Éric asks Macha for news about Valérie. Macha’s got some funny news to tell him about Valérie, but she’s not sure where to begin or how to word it:
Éric: Pis… Valérie?
Macha: Comment j’te dirais ben ça?
Éric: So… Valérie? (i.e., So… what about Valérie?)
Macha: How can I put this?
Maybe you’ll remember from elsewhere on this blog that je te often contracts to j’te when speaking informally. It sounds like chte.
Maybe you’ll also remember that the letter d sounds like dz before the French i sound. So dirais sounds like dzirais.
Ben is an informal pronunciation of bien. Pis is an informal pronunciation of puis. The way Éric used pis here was to encourage Macha to speak: “and? so?”
[Quotes from Tout sur moi, “Passe ton tour,” season 5, episode 12, Radio-Canada, Montreal, 30 November 2011.]
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