WORD OF THE WEEK
WORD OF THE WEEK2012 - le coin à Jacques et Paul
Every week this page will spotlight at least one word, term, expression, or feature of the Canadian French language to explain: usage, pronunciation, frequency of use, etymology or the reason for its very existence.
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Far too often, such sites are nothing more than hangouts for the "Ti-Jos-Connaissants" (know-it-alls) of the world to hold court. I've read some pretty outrageous comments and advice posted by these "Experts" regarding Canadian French. Some postings are so outrageous they're comical. The depths of stupidity, arrogance, and toxicity that some people will stoop to in order to maintain a sense of linguistic superiority still amaze me.
If you have a question that hasn't been covered yet in any of the material on ToutCanadien, feel free to post your question on 
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If you have a question about Canadian French, get your answer from a French Canadian… not the veterinarian… nor the auto mechanic… nor some yahoo on Yahoo! Answers.
Lundi le 20, février, 2012
La Fête des Présidents = Presidents Day
noun: feminine, singular
This is obviously a U.S. Holiday only. As you know, Canada does not have a president, it has a primer minister. Regardless, a lot of people across North America have Monday off for Presidents Day in the U.S. and Family Day in several provinces of Canada.
Little Sally, below, is honoring our first president, George, by writing a paper about him. I think back to my days in grade school and I have to admit that I often shared Sally’s “strategic plan” to get her assignment done. Let’s examine the text in detail. This particular comic strip (bande dessinée) gives us a great look at a few Quebec-France differences where vocabulary and pronunciation are concerned.
Left to right then down…
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Charlie Brown |
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| You're Out of Sight, Charlie Brown Tu es le plus beau, Charlie Brown Charles M. Schulz 1974 |
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No one of French-Canadian stock in Canada says “je hais”; it sounds affected; it sounds French. You say AND you can write “j’haïs” regardless of what the Parisian-trained grammar Gestapo may shame you into believing. (You could tell them: “J’haïs votre attitude toxique envers la langue francanadienne !” If you do so, make sure you really emphasize the second syllable of “j’haïs” for full impact upon delivery!)
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Charlie Brown’s quick suggestion of an encyclopedia as a solution to Sally’s dilemma is definitely an indication of a past era.
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“Veine” is not used in Canada to mean anything other than the type of “veines” that circulate blood throughout your body. The word used in Canada to mean luck is “chance.” Sally states (literally) “If I HAVE any luck…” The French favor a statement indicating they HAVE luck as opposed to a North-American statement of BEING lucky. A more North-American/Canadian way of expressing the last frame would be:
Sally: Si je suis chanceuse, il y aura quelque chose sur lui à soir à la TV [tévé].
Lundi le 13, février, 2012
Bonne St-Valentin ! |
Minou = Honey / Darling noun: masculine, singular Minoune = Honey / Darling noun: feminine, singular Galanter = to Sweet-talk / to Flatter verb Un petit effort de galanter ta minoune le jour de Saint-Valentin n'est jamais une mauvaise idée. A little effort to flatter your honey on Valentine's Day is never a bad idea. Note that "galanter" is something a guy does.
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Lundi le 6, février, 2012
Gratte = Snowplow
noun: feminine, singular
Sans les grattes au Canada, il faudrait que tout le monde utilise des motoneiges pour se déplacer. Without snowplows in Canada, it would require that everyone use snowmobiles to get around. Another word for "snowplow" is "chasse-neige." (The word is masculine.) It seems the French use the word "chasse-neige" to mean "snowblower," which is a "souffleuse à neige" in North America. Can you tell the gender of the word "souffleuse" by the word's ending (euse)? If not, download a copy of the "noun endings cheat sheet" from the Document Library. Blue is for masculine endings and pink is for feminine (not that you wouldn't have figured that out, but just in case…). The smaller print on the sheet with the percentage are less known noun endings. The percentage gives you an idea of the number of nouns in the French language with that particular ending that are of that gender. Gotta love computer analysis! |  |
Lundi le 30, janvier, 2012
Pelote de neige = Snowball
noun: feminine, singular
Il n'y a aucune différence entre une « pelote de neige » et une « boule de neige », mais le terme « pelote de neige » est nettement québécois/canadien et le terme qui prédomine au Canada.
There's no difference between a "pelote de neige" (snowball) and a "boule de neige", but the term "pelote de neige" is clearly Quebecois/Canadian and the term that prevails in Canada.
A few weeks ago, we caught Linus in the act of winding up to fling a "pelote de neige" at Lucy. What ever happened to Linus?
You've Had it, Charlie Brown | What do you notice about the text in the cartoon? Exactly! Although the books were printed in Canada, they were printed in "International French." Not the worst crime ever recorded, but very telling nonetheless. And the one term that gives it away in this case... "boule de neige." I have to wonder, "Was this a gamble for the publishing house?" Canadians are much more likely to embrace this piece of Americana, but France has many many more French speakers. Where will more copies be sold? Although you can kind of tell what's going on here, I'll give you a few hints. "flocon par flocon" = "flake by flake" "démonter" = "dismantle" (take apart) Now look at the last frame. A more Canadian way of stating the same would be: As-tu déjà essayé de démancher une pelote de neige ? (Canadian French favors inversion when asking a question or—more informally—uses the particle -tu to create the question. Read about this in the Grammar Guide.) |
Lundi le 23, janvier, 2012
Answering a question - There ARE more than just TWO options!
