On the radio, I heard an ad from Midas, who do car repairs. They used a slogan:
On fait tout
We do it all
Except the speaker didn’t pronounce tout as tou. He pronounced it informally as toute. This isn’t a feminine form; it’s just the final t of tout being pronounced, which can occur at the informal level of spoken language.
On fait toute — toute, toute, toute!
What about the vowel sound in toute? Have you heard the way it sounds as you listen to spoken French from Québec? You can hear tout pronounced as toute on this page. Click on the red son button beside the word tout.
I love the subtlety of the sign! I’m sure you’re seeing lots of people in the streets right now who think they can do “toute toute toute!” Hahaha. Great post! 😉 This is where French become “fun!!”
OK! THAT was embarassing! I followed the link to hear the “toute” thinking: Gee, I wonder how the Quebec pronunciation is spelled.
WELL! Never mind that. I listened to the other words and the phrases and you just explained something for me.
I have a most dear friend for many years, born and raised in Montreal who repeatedly asks me, usually with a rather disgusted look on her face “WHY do you talk like THAT? Your English is just about perfect. You learnt French in school and I’m certain they didn’t teach you THAT!”
Well… once again, the ambiguous genders (l’ instead of le or la), the slurring and, this time I noticed something I’ve never paid attention to:
VOYONS!
pronounced “Woyons”. ‘s true! The “V’ becomes a “W”, just as, many years ago a friend from France asked “C’est quoi… ‘bais’?” “M” becomes “B”!
OH! To think: THIS is the root of so much political animosity, the preservation of a language that almost no longer remotely resembles its own roots.
But, as always, OffQc has brought a smile to my face and SO much to think about (and be self-conscious of).
BRAVO! et pis MERCI pour “toot” (as it were).