Quebec English
From Open Encyclopedia
Quebec English is the variant of English spoken within the province of Quebec. For the most part this is the same as Canadian English. However, Quebec English does have some unique lexical features, most of which exist because of the community's close proximity to French speakers.
For example, some Quebec anglophones might "open", or "close" a light (Quebec French ouvrir or fermer la lumière ); a convenience store is sometimes referred to as a dep (which is an abbreviation of the French dépanneur, also occasionally used); one might "compose" rather than dial a telephone number, and a telephone extension can be referred to as a "local". Such usage derives directly from the French terms for the same objects and actions.
Other gallicisms sometimes heard in Quebec English:
- a "reunion" to mean a "meeting"
- a "carosse" for a "shopping cart"
- "subvention" for "government grant"
- the "regie", in reference to Quebec's various boards (e.g. régie du logement for Rental Board)
- a "mannette" instead of a controller (such as one for a videogame console)
Quebec placenames and English
Before the implementation of the Charter of the French Language, many cities had their street and place names in English (notably Montreal). So, the street sign would say, for example "Saint Lawrence Boulevard". With the enacting of the Charter, these signs were changed for French ones as part of the Francization that swept the province, thus "St. Lawrence Blvd." became "boul. St-Laurent". However, many of the province's anglophones continue to use the English names. Some examples:
- Mountain St. for rue de la Montagne
- St. Lawrence Blvd. for boul. St-Laurent
- Park Ave. for av. du Parc
- Pine Ave. for av. des Pins
- Dorchester Blvd. for boul. René Lévesque
In other cases, Anglophone usage diverges from French in less noticeable ways:
- The generics are always English (St., Blvd., Ave., City, etc..)
- Hyphens and usually accents are omitted (Saint-Léonard" is Saint Leonard in English, and "Montréal" is Montreal)
