Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[kwoldtimer]

You still hear that vowel shift in Ottawa, on the street.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by lio45

I have a French tenant named Lefèvre at the moment. That spelling is a dead giveaway that anyone is an immigrhant from overseas. In Quebec the spelling (I want to say "one and only", actually...) is Lefebvre. Very common name, as well.

People of our generation pronounce it Lefevre (let alone your kids) but very old people with thick accents might (i.e. some of them will) pronounce it Lefâiive, another case of how Old Quebecspeak has been preserved in places like Timmins.

I had a teacher in France whose surname was Groux. Very common surname in Quebec except it is spelled Groulx.

I have ancestors on my mom’s side who allegedly lived in the France up to the 1100’s. They moved to Southern England after William the Conqueror took possession of Britain and eventually took the surname Baldwin. Their descendants moved back to the Vendée region of France after a century or so and became the Beaudouin. Fast forward a century or two and the Beaudouin moved to New France where they eventually dropped the u, hence why is more common to see Beaudouin with a u in France than here.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Googled her to make sure I had her surname right. Former Miss NL. Her family pronounces it Mackie.



I wonder if it used to be MacKay?

Family friends of ours in Timmins have Mackey as their last name, spelled the same way as the person you referenced. (I also mentioned that I'm related to a MacKay and they are different families with different spellings) and the Mackey family I know pronounces it "Mackie" the same as you mentioned.

There is a Mackey, Ontario along the Ottawa River between Mattawa and Ottawa pronounced the same.

I believe the name is both of Irish and Scottish origin. I'm pretty sure that the family we know is mainly from Irish background but a lot of people did move between Ireland and Scotland. I discovered that I'm about a third Irish which I never knew until I did a couple of ancestry tests. I always thought that that part of my family background was Scottish. My Dad did some research and indeed those ancestors did originate in Ireland.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Lefebvre is the French equivalent to Smith. Like Ferraro and Schmidt in Italian and German.

In North America, Lefebvre is the most common way to spell it. It can also be spelled Lefaivre and Lefèvre. The latter is most common in France I think, but I believe you find all three on both sides of the Atlantic.

Lefebvre is the least intuitive of the three in terms of pronouncing it - even for francophones. Though we're all familiar with the name so we know.

Timmins is a smaller place where you'll find people with the last names Smith, Schmidt, Ferraro and Lefebvre as we also have many people of Italian and some of German origin. But I don't think I've seen the other variations of Lefebvre that you mentioned (Lefèvre and Lefaivre) here. I do know a Lefèvre in Ottawa who married a family member of mine there.

I have some friends and family with French-Canadian surnames that you will only find in Timmins and in maybe just one region in Quebec. A number of francophones in Timmins trace their family history to the old city of Gatineau and the nearby towns but I know others who had ancestors that came from all regions of Quebec.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Talbot I believe is one of those names that can be a full-fledged British name or a full-fledged French name.

Lambert is also like this.

Sometimes when people meet a person whose name is Walter Talbot or Stephen Lambert who speaks no French, they assume they're from a francophone family or background but that they assimilated at some point. But in some cases these people are 100% of British background going back to the UK.

I've also met people with names like Blanchard and Guerin (we write Guérin in French who are 100% of Irish background.

I doubt this person was of French Canadian background:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_Guerin

There are a number of family names that can be both French-Canadian or British Isles origin. It's pretty common for people in Timmins with these names to hear them pronounced both ways.

Ones I can think of:

Lambert

Martin

Harvey

Lord

Richard

Roger

Joseph

Landry

And I'm sure I could think of more...

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by le calmar

I had a teacher in France whose surname was Groux. Very common surname in Quebec except it is spelled Groulx.

I have ancestors on my mom’s side who allegedly lived in the France up to the 1100’s. They moved to Southern England after William the Conqueror took possession of Britain and eventually took the surname Baldwin. Their descendants moved back to the Vendée region of France after a century or so and became the Beaudouin. Fast forward a century or two and the Beaudouin moved to New France where they eventually dropped the u, hence why is more common to see Beaudouin with a u in France than here.

I believe the name Paquette is only spelled that way in North America. It was originally Paquet in France and was changed for whatever reason here. So there may be a few Paquets here but I bet 99% are Paquette.

