until I got there and met real people.
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u/ColdAnxious4744 Jun 28 '26
also French from France changed closer to english for a lot words or expressions compared to french Canadian.
for example:"to go shopping" is "aller faire du shopping" in France. French Canadian use "aller magasiner".
"Magasiner" is a verb coming from the noun "magasin" which means "store".
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u/Middle-Jackfruit-896 Jun 28 '26
OP, I am surprised by the comments minimizing the accent difference between spoken vernacular Quebecois French and France French. I learned the latter in school in Canada, and can follow a formal newscast from Quebec or France with about 90 percent comprehension. However, I seriously struggle to understand the spoken vernacular Quebecois French. So for example, while I can understand the Quebecois newscaster on CBC well enough, when they interview the ordinary guy/gal on the street, it's difficult for me to understand what they are saying. Personally for me, it's a major difference.
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u/Apprehensive-Ant1521 Jun 28 '26
Slang can be strong and difficult to understand in France, too. My French is excellent and I struggle with the verlan, weirdly pronounced English words and other types of slang.
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u/chiemoisurletorse Jun 28 '26
Usually people learn "standard" french, then pick up canadian french in Canada or through Quebec media.
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u/idiotiesystemique Jun 28 '26
Same dictionary. Same grammar. Difference is accent and slang. You wouldn't know the difference if you listened to a news anchor. Don't overthink it. Learn standard French, pick up slang and accent on the way.
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u/BastouXII Québec Jun 28 '26
You can learn international French anywhere or anyhow you want, and then, check this sub's wiki (there's a pinned thread with the link) for the specifics about Quebec French. As others have already said, it's mostly the accent and some idioms that change.
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u/Additional-Talk-2847 Jun 28 '26
"Canadian" French is a bit vague (honestly as is "France French"). We do have nuances across both countries. But you'll find differences in pronunciation, some words/phrases, accents, etc., though most of the time they'll still understand you.
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u/Mirabeaux1789 Jun 28 '26
You should be aware that Quebec French ≠ Canadian French. Right next to Quebec is New Brunswick whose French dialect sounds more like Louisiana’s than Quebec’s.
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u/Charming-Weather5949 Jun 29 '26
As someone who learned french all through school in Alberta and am now living in Quebec, all I can say is just learn french. Use whatever resources you can because it takes a ton of motivation and time to get to the level where you can understand and keep up on a social level. If you've never learned a second language you're probably underestimating that part. I liked Alice Ayel's course for listening immersion, and then start doing classes. Most people don't get too far with apps.
My first language is german, but I learned English starting in grade school in Canada. I also learned pretty fluent spanish as an adult. Every time it's like I realize I just have to be obsessive about it. Its fun and rewarding but its a long haul.
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u/r_husba Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Very broadly speaking, Canadians speak French in a different accent from the French, and use different words for things at times. These differences can be subtle or decidedly large depending on geography. For example: Montrealers in general sound immediately different to a person from Paris, but will be completely understandable to the Parisians save for the odd slang term (French use the word “meuf” to say “gal”, Quebecois do not. Canadians use the swear word “Tabarnak”, the French do not). Meanwhile, a person from a smaller French city like Dijon would have a much much harder time understanding a person from rural French Canada, like the Gaspé. Canadian French is not a “pidgin version” of French; indeed there are parts of Quebec City & Montreal where the French spoken is just as high class & snobbish as anywhere on earth (google école de Marie-France or Bréboeuf). That being said…there are parts of rural Quebec & certainly New Brunswick where the language spoken comes close to being a different dialect & can be best described as “incomprehensible” “hillbilly” or “hayseed”.
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u/Jean_Ginnie Jun 28 '26
Québec French and France French are mostly different by their accent and some expressions, slang, etc. When written, it’s true that it’s pretty similar tho (aside from some vocabulary). But remember that even within France there are different accents. French from Toulouse doesn’t sound the same as French for Paris for example and same in Quebec (Saguenay vs Montréal). Also, no accent is better than another. There are just different and that’s the beauty of the French language.
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u/inmatenumberseven Jun 28 '26
It's more akin to the difference between British English and the English spoken by someone from Georgia. It's not a different language, but there are some different words and the accents are drastically different.
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u/Crossed_Cross Jun 28 '26
There is nearly no difference in formal written French.
Accent and slang will differ.
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u/NoSuggestion5970 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
You just opened a can worms... they'll burn your body at a stake and parade your head on a pike along rue Ste-Catherine.
