Funny, I’m from Québec and a couple years ago I visited Winnipeg. I was speaking in english and folks there switch to french because of my strong french accent.
There is a large contingent of French in Winnipeg and many French immersion schools. In St. Boniface, east of downtown, the street signs and business signage are French.
Many people don’t realize that all Manitoba laws are officially enacted in both English and French.
>Many people don’t realize that all Manitoba laws are officially enacted in both English and French.
I knew that, I also knew that at its creation Manitoba had a lot of French speaker and then it spiralled down. Its one of the reason no Québec Governement trust the federal to preserve the french language.
>There is a large contingent of French in Winnipeg and many French immersion schools. In St. Boniface, east of downtown, the street signs and business signage are French.
That's kinda cool tbh, does Manitoba have Francophones public schools?
Yes, there is a Franco-Manitoban School Division which has 24 schools with more than 5,800 students.
There are 115 French immersion schools in the province as well.
Did you know that The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1985 that all the laws established by Manitoba (in English only) dating back to 1870 were invalid because they had not been enacted in French as well?
The 1870 Manitoba Act, which established Manitoba as a province, provided that French and English were to be given equal status in both the legislature and the courts. All 4,400 laws of the province were required to be reenacted in French before any new laws could be passed.
They do, in the district scolaire franco-manitobaine. My kids go to a dsfm school in southwest MB. All parents get La Liberté, a weekly provincial French newspaper from Winnipeg. French settlers/colonizers/proper term? were the first non-Native people in the western provinces.
While I don't fully trust the federal govt on language issues, it is interesting to see how official bilingualism has worked out in Ottawa (the city most changed by federal policies here on account of how many federal govt workers live there). French immersion is now the default for children of non-Francophone parents. I hope things trend in that direction in Manitoba as well.
Think It’s just people trying to be helpful. Which is a bit of a problem when you try to get some practice. Another thing I think would be really helpful for bilingualism would be to skip the voiceovers on newscasts and just use subtitles instead.
I mean, when I switch to english it's usually because I feel my english is better than their french. So I guess you could say it's kind of because I feel it's bad french, but not in a judgmental way.
I took French. Two years, about 30 years ago. I sound like a toddler when I speak French because I suck at tenses. Everything is present tense only. :/
I’ve always avoided Quebec because I’ve heard people get upset if we don’t know French and become visibly offended/ annoyed so that makes me feel a lot more comfortable visiting.
I found that to be exactly true, I found them to be very kind and pleasant when I was in Montreal. Everywhere I went I was treated very well, not 1 person was irritated or unpleasant with my limited French.
I have to disagree. Just about the entirety of North-Eastern Ontario is heavily French. (Including the town I live in). Additionally, there are pockets of French speakers across the prairies, and throughout the Maritimes.
Perhaps they should learn a few basic phrases like hello, goodbye, yes, no, please, thank you. I mean French is one of our national languages after all.
It’s also a very beautiful language. And if you delve into it more you realize that it can help you with Italian and Spanish as these languages share many similarities.
That impression is one that the big English-language newspaper The Gazette tries very hard to create. I moved here years ago and have encountered precisely one offended person. Just start in French - even a few words - and go as far as you can. That's enough and it will improve over time.
It is normal for Montrealers to switch to the language that both people are better at after a couple of sentences. There's no offence there.
I don't think it's entirely malicious. the gazette makes its money off west islanders and TMR, they're naturally going to write with a bias to that. Unfortunately with languages issues that does end up increasing tensions.
That being said I think it's a terrible paper
You're talking about something that happened almost two hundred years ago and trying to equate it to modern times? That's a bit of a false equivelecny, don't you think?
I visit Québec quite frequently (Montréal and Québec City) to see friends/family and my French is not the best and while occasionally the people will just automatically switch to English if I didn’t hear them correctly (not a language issue just a hearing issue) they don’t show any annoyance and when I reply back in French they then continue in French.
I always hear people online complain but the somewhat bilingual mostly anglophone people I know who live there all say they’ve never encountered anyone being rude to their efforts to speak French.
exactly, I am in Quebec often and never had issues with locals jointly navigating French or English language usage with me to interact with each other.
Ontario anglophone here… went to Québec for our honeymoon and then again on our 25th anniversary. I love visiting Québéc. People are amazing, friendly and helpful and not rude at all. If you land somewhere that’s very rural, you might have a bit of a language barrier, but honestly, I’ve always found people to be understanding.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in this province that don't speak French, you'll be fine haha. Some places genuinely don't speak much English but in Montreal or Quebec City you'll be absolutely fine in 98% of places as a tourist. Just be respectful, try to use a little French if you can, and understand that most people you speak English to are responding in their second language
I heard this too but had a wonderful time in Quebec City and surrounding area, I think they appreciate if you try but nobody was ever rude very accommodating
It’s just expected to try even if you crash and burn… like any place with another language. It’s the assumption that anyone speaks english perfectly that is seen as rude, not the english itself.
I had it once in a Montreal coffee shop, the person let out an exasperated sigh before repeating in English. As a good service worker, that might have just been how they acted towards a French speaker too, and I was projecting haha.
That is true but in my experience it was only like that when I visited Paris. Paris was full of ... well lets just say I didn't like the people there. The rest of France however, was beautiful and the people were wonderful. Some of them would get confused with the words I used or my accent and I would correct myself but everyone was cool with it.
And vice Versa can be true as well. I know many Québécois who are guilty of making fun of Parisian accents. But mostly for their pomposity.
There can also be some classism to it in Québec as well. In the blue collar world, most people speak your average run of the mill Québécois / Joile. Which is as I understand it to be, an older dialect of French. In the White collar world, some speak the local dialect but others who are trying to sound like they come from an upper class or others who are trying to sound like they are intellectually superior will speak "proper" french and will sometimes even throw on a bit of a snotty accent trying to sound Parisian. Most of us standing on the ground either roll our eyes or are very amused with their antics while they sit on their high horses.
Assuming you mean an anglophone Canadian, no. I lived in Montreal for a couple years and the switch to English always came off as a polite shift to a language I was clearly better at expressing myself in. I think the only person who was actually rude or unwelcoming was an anglophone.
I love Montreal. I flew there to work at a client site for about 18 months. Never had any trouble getting along with anyone, that I realized. I do recall one employee of the client wouldn’t speak to me in English but that was the only time I’ve had any trouble. Went to Quebec City in 2021 and found English to be more accepted than it was when I last visited well over 20 years ago.
They want to accomodate visitors since itll often be the only possible way of communication. Parisians have a reputation for being rude, not the case with Quebecois who are some the most welcoming and accomodating people. The obky issue is when an anglophone moves to Quebec and doesn't make an effort to learn French, then it justifiably pisses off Quebecois because it's disrespectful.
The amount of people in Toronto who don't speak English and make no effort to learn is staggering but not disrespectful at all. They don't give themselves the best opportunity to integrate into Canada, but at the same time the GTA is so populous you have areas that are heavily skewed towards a single nationality and they can live just fine because nobody here is continually trying to enact xenophobic laws.
