Canadian French
| Canadian French Français canadien | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Canada (especially Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick), smaller numbers in New England | |
| Total speakers: | (mother tongue) 7 million in Canada[1] | |
| Language family: | Indo-European Italic Romance Italo-Western Western Gallo-Iberian Gallo-Romance Gallo-Rhaetian Oïl French Canadian French | |
| Official status | ||
| Official language in: | Canada (as French) | |
| Regulated by: | ||
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | ||
| ISO 639-3: | fre | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Canadian French is an umbrella term for the varieties of the French language used in Canada. French is the mother tongue of about 7 million Canadians (22% of the Canadian population, compared to 58% for English),[2] and includes the following varieties:
- Quebec French is spoken in Quebec. Closely related varieties are spoken by francophone communities in Ontario, Western Canada, Labrador and even in the New England region of the United States, and differ primarily by their greater conservatism. The term Laurentian French has limited application as an umbrella term for these varieties, and Quebec French, somewhat confusingly, is also used. The overwhelming majority of francophone Canadians use this dialect.
- Métis French spoken in Manitoba, North Dakota and adjacent areas, alongside with the related but distinct mixed language Michif.
- Bonaventure County French, also spoken in neighboring parts of Beauce-Appalaches and Madawaska, seems phonologically close to Acadian French but is morphosyntactically identical with Quebec and Métis French.
- Acadian French is spoken by the Acadians in some parts of the Canadian Maritimes. It is the reputed ancestor of Cajun French although this is disputed since Cajun is closer to Quebec French and Métis French than it is to Acadian.
- Newfoundland French is spoken by a limited population in Newfoundland. It is an endangered dialect.
The term Canadian French was formerly used to refer specifically to Quebec French and the closely related varieties of Ontario and Western Canada descended from it.[3] This is presumably because Canada and Acadia were distinct parts of New France, and even British North America until 1867. However, the term Canadian French is now not usually felt to exclude Acadian French.
Phylogenetically, Québec French, Métis French and Bonaventure County French are representatives of koine French in the Americas whereas Acadian French and Newfoundland French are derivatives of non-koinesized local dialects in France.[4]
Notes
- Source: 2006 Census of Canada Includes multiple responses.
- Source: 2006 Census of Canada Includes multiple responses.
- Francard and Latin, in Le régionalisme lexical, write: "Le français du Québec a rayonné en Ontario et dans l'ouest du Canada, de même qu'en Nouvelle-Angleterre. [...] Le français québécois et le français acadien peuvent être regroupés sous l'appellation plus large de français canadien², laquelle englobe aussi le français ontarien et le français de l'Ouest canadien. Ces deux derniers possèdent des traits caractéristiques qui leur sont propres aujourd'hui dans l'ensemble canadien et qui s'expliquent surtout par un phénomène de conservatisme, mais il s'agit de variétés qui sont historiquement des prolongements du français québécois." The footnote reads: "Il faut noter ici que le terme de français canadien avait autrefois un sens plus restreint, désignant le français du Québec et les variétés qui s'y rattachent directement, d'où l'emploi à cette époque de canadianisme pour parler d'un trait caractéristique du français du Québec."
- Robert Fournier & Henri Wittmann. 1995. Le français des Amériques. Trois-Rivières: Presses universitaires de Trois-Rivières.
See also
- French language in Canada
- Bilingualism in Canada
- Spoken languages of Canada
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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Canadian French". Image Credit.