ToutCanadien gives you all three… with variations!
Recently I spend some time looking over several high-school French textbooks and noticed something they all had in common.
In the beginning of all these books, students were taught greetings and how to respond to them. Soon thereafter students learned how to respond to simple questions with a simple "yes" or "no." It was always "yes" or "no"… as if "maybe" never existed as a valid option. In fact, most of these books never even introduced the word "maybe." What a tiny little black and white world they must live in! There are always three possible responses to a yes-no question; "maybe" is always an option. And the harm in teaching the word "maybe" to a first-year student would be… ?!?! This all just struck me as very strange, not to mention shortsighted on the authors' part.
So whether you know some French already or are completely new to the scene, here are a few things you need to know about the basics.
Yes = Oui | No = Non
Maybe/Perhaps = Peut-être | Possibly = Possiblement
"Oui" is the response you use whether you are responding to a positive question or a negative question. (The French also use the word "Si" in response to a negative question. That usage is extremely rare in Canada.) What does that mean? I'll give you an example in English:
Positive | Are you coming? | If answered "Yes," you know I'm coming. (Oui !) (If answered "No," you know I'm NOT coming.) |
Negative | Are you not coming? | If answered "Yes," do I mean? |
I have to admit that this is an instance where the French have one over the Canadians where brevity is concerned. The use of "oui" and "si" leave little room for misunderstanding. In the above example, in place of using the word "si," a Canadian is likely to say, "Mais oui !" or "Oui effectivement" or "Oui, j'en viens." In English, we would have to do something similar as we also only have one word for "yes."
Just as in English, other forms of "oui" that exist are: "Ouais = Yeah/Yah" and "Ouin/Ouain = Yup"
"Non" means "No," just like most of us remember hearing from our parents on numerous occasions. A common emphatic extension of "no" would be "Not at all!" and less emphatic "Hardly!". Canadians, like the French, say "Pas du tout !" meaning "Not at all!" in addition to also using a much older version of the same, which—like the English word "Nope" (no hope)—has morphed into its own word "Pantoute !". ("Pantoute !" equates nicely to the American English "Hardly!".)
Jacques: | Hey Bob, you going to watch the Republican convention tonight on TV? I know you're not exactly a fan of the Republicans, but… |
Bob: | Hardly! (Pantoute !) (meaning "No, not at all!") |
"Peut-être" - The "leave-em hanging" response. This word means "maybe" or "perhaps." In American English it seems we tend to use the word "maybe" more often. (Perhaps I'm wrong! ;-)
What you need to remember about the word "Peut-être" is that as a freestanding, one-word response, it's just fine the way it is; however if it's part of a larger response, there's one little detail you need to remember. Observe:
Jacques: | Coudons Bob ! Les gars s'en viennent et on va prendre de la pizza. C'est juste une heure. Peut-être que Pierre et Martin apporteront une bouteille de ton whisky préféré. Ils m'ont dit qu'ils allaient essayer de le trouver à la nouvelle SAQ dans leur voisinage. |
Bob: | Bon ben ! Peut-être ! On verra. |
The detail? Always use the word "que" after the word "peut-être" if "peut-être"is not standing alone. In other words, if it's part of a sentence, use the "que" after it.
"Possiblement" - I don't know if I've ever heard a French person or a "Parisian-trained Anglophone" use this word. It's VERY common in Canada; it needs no translation. Use it with confidence and if some hoity-toity French-speaking wannabe tells you "It's not real French," tell them that they should "possibly" do a little research of their own instead of just repeating garbage they heard from some other know-it-all. (It's just another "old" word that fell out of use in Europe a long time ago and now some people want to say that it only exists because of English's influence. Pantoute !)
Lundi le 16, janvier, 2012
Vacances Hivernales !
À la prochaine !
Lundi le 9, janvier, 2012
| Because it's been so incredibly “warm” and spring-like here in the Midwest this winter (knock on wood!), I feel like taking a short break from winter-related vocabulary and floating something else past you this week. |
La langue des marins influence beaucoup le français québécois et acadien, et certains mots considérés exclusivement "nautiques" en Europe s'utilisent dans d'autres contextes au Québec et en Acadie. Cet usage fait bizarre en France, mais chez nous, c'est tout à fait normal. On embarque dans un autobus; on débarque d'un char (voiture); on vire à droite ou à gauche; et on amarre des souliers (chaussures). On parle aussi de "se gréer," (pron: "se gréyer") et de "se dégréer" (pron: "se dégréyer") en Acadie et dans la langue populaire québécoise. Ces derniers mots veulent dire "s'habiller" et "se déshabiller." |
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| Embarque, et allons magasiner ! |