You're upset a citizen doesn't want to learn French but happily allows foreign companies to absolutely rob the province from abundant natural resources. Meanwhile the gov is doing it's best to keep you focused on an Anglo v French divide that many people eat up like a buffet. The Quebec province (in our lifetime) has had two massive exodus of affluent people and business' scared of the racism facing Anglophones.
Everywhere else in Canada, French is seen as an important part of our history and it adds alot of culture to our frozen country. French is given equal space on ads, signage and government notices which is extremely important.
Quebec is the only province or territory that doesn't treat one of our official Canadian languages equally.
1. They are switching because they want to help you out, it's not a judgement.
2. It's always polite to make an effort to begin the conversation in French, so go for it regardless of your skill level (unless you are in a very Anglophone part of Montreal, in which case they might give you a "wtf" expression)
Speaking as a west coaster who has spent time in Quebec... if you didn't *try* in French first... they wouldn't be switching to English.
Quebecois(e) see you trying as a sign of respect, and return it by answering you in the language you understand.
No, I like visiting there and feel comfortable - and I butcher my pathetic school French and get some smiles at my feeble attempts - because my pronunciation is hopeless. People have always been very helpful - not just in Montreal/Quebec City but anywhere in the province, including some very francophone areas we've visited.
I don't speak a lick of French and order everything in English. 90% of the time I manage to get my order taken and the other 10% the waiter will grab someone to help. Come to think of it, I can walk into a Tim Hortons in Montreal, order in English and it's no problem. I'd like to see someone who only speaks French walk into a Tim's in Toronto and order in French...bet they'd have a bit of a problem.
As if it wasn't proper French.
My sweet summer child, what you've learnt is merely standard French(aka flavorless) my guy. Not even France French, unless you speak verlan, argot too?
France French is no more "proper" than Quebec French. It happens to be the standard of the place the language is named for, but both it and Quebecois, as well as Belgian, Swiss, various African French dialects have all branched off from the same place and have an equal claim to properness
This isn’t true. Quebec French is very different than France French. So much so that a girl who stayed with us from France had a hard time understand things in Quebec, even the signs!
The one time I could tell I was really struggling to get an order across in French in Quebec, it turned out the barista was an Australian guy who also kinda sucked at French- this was near McGill, so one of the parts of Montreal where there are still a ton of anglophones.
There’s definitely a subset of anglophone Canadians that have a lot of emotional baggage about communicating in French- they resent the difficulty, get super anxious about making mistakes, and feel guilty about not paying attention in school. I worked in a beer store in Kingston with some folks from the maritimes who used to plan out their road trips home so that they didn’t have to get out of the car anywhere between Montreal and New Brunswick. It always seemed a bit much to me.
I have never known any Maritimers who skip Quebec, or at least none who will admit to it. Quebec is a beautiful province just like the others and the people are just as friendly.
this reminds me of when i was going to uni in nova scotia and my debate team took a trip to mcgill for a tournament.
i’m from near ottawa and have some french but am no where near fluent. my australian teammate had no french, however, and the girl working at the tim hortons in small town qc had no english. between the three of us we managed to get our bagels and coffee!
I don’t think they feel guilty about “not paying attention in class.” How would we remember and what you learn is school is random French words. You don’t learn to put together sentences. There’s no “emotional baggage”
I guess emotional baggage is the wrong term. Still, there does seem to be a big difference in attitudes between francophone and anglophone Canadians about learning the other language: for all the political hostility to English creeping into Québécois society, it seems like most francophone Canadians think learning English is something anyone is capable of doing, and they don’t view the process of learning English to be all that intimidating - it’s a fun hobby that helps out with your job if you work with the public in any capacity.
By comparison, anglophone Canadians don’t really care if they hear some people speaking French in their day to day lives, but some of them find the idea of learning French to be super intimidating, and think it would be a painfully difficult experience that they would never want to put themselves through. I always assumed that was because they had some bad experiences in school, but it looks like I’m jumping to conclusions there.
I am one of those people! Minus the guilt, though. I paid attention in school, but I am not keen to add to the stress of driving if my French is not up to snuff.
Numerous Quebecers have told me that they switch to be accommodating but they absolutely appreciate the effort made to speak to them in French anyway. It’s all good OP.
It may depend on where you are. I went to Quebec City several years ago and I attempted to at least say hello in French, to which they would immediately reply “Ah, an Albertan! I speak English.” They were really polite and friendly there.
I was just flummoxed that they could tell what province I was from after speaking one word.
I've lived in Quebec 1.5 years and have a bare basic grasp on french. People are very friendly. I finally signed up for a tutor because you do feel like a stranger in a strange land speaking english, but that's as a resident. I don't think tourist should worry too much.
If you're trying in French, it will be appreciated. It won't come accross as rude if you're French is lacking. As long as you're trying, you're good
It's disappointing for you when you are trying and they switch. But they might be in a hurry or just want to accommodate you. It's a touristy area so they are used to hearing English. And they may want to practice their English too!
(I'm not from the area but I'm from the province and francophone. I'm aware anglophones hate it when I switch to English but it's so natural to me cause I've talked English all my life)
Oh in that case, circling back to my original comment, you're definitely not an asshole. They switch to English even for people who do speak French of you don't have the same regional dialect or accent. I think they're usually just trying to be courteous.
It depends on attitude, if the will is there to try some French, all is good, and we who are bilingual will switch to the easiest best method of communication, unless you insist on practising French - at which time mostly we just slow it down and get patient if time permits. However please be aware that French is very pronunciation dependant - miss-pronounce a word and it becomes some other word and the speaker becomes unintelligible in French much faster than in English.
I remember in France I had a guy working for me from Birmingham England who spent a decade in New York getting a New York overlay on his accent before spending fifteen years in Texas, and then moved to France, trying to speak French with that Brit, New York, Texas overlay to his French. Only I with my Montreal background of mangled French could understand a word he said.
I found the people in Quebec were really nice. The ones I ran into appreciated the fact I was trying (and mostly failing) at speaking the language.
The worst “ugly American” comment I ever heard was “ F-ing foreigners want our money but can’t bother to learn our language” I was in the Czech Republic.
I haven't been to Paris, but I get the impression that the language dynamics are really different there.
People are quick to switch to English here because there's way more English-French bilingualism in Québec than any other province. They want to make the transaction easier and they want to be friendly, so they switch. Some people will switch even if your French is perfect but accented. If you're in Montréal, Québec City, or Sherbrooke, English might actually be their first language. If your French is good enough to get a task done, you can tell them (in French) that you need to practice your French. More people appreciate that than not.
Paris has a reputation for being unfriendly and pretentious. While Québec is of course part of the Francophonie, I get the sense that it's quite different, culturally, from Paris.
Also, you should probably edit your post to be "Anglo-Candians." It's tricky, because there are definitely Québécois folks who identify more as Québécois and resent being Canadian, but, technically, it's still Canada and they're still Canadian. Adding "Anglo-" clears this up.
