The Definitive Guide to Switching Between French and English in Québec
At the Dépanneur, the Caisse Populaire and waiting in line at the SAAQ
In business situations, there is one rule and it is the same as anywhere else in the world: The customer is always right.
The Good Faith Clause: For months I had to visit the Royal Victoria Hospital twice a week to se a physiotherapist and an occupational therapist. Both were English-speaking. The Ocupational therapist always greeted me in French, apologized profusely for not speaking it better, and tried really hard. The physio greeted me in English and made no effort to find out my preference. I eventually asked the Occupational Therapist if we could speak English. She had been very respectful and made a sincere effort but my English was better than her French and we mutually agreed that the communication would be easier in English. Because the physio never made an effort, neither did I. I only spoke French with her and she eventually had to deal with it.
At the Yacht club, Bingo and your local chapter of the Bilderberg group
When speaking to Montreal Anglos in social situations, I always speak French. The Anglo usually responds in one of three ways:
French: The Anglo answers in fluent French and that’s that.
Franglais: The Anglo responds in a half French/half English bastard tongue. I can understand him/her, so it’s cool. I, however, stick with French. Franglais is great for Hip Hop lyrics but I have no inclination to trade my ability to converse in two of the world’s greatest international language for the regional creole of Federal government secretaries.
English: My fellow conversationalist answers in English, I respond in French, he continues in English. We both understand each other, we are both speaking the language of our choice. All is good.
The rules above are exactly the same for Anglo-Québécois addressing Francophones.
How to avoid being labelled a Maudit Anglais if you don’t speak French
French-speaker in Québec have very high expectation for their Anglo neighbors. They’ve been telling us they are fluently bilingual for three decades now and, get this, we believe them. That is why some visitors to Montreal and Québec sometimes faced with an aggressive response when speaking English. To avoid this use accents and dress like a tourist. If you can pull off a British or Australian accent people will not expect you to be able to speak French.
Sri Lankans, Philipinos, Canadians and other Immigrants
There are two schools of thought concerning the proper way to communicate with our new countrymen and women.
The pseudo-cosmopolitans: They believe that everyone who is not from Québec speaks English and that they are ‘helping’ immigrants by communicating with them in English. This school of thought is very widespread in Québec City and other places that have little to no contact with actual immigrants.
The AngryFrenchGuys: We assume immigrants are just like real people and would appreciate to understand the social conventions of their new home as soon as possible, therefore we only speak French with them.
The Switch
English-speaking visitors to Québec frustrated by the Switch – the habit of Francophones of switching to English as soon as they hear the slightest hint of an accent your speech – should refer to the rules above. The Francophone can switch to English if he wants to, but who is forcing YOU to switch with him or her? Just keep on speaking French! That or pretend to be a German tourist.
These are the rules. Put them on the fridge. Carry them in your wallet. Now you know.
Edward:
My God, he could actually be the Canadian Obama you were talking about earlier, someone to unite people in the center. Of course, he’d have to find a way to overcome resistance on both extremes. You never know.
“Le governament de la Canada se annonce aujourday que le official langue ist maintenow la bilingel. All ceux que no le use sera be hanger de une fuckenesti Gibbet.”
gcl
January 17, 2009 at 12:31 pm
“And I’m all for the distinction between males and females at the right time and place. Vive la difference!”
I must concur. Males’ toilets are far too stinky for my liking. =P
Bernadette Cajigal
January 17, 2009 at 12:48 pm
@GCL “Ben, juste watchez-moi là”
@Bernadette: and the lines in female bathrooms are just too long. …separate but equal, eh?
Edward
January 17, 2009 at 5:58 pm
DIFFERENT YET EQUAL!! YES! The happy balance.
Bernadette Cajigal
January 17, 2009 at 8:22 pm
C’est bizarre, même “bain-al”, le parler de ces toilettes!
“Différentes, pis encore égales.”
Mais la pisse-là n’est vraiement pas égale!
bruce
January 18, 2009 at 12:24 am
Chaqu’un a son égout.
Edward
January 18, 2009 at 11:46 pm
So what do you do if you’re French-from-France, you go about your business in Montreal, and half the shopkeepers switch to English on you, because you’re “foreign” (i.e. don’t speak the secret code of joual / Good Old Boy)? This happens to all my born-in-France friends in Quebec. I guess they just keep barreling along in French-from-France French and hope for the best. But I can tell you that they curse a culture of provincial chauvinism and xenophobia when they get home from the store. I’ve heard them do it more times than I can count.
shaddup
January 23, 2009 at 9:22 pm
But the switch to English is meant to be accommodating, not offending.
If they simply continue in French I’m sure the shopkeeper will accommodate that.
To be frank (no pun intended), I’m pleased to hear that it happens to francophones as well as to non-francophones. Makes me feel hope that my French might be better than I had thought.
Edward
January 25, 2009 at 7:18 pm
But if you could speak French, as the French from France, wouldn’t you feel offended if someone with whom you were perfectly at ease and happy to speak in French suddenly switched to English? And wouldn’t this be even moreso if you had difficulty speaking English?
