Learning French in Montreal or Quebec - Has anybody done this? (neighborhood, purchase)
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The best way to learn Quebec French and not standard French (and yes there is a difference, nativeswill notice) is through this on line resource: www.toutcanadien.com.
You will score a lot of points with the Quebecois if you speak their French, not European French.
It is always quite amusing (sort of) to be lectured (by people who don't speak the language at all) on the intricacies of the varieties of French that exist out there in the world
I know this is an old discussion, but as others have said, Quebec City is a better choice.
That being said, there are even better choices, if you go outside Montreal or Quebec City. I live in a small town far south of Montreal and unlike Montreal or QC, I can go months without encountering a bilingual person (many people will switch because it's easier for them). I came here with only 1 basic French class and living outside of the major cities has helped me improve vastly, because I didn't have a choice. I won't lie, it was terribly hard at first, but worth it.
When I took French in university (in British Columbia), my teacher recommended L'Universite du Quebec de Trois Rivieres, since that would be a great choice for those who truly want to immerse. You can get away with not speaking a single word of French at McGill b/c of the anglophone community and even QC depending on the neighbourhood, due to tourism.
Location: Temporarily in Niagara Falls, Ont. Canada
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I came to Montreal with basic high school French from Ontario. We were taught "International French" because it was supposedly more "pure." I can tell you that it did very little for me, and as others have mentioned, once the locals notice you hesitate or your accent, they immediately switch to English, thus defeating your efforts to practice French.
Incidentally, I think learning "international" French or "Parisian" French while living in Canada is like trying to push British English (or RP - Received Pronunciation like you hear the reports speak on BBC, the Queens English, etc) on to newcomers to Canada because British English is more "pure" than Canadian or American English. I've heard and spoken French in almost every province in Canada, and I can assure you, that with very little variation, it's pretty much like the French from Quebec.
Then the centre directors decided they really liked the work I was doing there and wanted to help me out. They got me on a government grant to get a small amount of pay for working there and also arranged for me to get intensive French classes at the Montreal YMCA. The classes were Monday to Friday, from about 9am to 3pm (I think) and were either 4 or 6 weeks in length. There were 6 levels. I took an assessment test and was put in level 2. I could have gone into level 3 but they said my French was a bit too weak. Most people in the class were in their 20s like I was then, but from various countries around the world. The teachers NEVER EVER spoke a single word of English or any other language. Only French! It was great.
Later on, I finish all 6 levels of French at the YMCA and finished working at le bon dieu dans la rue. My French was A LOT better, and I could get through a day speaking French. People who hadn't seen me in a few months were very impressed! I didn't notice my French improving, but others did. It took about 6 months of conscious effort. Then I moved to the Côte-Vertu area in Ville St-Laurent (more of a multicultural immigrant population than French, but there seemed to be more French spoken than English, if it wasn't some other language).
So, yes it is possible to learn French in Montreal. It will be a bit more of a challenge since it is a fairly bilingual city, and if your French is not perfect, you will be spoken to in English. Once you feel confident in your French and feel you could carry on the conversation, just keep speaking back to them in French. They'll usually see you can carry yourself well enough, even if you have an English accent - unless they don't know English, in which case they'll gladly speak French to you. I'm guilty of speaking French back to francophones who try to speak broken English with me, lol!
Location: Temporarily in Niagara Falls, Ont. Canada
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Oh, and later on, I moved to Pierrefonds, a suburb in the "West Island." Although all of the signs are in French, and supposedly half the population is French there, you rarely hear French being spoken there (Don't be fooled by the French name - most cities there have French sounding names but are very English). You would almost think you're living in Ontario. Well, not any old city in Ontario - maybe Ottawa.
While living in the West Island, I decided I needed to make some extra money and took a part time job delivering pizzas in the Pierrefonds/Dollard-des-Ormeaux area. Every time I went to the door to deliver a pizza I always said "Bonjour, hello!" or "Bon soir, hi!" with a perfect French accent for the French words and a perfect English accent on the English words to let them know they could speak either language with me. I'd say about 95% of the time, people spoke to me in English. Even if they were French! Most people seemed to be English anyway, but sometimes you'd hear the person speaking to another family member in French. Or you could detect they spoke with a French accent. Sometimes senior citizens would speak to me in French, but like I said, the majority of the time on the West Island, it was English all the way!
So if you want to live in Quebec but are scared to learn or live in French, then live in the West Island! But if you truly want to learn French, DO NOT live there! People will not speak French to you.
Oh, and regardless of where you are in Quebec, especially in the Montreal area, do not try to speak French to an anglophone! An English person from Quebec will not only find it weird that two English people are speaking French to each other, but some may get insulted. One funny story: once I was downtown and speaking to some in French. Downtown I always speak French. My accent was pretty good, I'd like to think. The person I was speaking to also spoke very good French. Then one of us (I forget who) could not think of a word or phrase in French and said something like "en anglais on dit..." and so, after several minutes of speaking French to each other, we realized we were both English, had a good laugh about it, and then promptly continued our conversation in English!