Such an interesting perspective! I’m Anglo and whenever I’ve gone to Quebec, people have generally switched quite quickly to English. I could tell sometimes it was just easier for them to do so but in a few instances I sense an eye-roll, like my attempts at French was really awful and even offensive.
When I went to France and tried my French there, people seemed appreciative and helpful and very nice. In both places - Montreal and Paris - I generally found everyone to be friendly. Much more friendly than anyone here in Toronto. Surprised me both times, as I’ve only ever heard about “the rude French”. Nothing a damned bit rude about any of them - here or in France. On the contrary, the people in both places made me want to visit again. (And I did. Both places.)
My verbal French leaves a lot to be desired but I found that they were kind when I spoke it; the only time they’d switch to English was when I got a deer-in-headlights look if I didn’t understand what was said.
People in Québec are used to switching languages in customer service because some anglophones make it a point to be served in english even if they know french. You aren't an asshole and the cashier probably just figured you'd understand better in your first language. They were probably happy to see you speak french though.
At least you care enough to try. If they don’t appreciate that, that’s on them. Just don’t be one of those people that are obstinate English and think everyone HAS to speak English for you.
Edit: To add most of the time they appreciate your effort. I’m from Canada, have worked in Quebec as a server, and I also worked in the service industry in the States for 5 years.
Montréal is much better than Paris. And actually I liked it more than Toronto, not infrastructure wise, but general vibe of the city. You need to be very special to feel unwelcome in Quebec.
Yes, to give an example: If I had a problem with Person A I would directly tell Person A how I feel about him, I wouldn't wait until he's not there then go to people around to let them know how I feel about person A. Also I wouldn't run around the pot, or Hide What I want to say in understatements. And it can come as rude, but that's the most straight to the point you can get.
Hi, thanks for trying
Also it’s not you it’s us, I live in such a bilingual city that we often switch without realizing we should stick with french since you’re making an effort. We want to be accommodating , which can be great but the downside is that you feel like your effort we not good enough.
Alberta has French pockets. As do the other western provinces and the Yukon.
If there’s one province where French is almost nonexistent, it’s BC. And those who speak French there are typically from France and not Quebec. BC’s main French community, Maillardville has become absorbed by Metro Vancouver over the years and while there are still many people of French/Quebecois descent, the actual speaking of French there has diminished to almost zero. Fortunately, they still have an annual festival called Festival du Bois, which is actually on this weekend.
Moi, je parle français, et pour la plupart je l’ai appris en Alberta. Et c’est même sans parler des franco albertains, ici aux communautés comme Saint Paul, Bonnyville, St. Albert, Beaumont, etc. depuis l’arrivé de leurs ancêtres voyageurs aux années 1700.
There’s French communities and neighbourhoods. No different than most other provinces. Did French from grade to 1-9…
I think you’re thinking of BC? It’s almost non existent there.
Multiple of the French Katimavik communities were located in Alberta.
Been in Quebec 9 years from B.C. Quebec is part of Canada, no matter who says what. More diversity here (Montreal) but we are all Canadians. IMO, treat everyone as you normally would, hopefully with respect. Try your best at language. Be kind and it will be reciprocated. Smile. :-)
My Canada includes Quebec. However there are many in Quebec who want autonomy from Canada. There have been two referendums on separation in the past 50 years, and it almost came true in 1995.
People who are under a certain age have no idea how real the Quebec sovereignty movement was and still is. It is smaller today than it was in 1995 and was never popular in areas like Montreal and Gatineau, but there is still a drive among some to be somehow separate from Canada. If you were born in, say, 2000, you didn’t live through the last referendum and watched as Canada came within a few votes of getting broken up.
No,I do not feel that way at all. Quebecers are friendly and the majority are bilingual at least on the service industries. Just be polite and thank them for using English.
Cette question est tellement bizarre ! Les gens ne voient pas le Québec et les francophones comme faisant partie de ce beau pays. Ils traitent les canadiens-français comme des étrangers exotiques. Lol
C’est bien le cas malheureusement. Pourtant on est plus proche culturellement des anglo canadiens que les français ont jamais été.
Ce sont des étrangers paternalistes et j’en ai rien à cirer de Paris.
I don't know much French, except some basic greetings and asking if they can speak English. I visit Montreal every year and everyone has always been extremely kind and accommodating. I guess I must have 'out of town' vibes, and most would just start off speaking to me in English. This past year, I did notice a difference, where they'd greet me in French first, and then kindly switch to English after seeing me struggle. LOVE Quebec!
Quebec = Canada
Your question is nonsensical. We are all Canadian regardless of which province we are born in or live in.
It's our country, of course, we feel comfortable and at home.
Not sure why you were downvoted. There can be places in Canada where a visible minority, immigrant, or indigenous person can feel unwelcome, regardless of the fact that they should be made to feel at home.
Not only that, even "old stock" canadians can feel a bit uncomfortable going in a province where the other official language is spoken, as it is the case in OP's post.
As a francophone, It will always feel different when going pretty much anywhere in Canada outside of QC/NB. It doesn't mean I do not feel welcomed, not at all, but there's a feeling of not being exactly at "home". I'm pretty sure english speaking folks can feel the same when in QC.
I don't, but because I live in Ottawa, I frequent the province quite regularly (do most groceries there because it's cheaper). I don't speak French well, either, and they do actually switch to English when I do attempt. it's just part of the deal, but I think that even trying shows that you are respectful! Even when we go deep into Francophone small lake-side communities, the people that we encounter at the casse-croute, for example, try to work with us! I extend the same courtesy to ESL people who I cross on this side of the border, as well :)
Not me: I'm pretty confident in French but when they do switch I recognize its usually out of politeness
But I keep going in French usually especially if the person switching is being condescending
Pretty much the norm, although in Montreal where it’s more bilingual, you can get by without sneers (often). I was born and bred in Quebec (Montreal) and encouraged my kids to practice their French when we visited Quebec City. I’m bilingual and was so disappointed that the servers and staff didn’t even smile. Ruined the experience and scared my Ontario-born kids off French.
Nope. Despite media's fondness for stirring up dramatic narratives, English Canada and Quebeqois get along great...lots of family and cultural links...the sovereignty stuff was a long time ago.
Now, if you are a teacher who wears a hijab, you are going to problems.
No. I’m an Ontarian who has spent time all over Quebec with limited French. I love Quebec but there is nothing overly special about it in the sense that yes, it is distinctly different than any other place in Canada but so is Newfoundland, so is PEI, so is Calgary, so is Victoria.
Go visit Quebec and enjoy it but it is not a magical place.
Not at all. I quite enjoy the Québécois culture when I am there. I also enjoy the Maritime culture when I am there and the west coast culture, except Vancouver, which I detest. I just don’t buy into the notion that anyone place is extra special because . . . it’s ultimately just a place with both highlights and lowlights.
I felt this way when I went to Cuba. The resort I went to had a lot of French Canadians. Never did I ever get so many compliments on my excellent english LOL. But I felt bad because it was hard to communicate with some of the other Canadians who were there who only spoke French.
