Francanadien ?

Qui sommes-nous ? Et notre langue s'appelle… ?

Who are we? And our language is called…?

FRANCANADIEN

adjectif et nom

Se dit d’une forme dialectale du français parlé au Canada par les Canadiens de vieille souche française. Plusieurs mots francanadiens sont considérés comme des archaïsmes sur le plan du français international : itou, assire, fiable, etc.; d’autres sont assimilés de l’anglais : bâdrer, slaquer, draver, calvette, cobette, clotche; certains viennent de l’indien : pichou, tabagane, carcajou, pimbina, savoyane, etc.; d’autres enfin sont des néologismes qui ne manquent pas de saveur : placotter, jaspiner, enfirouaper, magasiner, démancher, maganer, suisse, poudrerie, saguenéen, robineux, etc.

du « Dictionnaire Nord-Américain de la Langue Française », Louis-Alexandre Bélisle de la Société royale du Canada

Librairie Beauchemin Limitée—1979

Francanadien is an old term used to describe the French spoken in Canada by folks of old French stock. Many words of this "dialect" are considered archaic today in international French; other words are taken from English; still others come from various Native-American languages; finally others are newly-coined words and terms. In other words, Francanadien is the most accurate term to use to refer to the modern-day French language spoken in North America to specifically and intentionally differentiate itself from the French spoken in France.

So now, when someone asks you: Parlez-vous français ?

Your response could and should be: Non, je parle francanadien.

Like me, you may not like the term "French" because of its nationalistic connotation. I'm NOT French and I don't necessarily want to be regarded as French just because I speak a similar language. (I don't want people mistaking me for a Brit either just because I speak English!) Francanadien is nice concise way of distinguishing yourself as a speaker of the original "Royal French" or "North-American French" from speakers of Parisian or International French without having to say four multi-syllable words like North-American Canadian French.

Vive la différence !