French is the mother tongue of about 6.7 million Canadians (23% of the Canadian population)
[1]. 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,
New Brunswick and
Manitoba and significantly smaller communities in
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 of 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-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.
French dialects in Canada
As a consequence of geographical seclusion and, due to the British Conquest, political isolation of Canada from France, the French language in Canada presents three distinct but related dialects. They share certain features which distinguish them from European French. The name ''
Canadian French'' is now usually viewed as an umbrella term for all of these varieties.
★
Quebec French is spoken in
Quebec. Closely related varieties descended from it are spoken by francophone communities in
Ontario,
Western Canada,
Labrador and even in the
New England region of the
United States, and differ primarily by their greater conservatism. The term ''Laurentian French'' has limited currency as an umbrella term for these varieties, and ''Quebec French'', somewhat confusingly, is also used. The term ''Canadian French'' was formerly used to refer to this dialect specifically,
[1] (presumably because Canada and Acadia were distinct parts of New France, and even British North America until 1867), but is now not usually felt to exclude Acadian French.
★
Acadian French is spoken by the
Acadians in the
Canadian Maritimes and some parts of
Quebec and
Newfoundland. It is the ancestor of
Cajun French. Acadian French shares many traits with Quebec French.
★
Newfoundland French is spoken by a limited population 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, there is a
mixed language known as
Michif which is based on
Cree and
French. It is spoken by
Métis communities in
Manitoba and
Saskatchewan as well as adjacent areas of the United States.
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:
# 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.
The language across Canada
Quebec
Quebec is the only province whose sole official language is French. Today, 81.4 percent of Quebecers are francophone.
[2] 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.
Different regions of Quebec have their own varieties:
Gaspé Peninsula,
North Coast,
Quebec City,
Lac St-Jean,
Outaouais, and
Abitibi have characteristic differences in pronunciation as well as vocabulary. For example, depending on one's region, the ordinary word for "kettle" can be ''bouilloire, bombe,'' or ''canard''.
Atlantic Canada
Present-day Acadian communities
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
[3], by far the largest
Acadian population in Canada. It is concentrated along the eastern coast of the province. The only major Acadian population centre is
Moncton, home to the main campus of the
Université de Moncton. Francophones are, however, in the minority in Moncton.
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.
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. They are also present in smaller numbers throughout the province. However, a third of
Franco-Ontarians no longer speak the language at home.
The province has no official language defined in law, 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, under the
French Language Services Act, individuals are entitled to communicate with the head or central office of any provincial government department or agency in French, as well as to receive all government services in French in 25 designated areas in the province, selected according to minority population criteria. The provincial government of
Ontario's website is bilingual.
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 derived from
Cree and French, is spoken by a small number of
Métis living mostly in the province of
Manitoba.
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.''), and those in Nunavut,
Franco-Nunavois.
Notes
1. Francard and Latin, in ''Le régionalisme lexical'', write: "Le français du Québec a rayonné en Ontario et dans l'ouest du Canada, de même qu'en Nouvelle-Angleterre. [...] Le français québécois et le français acadien peuvent être regroupés sous l'appellation plus large de ''français canadien''², laquelle englobe aussi le français ontarien et le français de l'Ouest canadien. Ces deux derniers possèdent des traits caractéristiques qui leur sont propres aujourd'hui dans l'ensemble canadien et qui s'expliquent surtout par un phénomène de conservatisme, mais il s'agit de variétés qui sont historiquement des prolongements du français québécois." The footnote reads: "Il faut noter ici que le terme de ''français canadien'' avait autrefois un sens plus restreint, désignant le français du Québec et les variétés qui s'y rattachent directement, d'où l'emploi à cette époque de ''canadianisme'' pour parler d'un trait caractéristique du français du Québec."
2. [2]
3. [3]
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)
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
See also
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Bilingualism in Canada
★
French in the United States
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French Language
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French pronunciation
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Language in Canada
★
Quebec French lexicon
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