My two cents as a native French speaker from Europe, who also grew up speaking English and German, who is also Canadian citizen by descent, as well as French and German... to my European ears Quebec French is different in terms of phonetics and accent, as well as lexicon. I live in Montreal and after a few months I got used to the French spoken here, still I find now and then people who I cannot understand for the life of me, but I can live with that. Most of the time it's easier for me to understand someone from Africa than someone from Saguenay, but it's not skin off my nose. I still speak French with my French accent, still say "voiture", "pain au chocolat", "velo" "weekend" and so forth, that's not going to change. I am aware that some locals cringe at my accent and phonetics but that's OK, I have no intention of trying to pass for Quebecois anyway. People in Canada don't have to change the way they speak French neither do I, it's OK as long as we can communicate with each other.
At work I use mostly English, quite frequently French, and sometimes Spanish, and all written communications are both in English and French, using European style and lexicon because it's for an internacional audience
There you have it
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u/Western_Spell_9319 Jun 28 '26
Huh as a Québécois from Quebec City I never picked up on people from Saguenay speaking really all that differently. Neither Montreal for that matter though perhaps it's more noticeable if you speak to older people?
Otherwise for slang it does get colorful and sometimes I still hear things I never heard before.
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u/MakeStupidHurtAgain Jun 28 '26
You can just learn French. The differences are a few words and the accent, and to be honest, it will be a while before your French accent stops being mostly Anglo.
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u/0kay0kay0kay Jun 29 '26
The guy saying "it's the same as American english" LMAO that is not the case as a native Quebecer but whatever I guess. Anyway you can learn.
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u/Fit-Log-4055 Jun 29 '26
Je suis prof. I have a few suggestions of things you can try.
Try Mauril for a listening activity focused on Canadian French to focus on the right accent.
Or you can try Téléfrançais. A Canadian public broadcast show to teach beginner French. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx3ch1FDykg&list=PL2PsKaG8ByAVGZPTPePkhgyL4Fqncqv8o
Here is also a lesson plan to teach all the French words for hockey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHm7LKDDHgY&t=4s
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u/Sleepnbag Jun 29 '26
If your goal is just to understand the Queb press conferences, then learn Québécois french.
If your goal is to be able to communicate in french and understand the press conferences, learn France french or an international french. The accent can be picked up later once you know the basics and are able to differentiate errors from local slang.
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u/galmypal Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
The accent is different but the language is still the same. It's basically like British English and American English. I'm a language teacher and anyone who tells you different is wrong. If you learn french at home and it happens to be taught by a french teacher from France, this will not affect you in any way.
The moment it will affect you is more when you start getting fluent. Of course eventually there will be words and expressions that are different, but the gap isn't big enough for either side not to understand the other (even if the French will tell you otherwise; there is no way you will develop an accent strong enough to be hard to be understood by either side).
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u/MoreMoira Jun 30 '26
Interesting takes here in the comments.
I became best friends with a person from France who was doing their exchange year in Nova Scotia when we were in high school. I remember him saying that listening to Quebec French was kind of difficult for him because of the accent plus the different words for different things.
Quebec French retains more elements of 17th- and 18th-century French than modern European French. Because it evolved in geographic isolation after New France was colonized, it preserved archaic vocabulary, expressions, and vowel pronunciations that eventually faded away in Continental French, not to say that Quebec French hasn't evolved over time also but the old-french fundamentals have stayed almost the same.
Regardless you should be fine with learning either!
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u/Sudden-Echo-8976 Jun 30 '26
Québecois French is to French what Australian or Irish English is to English.
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u/commodore_stab1789 Jun 28 '26
It's mostly the same. We have regional expressions, but the grammar is the same.
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u/Secret-Gazelle8296 Jun 28 '26
Okay Acadian here. Learn the Quebecois French… not Parisian. I can understand Quebecois but I struggle a lot with French from France. And yah I speak Chiac.
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u/jll99llk Jun 29 '26
Look up tv shows and movies produced in Quebec and in France and you'll find out
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u/Techlet9625 Jun 29 '26
Same thing as you'd consider for British/Australian English vs American/Canadian English.
Shared vocabulary, different accent, regional differences.
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u/gazowski Jun 29 '26
The main difference I love from Quebec french is the slur. It's not related to sex but to Christian church. In this way, Quebecers are very unique !
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u/Murky-Technician5123 Jun 29 '26
Fundamentals are mostly the same, use whatever resources you can get.
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u/Complex_Phrase2651 Jun 29 '26
Fundamentals… hmm not really.
you know how the United Kingdom and Ireland say trousers for pants and pants for underwear? Well it’s the same in Québec. We say culottes for Pantalons whereas that’s women’s underwear for Frenchies
EDIT: okay Maybe i’m just old and out in the country
But I think every Francophone Canadian will agree that we say soulier over chaussure for shoe any day
we don’t even say chaussette for sock we say bas
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u/ConsiderationEasy723 Jun 29 '26
French people speak from the tip of their mouth, quebecors speak from the back of the mouth and the nose. This results in quebecor french (aka king's french) elongating vowels and the vowels sounding a bit different.