I came to Montreal with basic high school French from Ontario. We were taught "International French" because it was supposedly more "pure." I can tell you that it did very little for me, and as others have mentioned, once the locals notice you hesitate or your accent, they immediately switch to English, thus defeating your efforts to practice French.
Incidentally, I think learning "international" French or "Parisian" French while living in Canada is like trying to push British English (or RP - Received Pronunciation like you hear the reports speak on BBC, the Queens English, etc) on to newcomers to Canada because British English is more "pure" than Canadian or American English. I've heard and spoken French in almost every province in Canada, and I can assure you, that with very little variation, it's pretty much like the French from Quebec.
Then the centre directors decided they really liked the work I was doing there and wanted to help me out. They got me on a government grant to get a small amount of pay for working there and also arranged for me to get intensive French classes at the Montreal YMCA. The classes were Monday to Friday, from about 9am to 3pm (I think) and were either 4 or 6 weeks in length. There were 6 levels. I took an assessment test and was put in level 2. I could have gone into level 3 but they said my French was a bit too weak. Most people in the class were in their 20s like I was then, but from various countries around the world. The teachers NEVER EVER spoke a single word of English or any other language. Only French! It was great.
Later on, I finish all 6 levels of French at the YMCA and finished working at le bon dieu dans la rue. My French was A LOT better, and I could get through a day speaking French. People who hadn't seen me in a few months were very impressed! I didn't notice my French improving, but others did. It took about 6 months of conscious effort. Then I moved to the Côte-Vertu area in Ville St-Laurent (more of a multicultural immigrant population than French, but there seemed to be more French spoken than English, if it wasn't some other language).
So, yes it is possible to learn French in Montreal. It will be a bit more of a challenge since it is a fairly bilingual city, and if your French is not perfect, you will be spoken to in English. Once you feel confident in your French and feel you could carry on the conversation, just keep speaking back to them in French. They'll usually see you can carry yourself well enough, even if you have an English accent - unless they don't know English, in which case they'll gladly speak French to you. I'm guilty of speaking French back to francophones who try to speak broken English with me, lol!
Good story. I think it is a huge exaggeration to say that learning French in Montreal is hopeless. It is still the main language of the city, and everything than can be called "officialdom" operates in that language.
In the Greater Montreal, there are probably a million people or more who were not native French speakers at the outset but who did learn to speak French just by living in Montreal for a while, and not by going off to immersion in Quebec City or Chicoutimi.
Location: Temporarily in Niagara Falls, Ont. Canada
167 posts, read 856,684 times
Reputation: 151
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
Good story. I think it is a huge exaggeration to say that learning French in Montreal is hopeless. It is still the main language of the city, and everything than can be called "officialdom" operates in that language.
In the Greater Montreal, there are probably a million people or more who were not native French speakers at the outset but who did learn to speak French just by living in Montreal for a while, and not by going off to immersion in Quebec City or Chicoutimi.
I learned "France French" in school but found it very easy to transition to Quebecois. Eliminate your "ne" from "ne [verb] pas" and scratch the imperative "vous" from spoken language and you're pretty much set. I haven't seen anyone care one bit about how formal/informal/regional someone's French is. Maybe some hardcore separatists arguing over a dinner but 99.9999% of the population just want to talk and get about their day.
"Autoroute" is standard French used all over the world. In France, Quebec and Senegal.
"Stopper" is a real French verb borrowed from English. It is actually used way more in France than in Quebec. People in Quebec would say "arrêter" way more often.
I can only imagine that a person going to Quebec with a France-based textbook is lost based on linguistic capabilities in general while in a foreign country and not the differences in "France" French and "Quebecois" French. I don't think anyone is here to claim that there is no difference, but you do realize that even Canadians learn "France" French outside of Quebec - I am from British Columbia and all textbooks are France-based (often written by American authors) and the instructors are usually from France. However, the transition was hardly noticable in real-life practice. Quebecois understand "France" French just as well, they are raised with it due to a lack of Canadian French-language materials. Much of the television channels here (including for kids like Petit Ours Bruin), papers, and videos are all from France.
I have never heard stopper here...
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. Think of how people pronounce the word 4 - in France, it's more like "caw-truh" in QC it's more like "cat-ruh" or for 8 - "wheat" VS "whit" or "peu-teet" instead "peh-tit" or even "p'tit". I found I had to pretty much change the majority of the way I spoke. Think of listening to a French person from France speaking English, then think of a French speaker from Québec - their English will sound A LOT different. Some actors and stand up comedians get this wrong, and use a European French accent when imitating a French-Canadian speaking English.
