French In Quebec
Quebec's official language differs from its European source in much the same way North American English differs from British English. Yet while the Quebecois French vocabulary, grammar and syntax may not constitute a separate language, the speech of Quebec can pose a few problems. Tracing its roots back to seventeenth-century popular French, the Quebecois language has preserved features that disappeared long ago in France itself and it has also been affected by its close contact with English. The end result is a dialect that is - frankly - a source of amusement to many French people and bafflement for those educated in the French language back in Europe, not to mention other parts of Canada. Within Quebec itself there are marked regional differences of pronunciation, so much so that Montrealers find it hard to understand northern Quebecois. The Quebecois are extremely sympathetic when visiting English-speakers make the effort to speak French - and most are much more forthcoming with their knowledge of English when talking to a Briton or American than to a Canadian. Similarly easy-going is the attitude towards the formal vous (you), which is used less often in Quebec - you may even be corrected when saying S'il vous plait with the suggestion that S'il te plait is more appropriate. Another popular phrase that you are likely to come across is pas de tout ("not at all") which in Quebec is pronounced pan toot , completely different from the French pa du too . The same goes for c'est tout? ("is that all?" pronounced say toot ), which you're likely to hear when buying something in a shop. With pronunciation there's little point trying to mimic the local dialect - generally, just stick to the classic French rules. Consonants at the ends of words are usually silent and at other times are much as in English, except that ch is always sh, c is s, h is silent, th is the same as t, ll is like the y in yes and r is growled.
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