User:CJ Withers/Quebec English

Quebec English is the common term for the set of various linguistic and social phenomena affecting the use of English in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian Province of Quebec and more specifically in the Greater Montreal area.

True Couleurs
Contrary to popular belief, there is no linguistic evidence for the existence of a distinct regional dialect or variety of Quebec English, the more so in that there are very few restricted lexical features common among all first-language speakers of English from or raised in Quebec. Nonetheless, it has been clearly demonstrated that most second-language speakers of English, be they francophones or allophones, do use an interlanguage of French and English or simply have a distinct pronunciation of their own due to social isolation in ethnic enclaves. Therefore, "Quebec English" is often a misnomer for the practices by these second-language speakers of English, especially so since alone or together they outnumber first-language English-speakers.

Not including Montreal's fairly recently frenchified public face, there is virtually nothing that separates Quebec first-language speakers of English from the greater pan-Canadian and English North American sprachraum. With this in mind, note that first-language speakers of English are a minority only in Quebec (under 10%), though at the same time they form part of an overwhelming majority both in Canada (67%) and in North America (over 98%). In fact, there is actually more American television and music available in Quebec than UK or English-Canadian cultural products combined.

Moreover, the vast majority of Quebec born-and-raised first-language English-speakers (roughly 90%) live in the Greater Montreal area. In addition, there is a strong influx of outside-Quebec first-language speakers of English living or visiting Quebec, and more particularly Montreal. For example, there are tens of thousands of Americans and non-Quebec-resident Canadians who either attend Concordia University or McGill University, in English, for three or more years, or work for American or Canadian companies in the Greater Montreal area. In the summer months, roughly half of all tourists are anglophones from the U.S. or from Canadian provinces other than Quebec. These human geography realities are a significant force in keeping the anglophone enclaves connected to the rest of the English-language continent.

It is revealing, however, to take stock of the various language phenomena due to contact between English and French encountered in Quebec, and particularly in the Greater Montreal area, and practised either by first or second-language speakers.

In the next two sections, the symbol N@ denotes that a language practice is neither used nor deemed acceptable in English-language writing and broadcasting in Quebec. The same lack of acceptability holds true by any outside-Quebec anglophone's notion of English.

First-language English-speaker Phenomena
1. The use of French-language toponyms and official names of institutions/organizations for which there is no English-language translation. Though not normally italicised in English written documents, they are pronounced as in French, especially in broadcasting. Note that the reverse language status situation holds true when using French in the province of British Columbia, where many of that province's entities have a designation only in English.


 * the Régie du Logement, the Cégép du Vieux-Montréal
 * Québec Solidaire, the Parti Québécois
 * Hochelaga-DeMaisonneuve, Trois-Rivières

2. N@ (when written) - The practice of using English versions of place names that are officially in French. Not restricted to monolingual, older English speakers of British Isles ancestry, this practice is only considered non-standard/unacceptable in newsprint, broadcasting or signage. In casual conversation, it goes rather unnoticed and is perfectly acceptable.


 * Pine St., Park Ave., Mountain St., Dorchester Blvd. - often used without St., Blvd., Ave., etc. (Former names for the newer designations "avenue des Pins", "av. du Parc", "rue Montagne", and "boulevard René-Lévesque")
 * Saint-Denis and Sainte-Catherine Streets (have always been French; English pronunciation, though)
 * Town of Mount Royal (English name instead of official "Ville de Mont-Royal")
 * Pointe Claire (English pronunciation and typography, instead of official "Pointe-Claire")

3. The use of an extremely limited number of Quebec French terms for everyday places (and occasional items) that have English equivalents; all of these are said using English pronunciation or have undergone an English clipping or abbreviation. They tend to be preceded by the definite article in contexts where they could normally take "a(n)".