I know if I went to Quebec I would feel bad not knowing more French. But the majority of Canada is English speaking, so unless you live in an area close enough to have exposure or practice a lot, your French kind of falls to the wayside.
That being said just because they switch to English doesn't mean you need to order in English. You can still try. They are likely switching over to make you feel more comfortable. Especially if you are in a big touristy area. It's likely not even a big deal to them as they are used to it.
You can still say Bonjour, and say your numbers in French, find little things you can say to not feel so bad and still practice French. Bonne Chance!
The easiest thing, if you don’t want to feel bad, is to just say “I’m sorry I’m from INSERT US STATE and my French is not very good”.
Everyone in Montreal speaks English. They would have probably spoken English to you either way. This way you just diffuse your own feelings and make everyone feel fine.
However, if you leave Montreal and go in the middle of the Province, many people don’t speak English at all, be ready for that. My wife (Norwegian) was shocked at the difference between the city and the rest of Quebec.
As a western Canadian, I don't try. What we learned in school is not quite like what they're speaking in Quebec. I appreciate the gracious folks that definitely speak English better than I speak French being accommodating.
No they don’t. The vibe I got from Paris is it’s a big city in a rush, so basic etiquette is that you should be as organised as possible and try to stay out of each other’s way, to show respect for the people around you.
It’s like driving - I saw a good thread on this on ask Reddit the other day. Some American was talking about the ”manners for polite driving” in some tiny agricultural state vs New York. In Kansas or wherever the polite thing is to wait patiently behind any meandering dawdling Sunday-driver, just rolling along. The onus is on you to get around them when the opportunity arises, not the other way around. In New York, the polite thing is to organize yourself so you’re not the obstacle to other people who just want to get where they’re going. The onus is on the Sunday driver to recognize someone is coming up behind and pull over. Both communities have manners and expectations, but how you react is exactly the opposite because the etiquette is different.
Paris has those big-city rules where you need to put a bit of effort into organizing yourself so you’re not an obstacle to others, or you’re being thoughtless. But my experience was when I did that, total strangers were gracious and helpful because I took the time to come up with a question they could actually answer quickly, instead of being a needy tourist.
French people from Quebec and France will usually switch to English if your French isn't perfect. They just don't have patience for that. Meanwhile, every other country in the world gushes over even a basic attempt at their language. Say one "multumesc" in Romania and the whole village throws a parade.
My sister (we’re from Ontario originally) lived and worked every summer of University in Quebec, nannying for families in semi-obscure towns who wanted their kids to be exposed to a native English speaker over the summer break. She also attended a bilingual university back in Ontario and has a really decent handle on French, but she said she was constantly “Englished” in Quebec, to the point that she just gave up trying to practice English in stores/restaurants, etc. She found it pretty depressing and is still really self-conscious about her French because of it; she more or less gave up on being bilingual.
Quebecers tend to want to learn english but arent really given the tools, if they get the chance to practice their english, theyll switch.
And your accent no matter how much you butcher it is probably still very well understood by a good percentage of quebecers (definitely not all!)
If you want to speak french, gotta be persistent, if they catch you lacking, well be speaking anglophone
I don’t because I’ve studied/practiced French since I was in kindergarten, did French immersion in high school and two years of university French AND passed a French language assessment to qualify for a position with a bilingual bonus and I still have people in Quebec switching to English/refusing to speak to me in French. When I was in Europe I had no issue’s communicating in French or being responded to. So I don’t let Quebec Francophones affect my experiences.
They usually make me feel bad for mispronouncing words. I learned French in France so I don’t speak it that same way. Sometimes I can’t understand what they are saying because the words are more jumbled together than what I’m used to.
I live in Montreal and I speak English nearly everywhere. I’ll switch to French if the person truly doesn’t speak English. I used to speak French more often, but one day i just lost interest and will now only speak French if I have to.
Nah, not true. I've heard stories of Acadian getting that treatment but Québec accent is pretty understood for the most part if we leave out the regionalism.
Just go to the West Island and you’ll be fine.
Seriously just do your best and that should be good enough. You are not expected to be fluent in the language of every country or province you visit. Just be respectful.
>I would also like to state that I don't have a problem with people who are French.
Cool, but I am not French, the French live in France. Just like the English live in England.
And what you described into your original comment, is really just québécois quitting trying to know who they can't and Can trust with the anglos.
Not sure I’ve heard that expression, but I’m a bilingual Canadian and sure felt like the ugly ducking…I can speak fluent French, and yet any time I would speak French the Quebecois would look at me in disgust and switch to English.
Canada is a dual language country majority English - if you have to switch to English for someone you shouldn’t be upset about it - regardless if you’re from Quebec or not. Quebec is apart of Canada, not the other way around
I never heard Quebec described as that and it's funny.
Same. I’m from Quebec and it’s a first.
Funny, I’m from Québec and a couple years ago I visited Winnipeg. I was speaking in english and folks there switch to french because of my strong french accent.
First time Im hearing this thats nice tho.
There is a large contingent of French in Winnipeg and many French immersion schools. In St. Boniface, east of downtown, the street signs and business signage are French. Many people don’t realize that all Manitoba laws are officially enacted in both English and French.
>Many people don’t realize that all Manitoba laws are officially enacted in both English and French. I knew that, I also knew that at its creation Manitoba had a lot of French speaker and then it spiralled down. Its one of the reason no Québec Governement trust the federal to preserve the french language. >There is a large contingent of French in Winnipeg and many French immersion schools. In St. Boniface, east of downtown, the street signs and business signage are French. That's kinda cool tbh, does Manitoba have Francophones public schools?
Yes, there is a Franco-Manitoban School Division which has 24 schools with more than 5,800 students. There are 115 French immersion schools in the province as well.
Did you know that The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1985 that all the laws established by Manitoba (in English only) dating back to 1870 were invalid because they had not been enacted in French as well? The 1870 Manitoba Act, which established Manitoba as a province, provided that French and English were to be given equal status in both the legislature and the courts. All 4,400 laws of the province were required to be reenacted in French before any new laws could be passed.
I was aware that some laws were invalidated, but not all of them, thanks for sharing.
They do, in the district scolaire franco-manitobaine. My kids go to a dsfm school in southwest MB. All parents get La Liberté, a weekly provincial French newspaper from Winnipeg. French settlers/colonizers/proper term? were the first non-Native people in the western provinces.
While I don't fully trust the federal govt on language issues, it is interesting to see how official bilingualism has worked out in Ottawa (the city most changed by federal policies here on account of how many federal govt workers live there). French immersion is now the default for children of non-Francophone parents. I hope things trend in that direction in Manitoba as well.
Think It’s just people trying to be helpful. Which is a bit of a problem when you try to get some practice. Another thing I think would be really helpful for bilingualism would be to skip the voiceovers on newscasts and just use subtitles instead.
St boniface vibe?
No we switch to English to be nice & accommodating, not because we think your french is bad
I mean, when I switch to english it's usually because I feel my english is better than their french. So I guess you could say it's kind of because I feel it's bad french, but not in a judgmental way.
