Which is the difference between the french of Montreal and Paris (accent)?

Show all answers

Citizen Kane

Just to complete previous answers, I'd picture it from a historical and geographical point of view.

Four European languages have crossed the pond to the new continent; from North to South they are:
French
English
Spanish
Portuguese

For all of them, they are spoken differently on each continent -accent, vocabulary, expressions- because people have faced different social, political, and religious realities over the past four centuries. And generally Europeans have difficulties understanding their cousins but the contrary is not so marked.

Also, European emigrants were not representative of their native countries; and therefore some social groups were over-represented whereas others were quasi absent.

For French Canadians, their 'average ancestors,' from a historical standpoint, are a male criminal convict and a poor, illiterate female. French from the higher social strata were statistically infinitesimal among the colons.

Also, since Francophones were surrounded by Anglophones, and since the Quebec Roman Catholic Church forbade for ethical reasons education, profits, working in business, investing, or trading with people from outside the community, then French Canadians have been forced to live in relative isolation as rural dwellers for more than three centuries until the 1970s.

Today, the level of education among young French Canadians is comparable to that of other Western countries and electronic media is favouring cultural exchange for the benefit of all.

French spoken in Paris is monotonous and rather articulated, i.e. all syllables, including final ones, are pronounced completely.
French spoken in Montreal is more chanting, lively, and reflective of the emotions of the speaker.

In Paris your accent is seen as an indicator of your social background whereas in Montreal it is more seen as a reflection of your personality.

Nombril (belly button)
Sourcil (eyebrow)
Baril (barrel)
In Paris, you would want to pronounce the final 'L', whereas in Montreal you don't have to.

The same goes for numbers:
500: cinq cent
700: sept cent
900: neuf cent
You can omit the 'q', 't', or 'f' in Montreal but not in Paris because no one would understand you.

Finally, it is almost impossible for a French to learn to speak with a French Canadian accent as an adult no matter how hard s/he tries. After 8-10 years of age it's set for good. This problem arises with other foreign languages notably Dutch.

The fact is that in France people use a very limited number of sounds to communicate; in the other hand, many other languages as well as all the other strands of French spoken in the world use a more diversified library of sounds. That explains why French Canadians find it relatively easier to pronounce English words than French and why the former tend to speak English with a very strong accent.

mckahlan_2004

Parisian French is softer and slower, and I find it easier to understand. Canadian French sounds a little harder and faster. Different regions in France have their own accents as well, just like in the US you can tell whether a person comes from Boston, New York, or New Orleans by their accent.

cheddler

Actually the French in Quebec is considered to be "older" because it has not evolved as much as Parisian French. In Quebec they still use many old terms that have fallen out of use in France, and in France they are not as hung up on using the occasional English word (e.g. "le weekend" instead of "fin de semaine").

I agree with one of the other posters in that, as an anglophone learning French it's easier to understand a French accent than a French-Canadian accent.

Goddess of Grammar

Quebec French is more nasal, Parisian French is pronounced low and back in the throat.

Andy C

I would agree with alot of the above.

From what I recall Quebec french is related to a single regional dialect in northern France.
Like American English it is infact more conservative that the European languages.
For Example...
In American English the word Diaper is used where in UK English the word used is nappy. However evidence suggests that Diaper is the word that was used more in the UK in the early part of the 20th century.

In quebec French you can ask for la Facteur at the end of a meal, in Paris it is l'addition...
La facteur in europe is generally used for invoice.

In terms of the accent then you are looking at quite a big difference even within Quebec.
(Think of the difference between Boston and New Orleans)
If you want to hear the qubec rural accent lookup "Tetes a Claques" on the net....
When these are exported to France they use subtitles.
Some Quebec movies also come with subtitles for European French.
If you want to hear Quebec French check out some of their radio stations here
http://www.canadianwebradio.com/quebec.html

If you want to hear European Frence lookup www.TV5.fr

................................

Vanilla Rose

The vast differences between both accents are pretty much impossible to explain or describe.

The previous answers don't really give you any real ideas so I suggest you either go and visit both cities or watch a movie from each country and keep your ears peeled, so to speak.

Do you understand and speak French at all?

If you did, you'd know the answer to your question.

Yeah I guess it's like comparing British English and North American English.

Try and explain that if you dare!

Good luck!

Flatstick

The French spoken in Paris has to be considered the most pure as it is the origin of the language. The French in Montreal has some of it's own words, and slang expressions, and is spoken with a sort of Western (American) accent. It is similar although not as pronounced a difference as between English spoken in the US vs what you hear in Britain.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: