Canadian French
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- See also: French Canadian
Canadian French is an umbrella term for the dialects or varieties of French found in Canada [1] and areas of French Canadian settlement in the United States. It is the mother tongue of about 6.7 million Canadians (23% of the Canadian population) [2]. While most native French speakers in Canada live in Quebec, where it is the majority language, about one million native francophones live in other provinces, forming sizeable minorities in Ontario and New Brunswick and significantly smaller communities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Many, but not all, of these communities are supported by French-language institutions.
While French, with no specification as to dialect or variety, has the status as one of Canada's two official languages at the federal government level, English is the native language of the majority of Canadians. The federal government provides services and operates in both languages. French is the sole official language in Quebec at the provincial level and is co-official with English in New Brunswick. The provincial governments of Ontario, New Brunswick, and Manitoba are required to provide services in French where justified by the number of francophones (french-language speakers). However, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires all provinces to provide primary and secondary education to their official-language minorities at public expense.
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[edit] French dialects in Canada
As a consequence of geographical and political/historical (British Conquest) isolation, the French language in Canada presents three distinct dialects (distinct from French in Europe, but also among each other within Canada):
- Quebec French is spoken mainly in Quebec, but also by French-speaking communities in Northern Ontario, Western Canada, Labrador and even in the New England region of the USA (mainly Aroostook County, Maine).
- Acadian French is spoken by the Acadians in the Canadian Maritimes and some parts of Quebec and Newfoundland. It is an ancestor of Cajun French.
- Newfoundland French is spoken by a few people in Newfoundland. It is an endangered dialect.
These dialects are not Old French – a much earlier stage of the language that was spoken during the High Middle Ages. The origins of Quebec French lie in 17th century and 18th century Parisian French, with some influences from regional varieties of early Modern French, also known as Classical French, and of other Oïl languages (such as Norman, Picard and Poitevin) that French colonists brought to New France. The influence of these dialects on Acadian French is acknowledged to be stronger than on Quebec French. The three dialects can also be historically and geographically associated with three of the five former colonies of New France, respectively Canada, Acadia, and Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland).
In addition, Michif is a mixed language based on Cree and Quebec French.
[edit] Labelling and dominance of Quebec French
Within Canadian French, Quebec French is so dominant that they are often considered one and the same. The liberal use of the label "Canadian French" is in some ways similar to the English and French uses of "Flemish" / "le flamand". These terms are almost always over-generalized to signify Dutch - the standard, common, and official language spoken by the Flemish Community of Belgium. For a detailed explanation, see the introductions for the articles on Flemish and on Dutch.
Speakers of Acadian French tend to view the more formal varieties of Quebec French as a linguistic standard for three main reasons:[citation needed]
- While being the only province whose majority is francophone, Quebec is also home to the majority of francophones in Canada.
- The Quebec government has taken legislative action to improve the social and legal status of the French language through massive terminological work, the Charter of the French Language, and the Office québécois de la langue française.
- On a pan-Canadian level, Quebec French overwhelmingly dominates francophone culture and the French-language media.
[edit] The language across Canada
[edit] Quebec
Quebec is the only province whose sole official language is French. However, many of the services the provincial government provides are available in English for the sizeable anglophone population of the province (notably in Montreal). Quebec French is noticeably different in pronunciation and vocabulary from the French of France, sometimes called Metropolitan French, but they are easily mutually intelligible in their formal varieties, and after moderate exposure, in most of their informal ones as well. The differences are due primarily to changes that have occurred in Quebec French and Parisian French since the 18th century, when Britain gained possession of Canada. Today, 81.4 percent of Quebecers are francophone. [3] Different regions of Quebec have their own style: Gaspé Peninsula, North Coast, Quebec City, Lac St-Jean, Outaouais, and Abitibi have clear differences in choice of words and pronunciation, based on culture, lifestyle, and origins. For example, depending on one's region, the ordinary word for "kettle" can be bouilloire, bombe, or canard.
[edit] Atlantic Canada
Commonly known as Acadian French, the variety of French spoken in Atlantic Canada possesses features different from those of Quebec French. It is historically related to Cajun French.
French is one of the official languages, with English, of the province of New Brunswick. Apart from Quebec, this is the only other Canadian province that recognizes French as an official language. Approximately one third of New Brunswickers are francophone [4], the largest Acadian population in Canada. It is concentrated along the eastern coast of the province. The only major Acadian population centre is Moncton. Francophones are, however, in the minority there.
In addition to New Brunswick, Acadian French has speakers in portions of mainland Quebec and in the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. In these provinces, the percentage of francophones is much smaller than in New Brunswick. In some communities, French is an endangered language.
Although not traditionally part of Acadia, the Magdalen Islands, an archipelago of 9 small islands belonging to Quebec, also speak Acadian French.
Newfoundland is also home to its own distinct dialect of French, Newfoundland French.
[edit] Ontario
Although French is the native language of just over half a million Canadians in Ontario, francophone Ontarians represent only 4.4 percent of the province's population and are concentrated near the border with Quebec (Eastern Ontario), in Sudbury, and much of Northeastern Ontario. Nonetheless, they are also present in smaller numbers throughout the province as well. However, a third of Franco-Ontarians no longer speak the language at home.
The province has no official language, although it is a largely English-speaking province. Ontario law requires that the provincial Legislative Assembly operate in both English and French (individuals can speak in the Assembly in the official language of their choice), and requires that all provincial statutes and bills be made available in English and French. Furthermore, an individual is entitled to communicate with the head or central office of any provincial government department or agency in French, and an individual is entitled to receive all government services in French in 23 designated areas in the province. The provincial government of Ontario's website is bilingual.
[edit] Western Canada
Manitoba also has a significant Franco-Manitoban community, centred especially in the St. Boniface area of Winnipeg, but also in many surrounding villages. The provincial government of Manitoba boasts the only bilingual website of the Prairies; the Canadian constitution makes French an official language in Manitoba for the Legislature and Courts. Saskatchewan also has a Fransaskois community, as does Alberta with its Franco-Albertans. British-Columbia, on the other hand, hosts only a small francophone population, the Franco-Columbians.
Although not a dialect of French, Michif, a unique mixed language based on Cree and French, is spoken by a small number of Métis living mostly in the province of Manitoba.
[edit] Northern Canada
French is an official language in each of the three northern territories: the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Francophones in the Yukon are called Franco-Yukon(n)ais, those from the Northwest Territories, Franco-Ténois, from the French acronym for the Northwest Territories, T.N.-O.
[edit] French-speaking communities in Canada outside of Quebec
- Franco-Ontarians (or Ontarois)
- Acadians (in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Also present in portions of Quebec.)
- Franco-Manitobans
- Fransaskois (in Saskatchewan)
- Franco-Albertans
- Franco-Columbians
- Franco-Terreneuviens
- Franco-Tenois (in the Northwest Territories)
- Franco-Yukon(n)ais (in the Yukon)
- Franco-Nunavois (in Nunavut)
[edit] External links
- "French language: Canadian French today" The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Hurtig Publishers.
- Canadian French - English Dictionary
- 2001 Census: Language
- Office québécois de la langue française
- Grand dictionnaire terminologique
- Salon Quebecois Internet's Largest Canadian French Glossary
[edit] See also
- Bilingualism in Canada
- French in the United States
- French Language
- French pronunciation
- Language in Canada
- Quebec French lexicon
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Standard French |