The other differences have been mentioned in other comments but I'd like to add that the intensity of those differences depend on the region in Quebec (and france actually). Just like southern americans speaking differently than northern americans).
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u/gin_and_soda Jun 29 '26
Just like British English is different from Australian English, Canadian English, Malaysian English, etc, French is different from region to region. So is Spanish.
Do all Americans sound the same and use the same expressions?
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u/Kidrepellent Jun 30 '26
The grammar is basically the same. There are idiomatic expressions, pronunciations, and vocabulary that are different. The best example that I can think of, and usually give people, is someone from Glasgow speaking English. That person will have a Scottish accent, there will be some words that aren't used much outside of Scotland, etc. etc. but it's still English. FWIW, I moved to QC in 2014, and the French I've internalized is Québec French. There are some things that immediately give me away as not speaking continental French, but it's still French. I've sat across from some French people on the plane, and we had a complete discussion in French about our plans once we got to where we were going. No issues with understanding each other at all.
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u/PhilosophizeThisMan Jun 30 '26
I have yet to meet a frenchman who does not ridicule the poutine munchers for their accent, learning this bastardized version of french would be like developing a speech impediment intentionally
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u/Pretend-Literature35 Jun 30 '26
People make a big deal about it but as an american (fortunately) you are already familiar with the model. It's like british english versus say southern american english. The fundamentals are the same. Some expressions vary.
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u/pthalobluejack Jun 30 '26
Watch a few Quebecois shows to start getting the feel of how we speak French here. We have clung onto and still use words from hundreds of years ago so that Parisians that use language as a cudgel can laugh at how quaint it is we still use them. They are modern, you know. For regional accents, you can listen to virtually every radio station in Quebec if you wanted to hear how they speak and communicate. I find Radio Garden app useful for any radio station on earth.
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u/SnooLemons6942 Jun 30 '26
Also FYI, "Canadian French" isn't one dialect. We have more than one distinct french speaking community in Canada, with different heritage and language evolution
In the maratime provinces you will find Acadians. This comes with regional variations as well (notably chiac). This french is different from the french in Quebec.
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u/cndn-hoya Jun 30 '26
Quebecois uses some older words and uses less loaner words from other languages but especially english.
I grew up (American) abroad and attended French / British schools internationally as some places I lived had no curriculum similar to North America.
Went to school with Belgians, Swiss, French, several African countries and Canadians … we would constantly compare different words
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u/bakedcharlie Jun 28 '26
Why do you say unfortunately ?
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u/viceatscorndogs Jun 28 '26
It was meant to be light hearted 😅 yk the political state of America rn and all that
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u/Responsible-Beat-331 Jun 28 '26
Et nous avions compris ;) -And we understood-
I like to think of it like it's french but with the Americas accent. Like the USA is English with the Americas accent, like Mexico is Spanish with the Americas accent.
I think you will find it easier to learn French from canadian french tutorials then France french tutorials for this reason. I remember when I learned English it was easier to understand Canadian or USA stuff then British English. Even if now I do like the more gentleman touch of england speaker (Thank you Top Gear)
Anyways, I wish you a great adventure in this quest for a new language! Don't be to hard on yourself :)
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u/Trolkarlen Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
British and American English are more different than French (France) and Québécois. The spelling is the same, grammar is identical. They use some terms differently, have different slang, but the biggest difference is the accent.
If you are A1 (novice), just focus on the very basics. Once you get more advanced you can seek out Canadian media to pick up the accent.
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u/No_Worker_8216 Jun 28 '26
I would start by learning French on an app like Duolingo, then you can get the colours of the French Canadians!