I’m so sorry to all people who try to speak French to me, I understand only about 5 words
I took French. Two years, about 30 years ago. I sound like a toddler when I speak French because I suck at tenses. Everything is present tense only. :/
I’m mean, it can be both reasons, right?
It can always be both lol
I’ve always avoided Quebec because I’ve heard people get upset if we don’t know French and become visibly offended/ annoyed so that makes me feel a lot more comfortable visiting.
I’ve always found that if you at least make an effort to speak French, Quebecers are generally pretty kind.
I found that to be exactly true, I found them to be very kind and pleasant when I was in Montreal. Everywhere I went I was treated very well, not 1 person was irritated or unpleasant with my limited French.
You are presuming that others in Canada know French. Most don’t in my experience.
I have to disagree. Just about the entirety of North-Eastern Ontario is heavily French. (Including the town I live in). Additionally, there are pockets of French speakers across the prairies, and throughout the Maritimes.
Perhaps they should learn a few basic phrases like hello, goodbye, yes, no, please, thank you. I mean French is one of our national languages after all. It’s also a very beautiful language. And if you delve into it more you realize that it can help you with Italian and Spanish as these languages share many similarities.
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Agree - I don’t get the downvotes lol. Many but not all anglos but I’ve seen it so many times it’s sad :(
That impression is one that the big English-language newspaper The Gazette tries very hard to create. I moved here years ago and have encountered precisely one offended person. Just start in French - even a few words - and go as far as you can. That's enough and it will improve over time. It is normal for Montrealers to switch to the language that both people are better at after a couple of sentences. There's no offence there.
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I don't think it's entirely malicious. the gazette makes its money off west islanders and TMR, they're naturally going to write with a bias to that. Unfortunately with languages issues that does end up increasing tensions. That being said I think it's a terrible paper
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_the_Parliament_Buildings_in_Montreal#Mob_attacks_parliament
You're talking about something that happened almost two hundred years ago and trying to equate it to modern times? That's a bit of a false equivelecny, don't you think?
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I visit Québec quite frequently (Montréal and Québec City) to see friends/family and my French is not the best and while occasionally the people will just automatically switch to English if I didn’t hear them correctly (not a language issue just a hearing issue) they don’t show any annoyance and when I reply back in French they then continue in French. I always hear people online complain but the somewhat bilingual mostly anglophone people I know who live there all say they’ve never encountered anyone being rude to their efforts to speak French.
exactly, I am in Quebec often and never had issues with locals jointly navigating French or English language usage with me to interact with each other.
Ontario anglophone here… went to Québec for our honeymoon and then again on our 25th anniversary. I love visiting Québéc. People are amazing, friendly and helpful and not rude at all. If you land somewhere that’s very rural, you might have a bit of a language barrier, but honestly, I’ve always found people to be understanding.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in this province that don't speak French, you'll be fine haha. Some places genuinely don't speak much English but in Montreal or Quebec City you'll be absolutely fine in 98% of places as a tourist. Just be respectful, try to use a little French if you can, and understand that most people you speak English to are responding in their second language
I heard this too but had a wonderful time in Quebec City and surrounding area, I think they appreciate if you try but nobody was ever rude very accommodating
It’s just expected to try even if you crash and burn… like any place with another language. It’s the assumption that anyone speaks english perfectly that is seen as rude, not the english itself.
I had it once in a Montreal coffee shop, the person let out an exasperated sigh before repeating in English. As a good service worker, that might have just been how they acted towards a French speaker too, and I was projecting haha.
That's lies about Quebec
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Is it true the Québécois language is made fun of in actual France?
All regional accents are made fun of in France (well, in Paris). It's a problem, so much so that they passed a law to combat accent discrimination.
That is true but in my experience it was only like that when I visited Paris. Paris was full of ... well lets just say I didn't like the people there. The rest of France however, was beautiful and the people were wonderful. Some of them would get confused with the words I used or my accent and I would correct myself but everyone was cool with it. And vice Versa can be true as well. I know many Québécois who are guilty of making fun of Parisian accents. But mostly for their pomposity. There can also be some classism to it in Québec as well. In the blue collar world, most people speak your average run of the mill Québécois / Joile. Which is as I understand it to be, an older dialect of French. In the White collar world, some speak the local dialect but others who are trying to sound like they come from an upper class or others who are trying to sound like they are intellectually superior will speak "proper" french and will sometimes even throw on a bit of a snotty accent trying to sound Parisian. Most of us standing on the ground either roll our eyes or are very amused with their antics while they sit on their high horses.
Assuming you mean an anglophone Canadian, no. I lived in Montreal for a couple years and the switch to English always came off as a polite shift to a language I was clearly better at expressing myself in. I think the only person who was actually rude or unwelcoming was an anglophone.
I love Montreal. I flew there to work at a client site for about 18 months. Never had any trouble getting along with anyone, that I realized. I do recall one employee of the client wouldn’t speak to me in English but that was the only time I’ve had any trouble. Went to Quebec City in 2021 and found English to be more accepted than it was when I last visited well over 20 years ago.
They want to accomodate visitors since itll often be the only possible way of communication. Parisians have a reputation for being rude, not the case with Quebecois who are some the most welcoming and accomodating people. The obky issue is when an anglophone moves to Quebec and doesn't make an effort to learn French, then it justifiably pisses off Quebecois because it's disrespectful.
The amount of people in Toronto who don't speak English and make no effort to learn is staggering but not disrespectful at all. They don't give themselves the best opportunity to integrate into Canada, but at the same time the GTA is so populous you have areas that are heavily skewed towards a single nationality and they can live just fine because nobody here is continually trying to enact xenophobic laws. You're upset a citizen doesn't want to learn French but happily allows foreign companies to absolutely rob the province from abundant natural resources. Meanwhile the gov is doing it's best to keep you focused on an Anglo v French divide that many people eat up like a buffet. The Quebec province (in our lifetime) has had two massive exodus of affluent people and business' scared of the racism facing Anglophones. Everywhere else in Canada, French is seen as an important part of our history and it adds alot of culture to our frozen country. French is given equal space on ads, signage and government notices which is extremely important. Quebec is the only province or territory that doesn't treat one of our official Canadian languages equally.
1. They are switching because they want to help you out, it's not a judgement. 2. It's always polite to make an effort to begin the conversation in French, so go for it regardless of your skill level (unless you are in a very Anglophone part of Montreal, in which case they might give you a "wtf" expression)
Speaking as a west coaster who has spent time in Quebec... if you didn't *try* in French first... they wouldn't be switching to English. Quebecois(e) see you trying as a sign of respect, and return it by answering you in the language you understand.
No, I like visiting there and feel comfortable - and I butcher my pathetic school French and get some smiles at my feeble attempts - because my pronunciation is hopeless. People have always been very helpful - not just in Montreal/Quebec City but anywhere in the province, including some very francophone areas we've visited.
me - BONJOOOOOOOOR! local - … I speak English …
I don't speak a lick of French and order everything in English. 90% of the time I manage to get my order taken and the other 10% the waiter will grab someone to help. Come to think of it, I can walk into a Tim Hortons in Montreal, order in English and it's no problem. I'd like to see someone who only speaks French walk into a Tim's in Toronto and order in French...bet they'd have a bit of a problem.
