5 ms·

I was in Fermont a long time ago. I was driving from Goose Bay all the way south. in the 90s, the Labrador highway wasn't paved, it was just rough gravel. I

by mig39 5y ago

I was in Fermont a long time ago. I was driving from Goose Bay all the way south. in the 90s, the Labrador highway wasn't paved, it was just rough gravel. I got a flat tire somewhere near the border, then pulled into Fermont and tried my best high school-level French to find somewhere to fix my flat tire. I asked the guy at the gas station: "Excusez-moi, savez-vous où je peux trouver un garage pour réparer mon pneu crevé ?" He looked at me and said "Fixer le flat, huh?" No amount of formal French prepares you for Northern Quebecois "French" :-)

cmehdy 5y ago
FWIW your French is impeccable, and indeed there's no shortage of culture shock between France and Quebec for this sort of stuff. source: French from FR living in QC :)
- melissalobos 5y ago
  I think that is the point they was making. Also I read this in a Brunswick french accent until the word shortage, and it kinda worked(as franco-english like they were describing).
gmfawcett 5y ago
If you want a happy rabbit-hole to visit for a few minutes, take a look at these examples of "Chiac", an Acadian French variety spoken in parts of New Brunswick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiac#Example_sentences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiac#Example_sentences A slightly legendary music video in Chiac: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cRPH4lb8UI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cRPH4lb8UI Right drôle!
- dghughes 5y ago
  A guy I worked with from New Brunswick was bilingual. He dated a woman from northern New Brunswick she only spoke French. When he met her parents he said her dad scowled at his poor French. To the father he was not French. So this person my co-worker bilingual French/English since birth had to take French lessons. I guess the words he used were bizarre to French-only ears.
- FpUser 5y ago
  >"A slightly legendary music video in Chiac" OMG. They're awesome. Thanks for good find
- dundarious 5y ago
  I recommend P'tit Belliveau, in particular Income Tax, which has a nice "Glossaire acadjonne" and lines like "J'vais blower friggin' 300$ au liquor store": https://youtu.be/Ri0r0_urwo8 https://youtu.be/Ri0r0_urwo8
  - gmfawcett 5y ago
    That's hilarious -- thanks for sharing.
dheera 5y ago
English in Newfoundland is also another level. Typical greeting isn't "What's up" but "Where ya at?" The response I was told is "This is it."
- jmacd 5y ago
  Not to be confused with "Where ya to?"
jeffreygoesto 5y ago
I went with a canadian friend to Quebec and thought "boy is his french bad" when he ordered a room. Much to my surprise the answer wad in exactly the same dialect. Loved it and ruined in the local radio stations for the whole drive after. Still have a certain song in my ear that we heard live in a bar in Quebec "Quand je change ma vie, je rue la Gaspesie...". Which is what we did after Quebec... If you asked in French, the local people immediately switched to English and were extremely nice and helpful.
- tharkun__ 5y ago
  Do not let them fool you. If they recognize you as a tourist they will happily switch to English, however broken theirs may be, however much trouble they might have speaking it. If they recognize you as a 'local' (i.e. immigrant) and you don't speak French you will get into trouble in most places in Quebec. Even in Montreal though not everywhere in Montreal. If you aren't aware, Google about the referendum and the "OQLF" and their practices for example. It's very telling that even the Bank of Montreal moved their headquarters to Toronto back then.
  - ramchip 5y ago
    When I lived in a dorm in Montreal, a pizza delivery guy passed by and asked my neighbor for directions to a room, in English. He replied that he doesn't know. Obviously he does, so after helping the guy I asked my neighbor why he'd say that. He said essentially if the guy lives here and can't speak basic French he doesn't deserve an answer. Most people aren't like that, but there are assholes out there...
    - 908B64B197 5y ago
      I had to let someone go at a company we had just acquired in Montreal a while ago. The guy was underperforming and had a huge attitude problem. One of the frequent arguments he had with everyone was that he insisted he didn’t need to learn French to live in Montreal and was somehow hostile to the language. Despite being born and raised in America and having lived the last 20+ years in the Bay I somehow spoke more French than him. But I honestly questioned why he immigrated there in the first place when there’s 50 states and 9 other provinces he could go to and live exclusively in English? I get he probably couldn’t pass the higher bar for US immigration but that still leaves 2/3rd of Canada to go to.
julienchastang 5y ago
La Bolduc ! :-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2x-9c95Yxc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2x-9c95Yxc