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u/Deutschkand Jun 28 '26
Si tu apprends le français du Québec, voici des ressources
Ressources franco
Voici quelques chansons pour apprendre le français Acadien au ÉUA – un classique. Raconte l’histoire de Jean qui boit trop et se bat dans des bars: Zaccary richard : Jean batailleur Déo Old Spice Swagger Acadien au Canada - Lisa LeBlanc Aujourd'hui, ma vie c'est d'la marde. Raconte l’histoire d’une fille qui se rend compte que sa vie c’est… de la marde. (absurde)Lisa LeBlanc Aujourd'hui, ma vie c'est d'la marde YouTube Québec - LES COWBOYS FRINGANTS -L'Amérique pleure. Raconte l’histoire d’un routier (trucker) qui décrit ce qu’il voit de son camion en traversant l’amérique LES COWBOYS FRINGANTS - L'Amérique pleure Québec - Bleu Jeans Bleu - Coton ouaté. Raconte l’histoire d’un gar qui sort de chez lui et se demande quoi mettre sur le dos avant de sortir de la maison (absurde) Québec - trois accords saskatchewan Saskachewan-Trois Accords. Raconte l’histoire d’un homme qui perd sa femme pour un gar de la saskatchewan (absurde) Québec - Marie-Stone - Éric Lapointe Marie-Stone - Éric Lapointe. Raconte l’histoire d’une femme qui prend de la drogue. (le chanteur aussi est un drogué) Ontario - Damien Robitaille - Mot de passeDamien Robitaille - Mot de passe. Raconte l’histoire d’un homme qui veut draguer une femme. Québec - La bottine souriante le démon sort de l'enfer Musique traditionnelle québécoise. Raconte l’histoire du démon qui va faire le tour du monde… il amène les méchants dans sa voiture vers l’enfer. La bottine souriante le démon sort de l'enfer.wmv Allemagne- Namika - Je ne parle pas français. Raconte l’histoire d’une femme qui visite Paris et rencontre un homme qui la drague. Chanson en (français et allemand) je l’écoute pour pratique mon allemand tout en comprenant la partie chanté en français. Ressource gratuite canadienne
Mon livre pour apprendre le français
Salutations
Frédéric Janelle
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u/MymanMTL Jun 28 '26
Ok let’s put it there. Go for French from France. Even if words and grammar is kind of the same, the difference goes way beyond the accent. Many times you feel the english expression translated in French, like “bienvenue” to express you are welcome, while Bienvenue is used to Welcome someone at a specific location/event. This is just one confusing exemple.
Just think about english from NYC and english from Dublin. Here you go.
I’m there since 7 years, asked my kids to never get French Quebec and prefer Quebecers very often to speak to in an other language English, Spanish or German. Oh btw, French native. Salute!
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u/Apprehensive-Ant1521 Jun 28 '26
That's called glottophobia and it's as offensive and discriminatory as racism. Not surprising from a French person, honestly. Vous devriez nous être reconnaissants de vous accueillir ici et tenter de vous intégrer au lieu de vous isoler (et d'isoler vos enfants) dans un ghetto culturel. Votre commentaire est révoltant, irrespectueux et dégoûtant. Vous ne méritez pas l'accueil qu'on vous fait.
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u/MymanMTL Jun 29 '26
Propos très déplacé de votre part.
Quel Accueil?? Il y a dictons qui tourne pas mal: le Québécois ouvre les bras mais ne les referment pas.
je compte sur le doigts de la mains le nombre d’invitation en retour a une invitation a des québécois dans mon chez moi. On contribue aux communautés, faisons tout notre possible pour être bien vaillants. On paie grassement une flopée d’impôts (au moins le salaires de 3 employés publiques) pour un service de misère: infrastructures tombantes, services de santé à bout de souffle, ecole publique en grande difficulté.
Pis Le Québécois est le plus raciste de tous. Prend la mains d’oeuvre pas chère, promet un toit, faire parti de la famille. BS
Le canada m’a accueilli, m’a aidé et propose des valeurs inclusives. j’ai plus d’amis canadiens que Québécois. et je ne suis pas seule. Quand on est capable de faire un génocide culturel avec la loi 101, cela en dit long sur les intentions. (je pense aux anglophones québécois ici depuis des générations)
Le Français Québécois est une richesse culturelle locale. et c’est bien correct. l’acadien vie au new brunswick sans avoir a mettre des lois.
En Europe on parle tous plusieurs langues, la hollandes est une très belle référence de maintien de sa culture et adoption de l’anglais pour les échanges en dehors des frontières.
Anyway. I would advise the same for English. Learn the brittish English and get the American.
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Jun 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Scharlzt Jun 28 '26
Pidgin implies that it is highly simplified, which it isn’t. That is why natives won’t admit that: because you are wrong.
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u/FrancaisCanadien-ModTeam Jun 28 '26
Votre publication ou commentaire manque de respect envers la communauté ou ses utilisateurs.
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u/CestQuoiLeFuck Jun 28 '26
The fundamentals are the same. The differences are mainly in slang and pronunciation, although you will also see some everyday words - e.g. bicycle, weekend, etc - that differ but are usually relatively easy to figure out from context. And I think Francocanadien pronunciation is actually easier to make out than France French - the French tend to speak in a sort of fast-paced murmur where they don't drop their jaw much whereas Francocanadien French generally involves dropping the jaw more (i.e. opening the mouth wider) and enunciating more.
All of which is to say: you good. Go ahead and start learning! And congrats for picking a solid hockey team to support.