 * the autoroute - instead of highway, since all road signs and designations are in French
 * the dep - instead of corner store, deli or convenience store; from dépanneur
 * the guichet - instead of ATM or money machine, even when all ATMs are labelled "ATM"
 * the SAQ  - instead of liquour store (pronounced "sack"; from the provincial government monopoly Société des Alcools du Québec; pronounced in French as individual letters S-A-Q)
 * a vernissage - instead of preview or private viewing or opening at an art gallery
 * the metro - this is debatable since 1. "métro" is pronounced the English way by all first-language English speakers when referring to the Paris Métro and 2. Boston, San Diego, Washington D.C. etc. also have metros
 * (no article) poutine - gravy fries, fries with gravy/sauce, fries with gravy 'n' cheese; however, the quality and type of ingredients are actually quite different in Quebec and poutine is thus a different dish altogether

4. French-language first and last names using mostly French sounds (but often English stress on first syllable when used by monolingual Canadian/Quebec anglophones)


 * Mario Lemieux
 * Marie-Claire Blais
 * Jean Charest
 * Jean Chrétien
 * Robert Charlebois


 * exception - Céline Dion (pronounced entirely in English)

It is important to note here that many second-language English speakers in Quebec also apply the above practices but do so as interlanguage or translation, not as a part of correct, local English or near-native proficieny.

French-language Phenomena in English (not limited to Quebec only)
High-frequency, second-language phenomena by either allophones or francophones occur, predictably, in the most basic structures of English. Commonly called "Frenglish"/"franglais", these phenomena are a product of interlanguage, calques or mistranslation and thus do not constitute so-called "Quebec English". This is even truer because such phenomena are identical among most French speakers throughout the world who speak English as a foreign language.

A. N@ - The use of French collocations.


 * Close the T.V. - Turn/shut off the TV.
 * Close the door. - Lock the door.
 * Open the light. - Turn on the lights.
 * Take a decision. - Make a decision.
 * Put your coat. - Put your coat on.

B. N@ - The use of French grammar or no grammatical change. Many of these constructions are grammatically correct but only out of context. It's both the calquing from French and the betrayed meanings that make these sentences very incorrect in English.


 * He speak/talk to me yesterday. - He spoke/talked to me yesterday. (verb tense)
 * Me, I work in Laval. - I work in Laval. (vocal stress on "I")
 * It/He have many books. - There are many books. (from French il y a meaning "there is/are")
 * I like the beef and the red wine. - I like beef and red wine. (overuse of definite article to mean "in general")
 * You speak French? - Do you speak French? (absence of auxiliary verb; otherwise it means surprise, disbelief or disappointment when out of context)
 * I don't find my keys. - I can't find my keys. (wrong auxiliary verb)
 * At this moment I wash the dishes. - I'm washing the dishes right now. (verbal aspect)
 * My computer, he don't work. - My computer won't work. (human pronoun, subject repetition, wrong auxiliary verb)
 * I would like a brownies. - Could I have a brownie? (plural –s thought to be part of the singular word; also in "a Q-tips", "a pins", "a buns", "a Smarties", "a Doritos", etc.)
 * I would like shrimps with broccolis. –> Could I have some shrimp and brocoli? (use of French plural when only used in singular in English; this is not a case of hypercorrection but of relexification).

C. N@ - Pronunciation of phoneme /ng/ as /n/ + /g/ (among some Italian Montrealers) or /n/ + /k/ (among some Jewish Montrealers, especially those who speak Yiddish) due to ethnic enclave isolation such as within the Montreal boroughs or neighbourhoods of St-Léonard and Outremont/Côte-des-Neiges/Côte-St-Luc. These phenomena occur as well among some Yiddish speakers and some Italian speakers in New York City and in other diaspora areas.

D. N@ - The use of false cognates (faux-amis); this practice is quite common, so much so that those who use them abundantly insist that the false cognate is the English term even outside of Quebec. Note that these French words are all pronounced using English sounds and harbour French meanings. While the possibilities are truly endless, this list provides only the most insidious false cognates found in Quebec.


 * a stage – an internship
 * college – cégep (collège, cégep; collégial, cégepien)
 * Chinese pâté – shepherd's pie (pâté chinois; most francophones do not know that shepherd's pie is not a Quebec-only dish)
 * a cold plate – some cold-cuts (reversed gallicism - assiette de viandes froides)
 * (a) salad – (a head of) lettuce
 * a subvention – a government grant
 * an acetate – a transparency
 * a parking – a parking lot/space
 * a location – a rental
 * a good placement – a good location
 * So-so. – Fine. or Just fine. (from Ça va.)
 * It's ok. – It's fine. (also from Ça va.)

It is also important to note here that no Quebec first-language English-speaker of British Isles decent uses such false cognates yet understands them because they are so common. Moreover, these cognates are used by many francophones and allophones of all varying English proficiencies, from the bare-minimum level to near native-speaker level.