Bernadette
January 26, 2009 at 12:01 am
How would you feel if North American Anglophones kept switching to French on you because of your “funny” antipodean accent. I guess it would be irritating, but perhaps actually more amusing or laughable. I would be thinking “what a bunch of redneck hicks these people are!”. Which is more or less what the French think of Quebec, from what I hear.
Edward
January 26, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Well, I’d be really annoyed. I’d be thinking “do they think I can’t speak English?”… When I know very well that I am capable of communication in English at the highest standard. It would feel as if they were treating my abilities as inabilities, and as such, I would not only be frustrated to no end, but also feel highly insulted.
Bernadette
January 26, 2009 at 4:05 pm
My greatest triumph in Quebec was when I got in a taxi, asked the driver to take me to the airport and he asked if I was going back to France. That was the one time that my lack of a proper Joual accent actually helped me seem more francophone. I’ve also been mistaken for German out in Baie Comeau, which felt kinda OK. But usually the switch to English takes less than 60 seconds. ;-(
I am way out of my league here and I recognize it. I learned French in HS from a textbook from non-native speakers. It is amazing I can communicate at all.
Edward
January 26, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Sorry to butt in guys, but shaddup was feeding you a line. I mean, his tag sort of gives away that he’s just trying to stir the pot. Plus, a Frenchman would never “curse a culture of provincial chauvinism and xenophobia” when thinking about Quebec unless he died and was reincarnated as a Canadian Anglo trying to project his personal demons onto French immigrants.
Which isn’t to say the French never say anything negative about Quebec or complain about not fitting in here. They’re as likely to experience culture shock as anyone else. They just wouldn’t sound like they were reading from English Canada’s “How to Gripe About Quebec” playbook while doing it.
Also, consider that if a given Quebecer really is that provincial, culturally chauvinistic, and xenophobic, he’s also probably pretty unlikely to have learned English. The foundations of shaddup’s little fantasy/gross slander against Quebecers crumble pretty easily under scrutiny.
Not that I blame you guys at all for falling for his little fable. The natural first instinct upon reading it isn’t to think that it’s just being made up to badmouth Quebecers.
If you really want to know how the French see Quebecers, I’d say it’s much the way the English see Australians, actually (or the Scots, or the Welsh, or the Irish, or the…). They don’t necessarily have the most flattering image, but it remains positive overall, if slightly condescending. Quebecers, for their part assume the French think they’re slightly superior and occasionally give them a bit of a hard time in the “those whingin’ poms” kind of way, but that’s generally about as bad as it gets.
Anyway, I hope none of that sounds like I’m telling you off, because it really isn’t my intention. It’s more like I’m trying to do my small part to at least make you aware that you can’t always take what people say about Quebec at face value.
gcl
January 26, 2009 at 11:43 pm
gcl is right. I can’t imagine a Quebecer switching to English for a Frenchman. Unless it’s one of those stereotypical snooty Parisians who’s feigning not understanding what the Quebecer is saying, but if it were my I’d keep going in French even then.
Marc
January 27, 2009 at 11:54 am
I GOT MY FIRST SWITCH!! It happened at Tim Hortons and it was really irritating. J’ai demandé du homme a la caisse de parler avec moi en francais, qu’il a fait pour un total d’une sentence entiere.
I’d like to point out that this was in Québec City (près de La Pyramide).
Je suis venue ici pour practiquer le francais, donc il faut que les gens, n’importe qui, parlent avec moi en francais!! A la vache! >.<
Bernadette
February 7, 2009 at 9:58 pm
“That is why some visitors to Montreal and Québec sometimes faced with an aggressive response when speaking English.”
My *American* sister was walking in Laurier Park and encountered this charming attitude a couple of months ago. She was asked the time by some rude French bitch (in French) and trying to be helpful she said “I’m sorry I don’t speak French” and was told “I want the time! You should learn French!”
Seriously, this province is so screwed. And if French Montrealers can’t be civil to tourists who have come here to spend money, I really don’t have very much sympathy for their cause.
Edgy555
February 14, 2009 at 12:43 am
Yeah, people in Quebec should throw themselves at the feet of tourists and other foreigners who are so gracious as to come to this screwed up province and help their economy with their precious dollars, which gives them the right to not even learn how to say “Je ne parle pas francais.”
Thomas Dean Nordlum
February 16, 2009 at 6:33 pm
“Yeah, people in Quebec should throw themselves at the feet of tourists and other foreigners who are so gracious as to come to this screwed up province and help their economy with their precious dollars, which gives them the right to not even learn how to say “Je ne parle pas francais.”
(sarcasm on)
Yeah, I’ll remember that the next time I go down to the States to spend my hard-earned-cash and support their tanking economy. Those Yanks better all speak French to me, esti!
(sarcasm off)
Acajack
February 17, 2009 at 9:14 am
Edgy and TDN, you can’t judge everyone in a province by the actions of a select group of people. Most of the Quebecois I have come across here are incredibly nice and my experience was, in fact, the opposite of Edgy’s sister’s, where I chose to speak in French and was served in English. If the person barking at Edgy’s sister were not a passerby but a guard, a salesperson or someone acting in a professional position, you’d have every right to make a song and dance out of it, but as it stands, she was a passerby, and may have been running late for a good friend’s funeral. You just don’t know these things.
Bernadette
February 19, 2009 at 2:12 am