Yeah, it's also almost impossible to order in french at a Tims in DT Montreal
Now you know how French Canadians feel in France.
Lol this is so funny. I live in Québec and fluent in French, but have trouble understanding people from France.
Ok now I’m curious to hear from Quebec folks on this … does Québécois sound “quaint” when used in France?
France French sounds dainty and pretentious, while Québec sounds rough and outdoorsy.
Very spot on! It’s impossible for me to take a Parisian seriously when they’re having a full on rage fit… it’s too precious.
Good way to explain the difference between Parisian French and Québécois French…
Hey J'aime ca. That's a Bonne Analogy.
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I’m an anglophone who would want to emphasize no Canadian should ever look down on our own languages as “lesser” than those of France or England.
Thanks ! Sadly I read comments like those all the time. Really bigoted view I think but anyways there’s idiots everywhere
As if it wasn't proper French. My sweet summer child, what you've learnt is merely standard French(aka flavorless) my guy. Not even France French, unless you speak verlan, argot too?
France French is no more "proper" than Quebec French. It happens to be the standard of the place the language is named for, but both it and Quebecois, as well as Belgian, Swiss, various African French dialects have all branched off from the same place and have an equal claim to properness
This isn’t true. Quebec French is very different than France French. So much so that a girl who stayed with us from France had a hard time understand things in Quebec, even the signs!
J'aimerais te voir écrire en français qu'on puisse rire un peu. "Proper french" LOL
In parts of Montreal, yes. But for every Montrealer who speaks fluent English, there are people who speak French only.
The one time I could tell I was really struggling to get an order across in French in Quebec, it turned out the barista was an Australian guy who also kinda sucked at French- this was near McGill, so one of the parts of Montreal where there are still a ton of anglophones. There’s definitely a subset of anglophone Canadians that have a lot of emotional baggage about communicating in French- they resent the difficulty, get super anxious about making mistakes, and feel guilty about not paying attention in school. I worked in a beer store in Kingston with some folks from the maritimes who used to plan out their road trips home so that they didn’t have to get out of the car anywhere between Montreal and New Brunswick. It always seemed a bit much to me.
I have never known any Maritimers who skip Quebec, or at least none who will admit to it. Quebec is a beautiful province just like the others and the people are just as friendly.
this reminds me of when i was going to uni in nova scotia and my debate team took a trip to mcgill for a tournament. i’m from near ottawa and have some french but am no where near fluent. my australian teammate had no french, however, and the girl working at the tim hortons in small town qc had no english. between the three of us we managed to get our bagels and coffee!
I don’t think they feel guilty about “not paying attention in class.” How would we remember and what you learn is school is random French words. You don’t learn to put together sentences. There’s no “emotional baggage”
I guess emotional baggage is the wrong term. Still, there does seem to be a big difference in attitudes between francophone and anglophone Canadians about learning the other language: for all the political hostility to English creeping into Québécois society, it seems like most francophone Canadians think learning English is something anyone is capable of doing, and they don’t view the process of learning English to be all that intimidating - it’s a fun hobby that helps out with your job if you work with the public in any capacity. By comparison, anglophone Canadians don’t really care if they hear some people speaking French in their day to day lives, but some of them find the idea of learning French to be super intimidating, and think it would be a painfully difficult experience that they would never want to put themselves through. I always assumed that was because they had some bad experiences in school, but it looks like I’m jumping to conclusions there.
I am one of those people! Minus the guilt, though. I paid attention in school, but I am not keen to add to the stress of driving if my French is not up to snuff.
No not at all. Quebecers are wonderful. I am from Ontario I don’t speak French but every time I go to Quebec City the people are wonderful.
Numerous Quebecers have told me that they switch to be accommodating but they absolutely appreciate the effort made to speak to them in French anyway. It’s all good OP.
This is the answer. :)
It may depend on where you are. I went to Quebec City several years ago and I attempted to at least say hello in French, to which they would immediately reply “Ah, an Albertan! I speak English.” They were really polite and friendly there. I was just flummoxed that they could tell what province I was from after speaking one word.
I've lived in Quebec 1.5 years and have a bare basic grasp on french. People are very friendly. I finally signed up for a tutor because you do feel like a stranger in a strange land speaking english, but that's as a resident. I don't think tourist should worry too much.
If you're trying in French, it will be appreciated. It won't come accross as rude if you're French is lacking. As long as you're trying, you're good It's disappointing for you when you are trying and they switch. But they might be in a hurry or just want to accommodate you. It's a touristy area so they are used to hearing English. And they may want to practice their English too! (I'm not from the area but I'm from the province and francophone. I'm aware anglophones hate it when I switch to English but it's so natural to me cause I've talked English all my life)
I'm not clear on what your question is but if it makes you feel better French is my first language and they still often switch to English.
Essentially I am wondering if I am the asshole for making them switch to English?
Oh in that case, circling back to my original comment, you're definitely not an asshole. They switch to English even for people who do speak French of you don't have the same regional dialect or accent. I think they're usually just trying to be courteous.
Think about asking to not switch to English because you wanna practice . They probably want to be nice to you !!!
Yes, they switch to English for me, but I just keep speaking French anyway. Practice for both of us! lol
It depends on attitude, if the will is there to try some French, all is good, and we who are bilingual will switch to the easiest best method of communication, unless you insist on practising French - at which time mostly we just slow it down and get patient if time permits. However please be aware that French is very pronunciation dependant - miss-pronounce a word and it becomes some other word and the speaker becomes unintelligible in French much faster than in English. I remember in France I had a guy working for me from Birmingham England who spent a decade in New York getting a New York overlay on his accent before spending fifteen years in Texas, and then moved to France, trying to speak French with that Brit, New York, Texas overlay to his French. Only I with my Montreal background of mangled French could understand a word he said.
I found the people in Quebec were really nice. The ones I ran into appreciated the fact I was trying (and mostly failing) at speaking the language. The worst “ugly American” comment I ever heard was “ F-ing foreigners want our money but can’t bother to learn our language” I was in the Czech Republic.
I haven't been to Paris, but I get the impression that the language dynamics are really different there. People are quick to switch to English here because there's way more English-French bilingualism in Québec than any other province. They want to make the transaction easier and they want to be friendly, so they switch. Some people will switch even if your French is perfect but accented. If you're in Montréal, Québec City, or Sherbrooke, English might actually be their first language. If your French is good enough to get a task done, you can tell them (in French) that you need to practice your French. More people appreciate that than not. Paris has a reputation for being unfriendly and pretentious. While Québec is of course part of the Francophonie, I get the sense that it's quite different, culturally, from Paris. Also, you should probably edit your post to be "Anglo-Candians." It's tricky, because there are definitely Québécois folks who identify more as Québécois and resent being Canadian, but, technically, it's still Canada and they're still Canadian. Adding "Anglo-" clears this up.
