While my taste in all things French tends to run to the France French, if you’ve read me before you know that I have family in Québec and I go there from time to time. I also like to keep up when I can with how the culture is evolving up there. This week I happened to come across two tidbits I wanted to share with you.

Les nouveaux immigrés  / The new immigrants

 With high unemployment, European and domestic turmoil, and uncertain future, more French are leaving France today for Québec than just about anytime since the early days of Nouvelle France. There are no so many in and around Montreal, in fact, that the cultural differences of these long lost cousins (cousins) is (playfully) causing friction. From sports (soccer vs hockey) to beverages (wine vs beer) to even les rapports entre les sexes (the relations between the sexes), it seems the years and the miles that have separated these two groups have driven them apart. This great song from a few years back (written and performed ironically by an actual French person in Montréal) laments “[Il] y’a trop de Français à Montréal […] qui font monter les loyers et viennent niquer nos femmes.” (There are too many French in Montreal […] who drive up the rents and steal our women.)

 C’est l’accent / It’s the accent

I learned my French in France. Over the years though, I’ve learned to adapt to the Québecois accent and vocabulary (which in the end, isn’t all that different; I think if you know the difference between American English and British English, you’ll get the picture … though sometimes the Canadian accent does veer a bit towards Scottish and then I get lost!). The song below by the French Canadian group LGS (Le Groupe Swing) is not only fun, but is a great example of that accent and some unique vocabulary.

* Slang expression.
** laitte is also slang for ‘laid(e)’ (ugly)
*** ‘bien’

Photo by O-seop Sim from Pexels [CC0]