[Oyster Ditch]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Timmins is a smaller place where you'll find people with the last names Smith, Schmidt, Ferraro and Lefebvre as we also have many people of Italian and some of German origin. But I don't think I've seen the other variations of Lefebvre that you mentioned (Lefèvre and Lefaivre) here. I do know a Lefèvre in Ottawa who married a family member of mine there.

I have some friends and family with French-Canadian surnames that you will only find in Timmins and in maybe just one region in Quebec. A number of francophones in Timmins trace their family history to the old city of Gatineau and the nearby towns but I know others who had ancestors that came from all regions of Quebec.

Had the greasiest poutine you ever saw in Timmins at a place called chez nous. How do you say chez nous in English?

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Loco101

There are a number of family names that can be both French-Canadian or British Isles origin. It's pretty common for people in Timmins with these names to hear them pronounced both ways.

Ones I can think of:

Lambert
Martin
Harvey
Lord
Richard
Roger
Joseph
Landry

And I'm sure I could think of more...

Beauchamp?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Beauchamp?

Raymond

Roy

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Raymond

Roy

Yes, those two are VERY common here. I believe that Roy is the surname you'll find the most in Timmins.

There are even some people here who have the family name King that was changed from Roy.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Yes, those two are VERY common here. I believe that Roy is the surname you'll find the most in Timmins.

There are even some people here who have the family name King that was changed from Roy.

King is also a British/Irish surname.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Oyster Ditch

Had the greasiest poutine you ever saw in Timmins at a place called chez nous. How do you say chez nous in English?

The original sign used to spin around and it said "Chez-Nous" on one side and "Our Place" on the other which is the translation.

But everybody calls it Chez-Nous. It was the first place in Timmins to serve poutine and one of the first in Ontario. I don't know the year they started serving it but probably in the 1970s or maybe very early 1980s at the latest. They even used to have a sign that read "Ah oui poutine!" There are new owners now and I haven't been there in probably 15 years. I never liked their poutine. The gravy sucks.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Loco101

I believe the name Paquette is only spelled that way in North America. It was originally Paquet in France and was changed for whatever reason here. So there may be a few Paquets here but I bet 99% are Paquette.

Not quite 99% but yes Paquette is predominant. I do know a number of people who spell it Paquet. A neighbour and also a coworker.

It's probably 80-20.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Timmins is a smaller place where you'll find people with the last names Smith, Schmidt, Ferraro and Lefebvre as we also have many people of Italian and some of German origin. But I don't think I've seen the other variations of Lefebvre that you mentioned (Lefèvre and Lefaivre) here. I do know a Lefèvre in Ottawa who married a family member of mine there.

I have some friends and family with French-Canadian surnames that you will only find in Timmins and in maybe just one region in Quebec. A number of francophones in Timmins trace their family history to the old city of Gatineau and the nearby towns but I know others who had ancestors that came from all regions of Quebec.

And of course the most famous Franco-Timminois of them all Conrad Lavigne I believe was originally from Chénéville, which is about an hour northeast of Gatineau.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lio45

People of our generation pronounce it Lefevre (let alone your kids) but very old people with thick accents might (i.e. some of them will) pronounce it Lefâiive, another case of how Old Quebecspeak has been preserved in places like Timmins.

Originally Posted by lio45

Same comment as above. Centenarian guy from the boonies in Quebec is likely to pronounce it Lévâiike.

Thanks for those phonetics. I was wondering how I'd write those sounds out in English.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Yes, those two are VERY common here. I believe that Roy is the surname you'll find the most in Timmins.

There are even some people here who have the family name King that was changed from Roy.

My fave are the local O'Quinns. From Aucoin.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

My fave are the local O'Quinns. From Aucoin.

No Irish O'Quinns in Nfld?

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

No Irish O'Quinns in Nfld?

I'm not sure. I only know a few, all from the same francophone family originally from the Port au Port Peninsula. I've never encountered the name except for their crowd.

[Acajack]

Lots of Whites who used to be LeBlancs in New Brunswick. Some of these Whites are still francophones.

Same goes with some of the Butlers (LeBouthillier) there.

PEI also has people who go by the name of Perry who used to be Poiriers. Some of them still speak French.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Acajack

And of course the most famous Franco-Timminois of them all Conrad Lavigne I believe was originally from Chénéville, which is about an hour northeast of Gatineau.

Yes, that is correct!