Quebec, the French Language, and Quebecois Identity

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Even lots of francophones say ENN-DEE-GEE: "Mon ami habite à ENN-DEE-GEE".

You mean ène-dé-gé surely.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

People don't talk about this enough. In North America, you say you're going to move to Seattle or Vancouver, and everyone will mention the rain and clouds. But for Berlin or Copenhagen, it's all clubs and bike lanes.

People shouldn't overlook it: a lot of Europe is GLOOMY!

Paris is 380 km due north of Montréal. Berlin is 780 km due north of Montréal (i.e. toward the middle of James Bay, or Baie James). It's hell in winter for sure. 3 long months of darkness (last week there was even a day when I had lights on all day at home, so dark it was even around noon-2pm). This winter is particularly cold on top of it (freezing almost every night in the center of Paris for the past 10 days, which hadn't happened in many years, and -11 degrees C registered in Berlin last week).

It should finally warm up next week! But will remain pretty dark until the famous 'Chandeleur' in February, always my favorite holiday, which is to the Francophones the anti-Halloween of the Anglophones (i.e. the day when darkness finally recedes, and kids enjoy their crêpes at home!).

[GlassCity]

Coming to Winnipeg after being in French immersion required a lot of reeducation to "properly" pronounce Saint BAWN-if-iss, PORT-idge Avenue, the Sane River, and I'm sure others that don't come to mind now.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Coming to Winnipeg after being in French immersion required a lot of reeducation to "properly" pronounce Saint BAWN-if-iss, PORT-idge Avenue, the Sane River, and I'm sure others that don't come to mind now.

It's like when I go to Sault Ste Marie.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

You mean ène-dé-gé surely.

No, I mean ène-di-dji in fact.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

You mean ène-dé-gé surely.

Never, afaik.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Acajack

No, I mean ène-di-dji in fact.

Bizarre.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

Bizarre.

Normal. NDG is accepted as an “Anglo” hood. You’d find it weird too to say “un Dji-Aïe Djoe” for example? (For the toy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe )

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lio45

Normal. NDG is accepted as an “Anglo” hood. You’d find it weird too to say “un Dji-Aïe Djoe” for example? (For the toy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe )

Or "c'est un vi-aille-pi" (VIP).

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Coming to Winnipeg after being in French immersion required a lot of reeducation to "properly" pronounce Saint BAWN-if-iss, PORT-idge Avenue, the Sane River, and I'm sure others that don't come to mind now.

Originally Posted by Loco101

It's like when I go to Sault Ste Marie.

Or Saint Paul and Portage La Prairie for that matter

One time I said “Grande Prairie” the French way. My friend was like, “Are you saying it like that just because there’s an e at the end of grand…”

Now, especially for the northern Ontarians on SSP, how would you pronounce names of places like “Ouimet”, “Pays Plat”, “Longlac”, “Dubreuilleville”, “Gros Cap” (near Wawa), “Chapleau”?

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Or "c'est un vi-aille-pi" (VIP).

Exactly, great example. Basically, anything that is perceived as “originally Anglo” (like the concept of a V.I.P.) will be unaltered. In STEM fields, happens as well (science being often done in the world’s current lingua franca), for example hé-aïe for intelligence artificielle, though the proper “IA” does exist — but gets much less use unless it’s in official govt documents.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by lio45

Normal. NDG is accepted as an “Anglo” hood. You’d find it weird too to say “un Dji-Aïe Djoe” for example? (For the toy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe )

Never heard of that toy. In France people say "les dji aïez" when they refer to US soldiers during WW2 (not today's soldiers), but that's the only use of the term. The expression "Dji-Aïe Djoe" is not used in Europe. And "Uncle Sam" is called "Oncle Sam" in Europe, never "Uncle Sam".

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Or "c'est un vi-aille-pi" (VIP).

This word is a bit old-fashioned now. The latest fad is "les people" (pronounced "pipeul"), which I find awful. In your example, that would be "c'est un people".

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by lio45

In STEM fields, happens as well (science being often done in the world’s current lingua franca), for example hé-aïe for intelligence artificielle, though the proper “IA” does exist — but gets much less use unless it’s in official govt documents.

In France "IA" is the ubiquitous term. AI is not used (which surprises me a lot given the Anglo-mania of most French elites). We say "l'ee a (as in apple)".

[lio45]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

This word is a bit old-fashioned now. The latest fad is "les people" (pronounced "pipeul"), which I find awful. In your example, that would be "c'est un people".

Wait a minute, that's 10x worse than ours!!!

[Acajack]

Les mouches commencent à avoir mal aux fesses.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by lio45

Wait a minute, that's 10x worse than ours!!!

Le Figaro Magazine for you! They aren't happy if they don't stuff their articles with as many English words as possible (to sound like a LA fashionista). I abhor this mentality.

https://madame.lefigaro.fr/tag/people

[MolsonExport]

Les Foufounes Électriques.




Never translated into the Electric buttcheeks.

[Nashe]

Have I come to the right place to ask for someone to explain "wee fee" to me please? (WIFI)

I've only ever heard it pronounced that way by techs I've talked to based in Montreal. Is that normal?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Nashe

Have I come to the right place to ask for someone to explain "wee fee" to me please? (WIFI)

I've only ever heard it pronounced that way by techs I've talked to based in Montreal. Is that normal?

I know astronomers at UdeM who insist that the volcanic Galilean moon of Jupiter is called Ee-Oh, not Eye-Oh - very strange..........