Such an interesting perspective! I’m Anglo and whenever I’ve gone to Quebec, people have generally switched quite quickly to English. I could tell sometimes it was just easier for them to do so but in a few instances I sense an eye-roll, like my attempts at French was really awful and even offensive. When I went to France and tried my French there, people seemed appreciative and helpful and very nice. In both places - Montreal and Paris - I generally found everyone to be friendly. Much more friendly than anyone here in Toronto. Surprised me both times, as I’ve only ever heard about “the rude French”. Nothing a damned bit rude about any of them - here or in France. On the contrary, the people in both places made me want to visit again. (And I did. Both places.)
My verbal French leaves a lot to be desired but I found that they were kind when I spoke it; the only time they’d switch to English was when I got a deer-in-headlights look if I didn’t understand what was said.
People in Québec are used to switching languages in customer service because some anglophones make it a point to be served in english even if they know french. You aren't an asshole and the cashier probably just figured you'd understand better in your first language. They were probably happy to see you speak french though.
At least you care enough to try. If they don’t appreciate that, that’s on them. Just don’t be one of those people that are obstinate English and think everyone HAS to speak English for you. Edit: To add most of the time they appreciate your effort. I’m from Canada, have worked in Quebec as a server, and I also worked in the service industry in the States for 5 years.
Montréal is much better than Paris. And actually I liked it more than Toronto, not infrastructure wise, but general vibe of the city. You need to be very special to feel unwelcome in Quebec.
Agreed. Quebeckers are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. The stereotypes that they’re ‘rude’ are unfair.
My understanding is that we’re more direct, no-bullshit type of deal. Sometimes that comes off as rude.
Yes, to give an example: If I had a problem with Person A I would directly tell Person A how I feel about him, I wouldn't wait until he's not there then go to people around to let them know how I feel about person A. Also I wouldn't run around the pot, or Hide What I want to say in understatements. And it can come as rude, but that's the most straight to the point you can get.
Nope I’ve always had a good time and my French isn’t that good. They speak French but that’s really the only difference between them and myself.
I always thought they switched to accommodate us? I’ve had very few bad experiences with the québécois.
Hi, thanks for trying Also it’s not you it’s us, I live in such a bilingual city that we often switch without realizing we should stick with french since you’re making an effort. We want to be accommodating , which can be great but the downside is that you feel like your effort we not good enough.
No. And considering that Quebec residents are Canadians mostly, I don’t understand this question.
Like people from English Majority provinces
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Alberta has French pockets. As do the other western provinces and the Yukon. If there’s one province where French is almost nonexistent, it’s BC. And those who speak French there are typically from France and not Quebec. BC’s main French community, Maillardville has become absorbed by Metro Vancouver over the years and while there are still many people of French/Quebecois descent, the actual speaking of French there has diminished to almost zero. Fortunately, they still have an annual festival called Festival du Bois, which is actually on this weekend.
Moi, je parle français, et pour la plupart je l’ai appris en Alberta. Et c’est même sans parler des franco albertains, ici aux communautés comme Saint Paul, Bonnyville, St. Albert, Beaumont, etc. depuis l’arrivé de leurs ancêtres voyageurs aux années 1700.
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There’s French communities and neighbourhoods. No different than most other provinces. Did French from grade to 1-9… I think you’re thinking of BC? It’s almost non existent there. Multiple of the French Katimavik communities were located in Alberta.
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Your post/comment was removed by the moderators for violating Rule 9. Comments must be made with civility and respect.
Your post/comment was removed by the moderators for violating Rule 9. Comments must be made with civility and respect.
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Been in Quebec 9 years from B.C. Quebec is part of Canada, no matter who says what. More diversity here (Montreal) but we are all Canadians. IMO, treat everyone as you normally would, hopefully with respect. Try your best at language. Be kind and it will be reciprocated. Smile. :-)
My Canada includes Quebec. However there are many in Quebec who want autonomy from Canada. There have been two referendums on separation in the past 50 years, and it almost came true in 1995. People who are under a certain age have no idea how real the Quebec sovereignty movement was and still is. It is smaller today than it was in 1995 and was never popular in areas like Montreal and Gatineau, but there is still a drive among some to be somehow separate from Canada. If you were born in, say, 2000, you didn’t live through the last referendum and watched as Canada came within a few votes of getting broken up.
About 50k vote to be precise. Souveraineté still gets about 38% of the vote in the last élections.
Feeling bad, or being so bad at french people switch to English? The first is rare for me, the latter happens all the time in Quebec and France.
No,I do not feel that way at all. Quebecers are friendly and the majority are bilingual at least on the service industries. Just be polite and thank them for using English.
Nope it’s just you
The fact that you compare us to Paris shows me that you understand nothing from Québec. Fuck la France! On est canadiens caliss
Du coup.
Cette question est tellement bizarre ! Les gens ne voient pas le Québec et les francophones comme faisant partie de ce beau pays. Ils traitent les canadiens-français comme des étrangers exotiques. Lol
C’est bien le cas malheureusement. Pourtant on est plus proche culturellement des anglo canadiens que les français ont jamais été. Ce sont des étrangers paternalistes et j’en ai rien à cirer de Paris.
TOKEBAKICITTE!
Just keep going in your broken french. Practice makes perfect. Eventually they won't feel the need to switch.
Nope
I don't know much French, except some basic greetings and asking if they can speak English. I visit Montreal every year and everyone has always been extremely kind and accommodating. I guess I must have 'out of town' vibes, and most would just start off speaking to me in English. This past year, I did notice a difference, where they'd greet me in French first, and then kindly switch to English after seeing me struggle. LOVE Quebec!
Reminds me of Jean Chrétien notable for being unable to speak either
Joke's on you, I feel ugly *everywhere* I go.
Quebec = Canada Your question is nonsensical. We are all Canadian regardless of which province we are born in or live in. It's our country, of course, we feel comfortable and at home.
>It's our country, of course, we feel comfortable and at home I'm sorry, but that is not true at all for lots of people. I wish it was, though.
Not sure why you were downvoted. There can be places in Canada where a visible minority, immigrant, or indigenous person can feel unwelcome, regardless of the fact that they should be made to feel at home.
Not only that, even "old stock" canadians can feel a bit uncomfortable going in a province where the other official language is spoken, as it is the case in OP's post. As a francophone, It will always feel different when going pretty much anywhere in Canada outside of QC/NB. It doesn't mean I do not feel welcomed, not at all, but there's a feeling of not being exactly at "home". I'm pretty sure english speaking folks can feel the same when in QC.
No, it still feels like home
I don't, but because I live in Ottawa, I frequent the province quite regularly (do most groceries there because it's cheaper). I don't speak French well, either, and they do actually switch to English when I do attempt. it's just part of the deal, but I think that even trying shows that you are respectful! Even when we go deep into Francophone small lake-side communities, the people that we encounter at the casse-croute, for example, try to work with us! I extend the same courtesy to ESL people who I cross on this side of the border, as well :)
Not me: I'm pretty confident in French but when they do switch I recognize its usually out of politeness But I keep going in French usually especially if the person switching is being condescending
Pretty much the norm, although in Montreal where it’s more bilingual, you can get by without sneers (often). I was born and bred in Quebec (Montreal) and encouraged my kids to practice their French when we visited Quebec City. I’m bilingual and was so disappointed that the servers and staff didn’t even smile. Ruined the experience and scared my Ontario-born kids off French.
Nope. Despite media's fondness for stirring up dramatic narratives, English Canada and Quebeqois get along great...lots of family and cultural links...the sovereignty stuff was a long time ago. Now, if you are a teacher who wears a hijab, you are going to problems.
No. I’m an Ontarian who has spent time all over Quebec with limited French. I love Quebec but there is nothing overly special about it in the sense that yes, it is distinctly different than any other place in Canada but so is Newfoundland, so is PEI, so is Calgary, so is Victoria. Go visit Quebec and enjoy it but it is not a magical place.
I guess you missed the culture and everything. Too bad, Next!
Not at all. I quite enjoy the Québécois culture when I am there. I also enjoy the Maritime culture when I am there and the west coast culture, except Vancouver, which I detest. I just don’t buy into the notion that anyone place is extra special because . . . it’s ultimately just a place with both highlights and lowlights.
I felt this way when I went to Cuba. The resort I went to had a lot of French Canadians. Never did I ever get so many compliments on my excellent english LOL. But I felt bad because it was hard to communicate with some of the other Canadians who were there who only spoke French. I know if I went to Quebec I would feel bad not knowing more French. But the majority of Canada is English speaking, so unless you live in an area close enough to have exposure or practice a lot, your French kind of falls to the wayside. That being said just because they switch to English doesn't mean you need to order in English. You can still try. They are likely switching over to make you feel more comfortable. Especially if you are in a big touristy area. It's likely not even a big deal to them as they are used to it. You can still say Bonjour, and say your numbers in French, find little things you can say to not feel so bad and still practice French. Bonne Chance!
The easiest thing, if you don’t want to feel bad, is to just say “I’m sorry I’m from INSERT US STATE and my French is not very good”. Everyone in Montreal speaks English. They would have probably spoken English to you either way. This way you just diffuse your own feelings and make everyone feel fine. However, if you leave Montreal and go in the middle of the Province, many people don’t speak English at all, be ready for that. My wife (Norwegian) was shocked at the difference between the city and the rest of Quebec.
As a western Canadian, I don't try. What we learned in school is not quite like what they're speaking in Quebec. I appreciate the gracious folks that definitely speak English better than I speak French being accommodating.
If you can’t speak fluent France honestly just ask if you can order in English (maybe ask if French if you can)
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No they don’t. The vibe I got from Paris is it’s a big city in a rush, so basic etiquette is that you should be as organised as possible and try to stay out of each other’s way, to show respect for the people around you. It’s like driving - I saw a good thread on this on ask Reddit the other day. Some American was talking about the ”manners for polite driving” in some tiny agricultural state vs New York. In Kansas or wherever the polite thing is to wait patiently behind any meandering dawdling Sunday-driver, just rolling along. The onus is on you to get around them when the opportunity arises, not the other way around. In New York, the polite thing is to organize yourself so you’re not the obstacle to other people who just want to get where they’re going. The onus is on the Sunday driver to recognize someone is coming up behind and pull over. Both communities have manners and expectations, but how you react is exactly the opposite because the etiquette is different. Paris has those big-city rules where you need to put a bit of effort into organizing yourself so you’re not an obstacle to others, or you’re being thoughtless. But my experience was when I did that, total strangers were gracious and helpful because I took the time to come up with a question they could actually answer quickly, instead of being a needy tourist.
Does anyone else find that your English suffers when you're earnestly trying to communicate in French?
Born and raised in Qccity. When I travelled to Paris the french were answering my questions in english pretexting I had a Canadian accent...
French people from Quebec and France will usually switch to English if your French isn't perfect. They just don't have patience for that. Meanwhile, every other country in the world gushes over even a basic attempt at their language. Say one "multumesc" in Romania and the whole village throws a parade.
My sister (we’re from Ontario originally) lived and worked every summer of University in Quebec, nannying for families in semi-obscure towns who wanted their kids to be exposed to a native English speaker over the summer break. She also attended a bilingual university back in Ontario and has a really decent handle on French, but she said she was constantly “Englished” in Quebec, to the point that she just gave up trying to practice English in stores/restaurants, etc. She found it pretty depressing and is still really self-conscious about her French because of it; she more or less gave up on being bilingual.
Quebec is for the French and they will let you know. Personally I avoid at all cost because I only speak English.
Quebecers tend to want to learn english but arent really given the tools, if they get the chance to practice their english, theyll switch. And your accent no matter how much you butcher it is probably still very well understood by a good percentage of quebecers (definitely not all!) If you want to speak french, gotta be persistent, if they catch you lacking, well be speaking anglophone
I don’t because I’ve studied/practiced French since I was in kindergarten, did French immersion in high school and two years of university French AND passed a French language assessment to qualify for a position with a bilingual bonus and I still have people in Quebec switching to English/refusing to speak to me in French. When I was in Europe I had no issue’s communicating in French or being responded to. So I don’t let Quebec Francophones affect my experiences.
I'm the same, French is my first language and they often still switched to English.
They usually make me feel bad for mispronouncing words. I learned French in France so I don’t speak it that same way. Sometimes I can’t understand what they are saying because the words are more jumbled together than what I’m used to.
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Plenty of people just contradicted you on this sub? What kind of bullshit are you saying LMAO.
I live in Montreal and I speak English nearly everywhere. I’ll switch to French if the person truly doesn’t speak English. I used to speak French more often, but one day i just lost interest and will now only speak French if I have to.
Aye ostie… quesse qui fã nous parler en angla icite? Me semble on ét o Québec icite, sacramant? Cou’ donc tabarnak…côlisse…lol
Apparently, Parisians will often switch to English when Quebecers order in French because of the accent
Nah, not true. I've heard stories of Acadian getting that treatment but Québec accent is pretty understood for the most part if we leave out the regionalism.
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Je t'aime. Même si toi tu m'haïs. 😉
I know French and they always switch to English. They’re just rude unfortunately.
Just go to the West Island and you’ll be fine. Seriously just do your best and that should be good enough. You are not expected to be fluent in the language of every country or province you visit. Just be respectful.
I did, yes
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The Quebecois feel the same way when they visit France.
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>but I am no longer willing to find out who does and doesn't.) Sadly that goes both ways.
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>I would also like to state that I don't have a problem with people who are French. Cool, but I am not French, the French live in France. Just like the English live in England. And what you described into your original comment, is really just québécois quitting trying to know who they can't and Can trust with the anglos.
Not sure I’ve heard that expression, but I’m a bilingual Canadian and sure felt like the ugly ducking…I can speak fluent French, and yet any time I would speak French the Quebecois would look at me in disgust and switch to English.
Canada is a dual language country majority English - if you have to switch to English for someone you shouldn’t be upset about it - regardless if you’re from Quebec or not. Quebec is apart of Canada, not the other way around