By “informal,” I mean a word or expression far more likely to be found in normal, spontaneous, everyday language — between friends and family, for example — than in high literature or business correspondence or news reports.
In many posts on OffQc, you’ve no doubt noticed that I very often say that such-and-such a word or expression is an informal usage. Maybe you’ve even begun to wonder if all Québécois words and expressions are informal…
They’re not. There are many words and expressions unique to Québec that you’re just as likely to hear in everyday, spontaneous language as you are in a televised news report or formal language, in the same way that words like téléphone and café can cross language levels.
Below are some examples of both informal and level-neutral Québécois French.
Informal (between friends, for example)
- pogner, to grab, catch
- checker, to check
- c’est-tu…?, is it…?, is that…?
- capoter, to flip out
- m’as, I’m gonna (+ infinitive)
- c’est don’ bin cute!, is that ever cute!
- pis là, and then
- faque, so
- enweille!, come on then!
- un char, car
Level-neutral (not limited to one language level)
- un cégépien, cégep student
- faire l’épicerie, to go food shopping
- magasiner, to shop, shop around for
- une tête-de-violon, fiddlehead
- la poudrerie, blowing snow
- un melon d’eau, watermelon
- une pourvoirie, grounds where you can hunt, fish, trap
- à l’arrêt, at the stop sign
- un téléroman, soap opera
- un REER, retirement investment, pronounced ré-èr
It’s true that a lot of the language on OffQc falls more in the informal category than the level-neutral one. I do this because this is the language that’s more difficult to learn.
Informal words and expressions are less likely to appear in dictionaries and learning materials than the level-neutral ones. Informal usages are also sometimes “hidden” from learners by language instructors who judge them negatively or, outside of Québec, may be unknown to them if they aren’t familiar with the Québécois variety of French.
Très bonne mise au point. À l’inverse, tout ce qui est informel n’est pas nécessairement québécois (contrairement à ce que plusieurs de mes étudiants ont souvent tendance à penser)… Par exemple, quand ils entendent “t’aimes”, “t’habites” ou “t’étudies”, ils ont le réflexe de dire : “c’est du québécois”, alors que la majorité des francophones peuvent faire cette contraction en situation familière!
Oui, absolument vrai.
I am so glad to find offQC. It’s so difficult to find education in “street French”. After all it is the language spoken in Montreal and Quebec and that is what we Anglos should be able to learn!
Wouldn’t it be nice if beginners’ French courses focused more on normal, spoken language?
It is so exciting to find your website! I’ve been trying to watch 19-2 on Netflix with closed captions in what they call “Canadian French” so I can better understand Montreal street language. I found your site when I did a Google search on the word “pogner” after Google Translate failed to provide any insights. OffQC is really helping me to understand things in context. Thanks for all your work on the site and for providing so many media culture examples. Ça me pogne au coeur.
I’m glad you found OffQc! 😀
Felix, this is a super site! I grew up speaking both languages in Northern Ontario, so the informal French I speak with my friends is the worst sort of “j’ai crashé mon char dans le ditch!” variety! Hehe but I do make some use of more formal French for my work, and I’ve found that, despite the prevailing sentiment from European French speakers that Québécois French is very anglicized, I’ve actually found that in many cases, standard Québec French that you hear on a daily basis has less anglicismes than Parisian French! A few examples from a recent business trip to Paris:
“Parking” in Quebec is “Stationnement” but in Paris, it’s “Parking”
“The weekend” in Quebec is “la fin d’semaine” but in Paris, it’s “le weekend”
“E-mail” in Quebec is “courriel” but in Paris, it’s “l’email”.
“Courriel” is a particular example of a Québécois word (a contraction of “courrier électronique”) that makes WAY more sense in French than the Parisien version. It’s a sore spot because I had to change the translation for the Parisian market in my software… Lol
Anyway, bonne chance, and keep up the great work on the blog!
Steve
I agree that there are anglicisms in France that wouldn’t be tolerated in Quebec. It’s all a matter of perception, rather than fact.