by mig39 5y ago

cmehdy 5y ago

FWIW your French is impeccable, and indeed there's no shortage of culture shock between France and Quebec for this sort of stuff. source: French from FR living in QC :)

melissalobos 5y ago
I think that is the point they was making. Also I read this in a Brunswick french accent until the word shortage, and it kinda worked(as franco-english like they were describing).

gmfawcett 5y ago

If you want a happy rabbit-hole to visit for a few minutes, take a look at these examples of "Chiac", an Acadian French variety spoken in parts of New Brunswick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiac#Example_sentences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiac#Example_sentences A slightly legendary music video in Chiac: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cRPH4lb8UI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cRPH4lb8UI Right drôle!

dghughes 5y ago
A guy I worked with from New Brunswick was bilingual. He dated a woman from northern New Brunswick she only spoke French. When he met her parents he said her dad scowled at his poor French. To the father he was not French. So this person my co-worker bilingual French/English since birth had to take French lessons. I guess the words he used were bizarre to French-only ears.
FpUser 5y ago
>"A slightly legendary music video in Chiac" OMG. They're awesome. Thanks for good find
dundarious 5y ago
I recommend P'tit Belliveau, in particular Income Tax, which has a nice "Glossaire acadjonne" and lines like "J'vais blower friggin' 300$ au liquor store": https://youtu.be/Ri0r0_urwo8 https://youtu.be/Ri0r0_urwo8
- gmfawcett 5y ago
  That's hilarious -- thanks for sharing.

dheera 5y ago

English in Newfoundland is also another level. Typical greeting isn't "What's up" but "Where ya at?" The response I was told is "This is it."

jmacd 5y ago
Not to be confused with "Where ya to?"

jeffreygoesto 5y ago

I went with a canadian friend to Quebec and thought "boy is his french bad" when he ordered a room. Much to my surprise the answer wad in exactly the same dialect. Loved it and ruined in the local radio stations for the whole drive after. Still have a certain song in my ear that we heard live in a bar in Quebec "Quand je change ma vie, je rue la Gaspesie...". Which is what we did after Quebec... If you asked in French, the local people immediately switched to English and were extremely nice and helpful.

tharkun__ 5y ago
Do not let them fool you. If they recognize you as a tourist they will happily switch to English, however broken theirs may be, however much trouble they might have speaking it. If they recognize you as a 'local' (i.e. immigrant) and you don't speak French you will get into trouble in most places in Quebec. Even in Montreal though not everywhere in Montreal. If you aren't aware, Google about the referendum and the "OQLF" and their practices for example. It's very telling that even the Bank of Montreal moved their headquarters to Toronto back then.
- ramchip 5y ago
  When I lived in a dorm in Montreal, a pizza delivery guy passed by and asked my neighbor for directions to a room, in English. He replied that he doesn't know. Obviously he does, so after helping the guy I asked my neighbor why he'd say that. He said essentially if the guy lives here and can't speak basic French he doesn't deserve an answer. Most people aren't like that, but there are assholes out there...
  - 908B64B197 5y ago
    I had to let someone go at a company we had just acquired in Montreal a while ago. The guy was underperforming and had a huge attitude problem. One of the frequent arguments he had with everyone was that he insisted he didn’t need to learn French to live in Montreal and was somehow hostile to the language. Despite being born and raised in America and having lived the last 20+ years in the Bay I somehow spoke more French than him. But I honestly questioned why he immigrated there in the first place when there’s 50 states and 9 other provinces he could go to and live exclusively in English? I get he probably couldn’t pass the higher bar for US immigration but that still leaves 2/3rd of Canada to go to.

julienchastang 5y ago

La Bolduc ! :-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2x-9c95Yxc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2x-9c95Yxc