Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

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PeterMollenburg
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby PeterMollenburg » Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:04 am

CaroleR wrote:That IS of interest to me, but it sounds like I'd have to know a lot about France to understand the references. I have heard mention of "la crotte de chien à Paris," though. :lol:


I don't feel you need to know much about France to understand the references, given they are explained. An understanding of Québec culture and language would bring extra amusement for a reader, by the sound of it.

CaroleR wrote:Unfortunately my library doesn't have that book, but they do have The Story of French which I've put on my "for later" list. They also have La grande aventure de la langue française: de Charlemagne au Cirque du soleil, by Nadeau and Barlow. Adding that one to the list as well. The Cirque is based in Montreal, so it will be interesting to see what they have to say about it. Thanks for the book references!


I feel like La grande aventure de la langue française: de Charlemagne au Cirque du soleil could be the French version of The Story of French, but I'm not certain.
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby CaroleR » Tue Nov 01, 2022 3:56 pm

PeterMollenburg wrote:
I don't feel you need to know much about France to understand the references, given they are explained. An understanding of Québec culture and language would bring extra amusement for a reader, by the sound of it.
Oh, that's good to know. I'll put it on my wish list.

I feel like La grande aventure de la langue française: de Charlemagne au Cirque du soleil could be the French version of The Story of French, but I'm not certain.
You are correct! I checked the details page and it is indeed a translation.
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby CaroleR » Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:21 pm

Lawyer&Mom wrote:My step-grandad was born in 1918 in Lafourche Parish. He and his whole family spoke Cajun French. My step-dad says that was still normal for his dad’s generation, and that the decline really happened in his generation. (His dad never taught him any French, there was no need for it in California.) As of 2000, nearly 20% of Lafourche Parish still spoke French at home, by 2010 it was down to 15%. That’s still pretty impressive!

(When I called my step-dad to ask, he was cleaning up after making gumbo for a Halloween party… Cajun culture in action!)

It's wonderful that your step-grandad's generation still spoke the language. It's too bad that it wasn't passed down. What Amandine says about patriotism after the war makes sense. I love that your step-dad was cooking gumbo! It's very much Cajun or Creole I think, possibly a homegrown Louisiana specialty. It doesn't seem to have originated in Acadie, as far as I know.
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby Lawyer&Mom » Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:11 pm

Amandine wrote:My love of Cajun/zydeco music was actually my initial reason for starting to learn French many years ago. I went to Lafayette in 2015 for the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles which was amazing. What Lawyer&Mom says about her step-dads generation would make sense because based on what I've read it was a lot of Cajun men returning home from WW2 with a much stronger sense of "being American" than they had before and a stronger desire for their children to be assimilated that caused a big decline. Despite the homogenisation of culture, its still one of the only places in the USA you can still have a "regional hit" in the local musical forms which I really love.


My step-dad loves New Orleans music. He plays in a New Orleans funk band, goes to Jazz Fest each year and was listening to WWOZ while he made that gumbo…. It’s amazing that Louisiana has *multiple* regional music forms!
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby Lawyer&Mom » Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:17 pm

CaroleR wrote:
Lawyer&Mom wrote:My step-grandad was born in 1918 in Lafourche Parish. He and his whole family spoke Cajun French. My step-dad says that was still normal for his dad’s generation, and that the decline really happened in his generation. (His dad never taught him any French, there was no need for it in California.) As of 2000, nearly 20% of Lafourche Parish still spoke French at home, by 2010 it was down to 15%. That’s still pretty impressive!

(When I called my step-dad to ask, he was cleaning up after making gumbo for a Halloween party… Cajun culture in action!)

It's wonderful that your step-grandad's generation still spoke the language. It's too bad that it wasn't passed down. What Amandine says about patriotism after the war makes sense. I love that your step-dad was cooking gumbo! It's very much Cajun or Creole I think, possibly a homegrown Louisiana specialty. It doesn't seem to have originated in Acadie, as far as I know.


There may be a connection to French Bouillabaisse, but no specific connection to Acadie that I’m aware of. I laughed that he was cooking gumbo, I had caught him in the act of being Cajun right when I was going to ask him about his heritage!
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby CaroleR » Wed Nov 02, 2022 2:17 am

Lawyer&Mom wrote:
There may be a connection to French Bouillabaisse, but no specific connection to Acadie that I’m aware of. I laughed that he was cooking gumbo, I had caught him in the act of being Cajun right when I was going to ask him about his heritage!
"caught in the act of being Cajun" :lol:
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby CaroleR » Wed Nov 02, 2022 2:28 am

The talk of music made me go and find some Québécois folk music. Here's one I particularly liked. It's called "Les p'tits plaisirs de Basile by a certain Monsieur Dupuis.
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby CaroleR » Fri Nov 04, 2022 6:09 pm

28 Oct – 3 Nov, 22

L'actualité, comme d'habitude

Textbook + workbook
Par ici: méthode de français – Échelle québécoise 5-6 (B1)
**Hiver**
Épisode 7: Belle nouvelle! – félicitations, condoléances, etc; superlatives
Épisode 8: Aux petit soins (en progrès) – quoi faire quand on est malade; les messages téléphonique; le subjonctif présent

TV
L'épicierie – 22 min
– s21ep7 Yogourt: une offre de plus en plus diversifiée (juste une seule seconde sur les yogourts fait du lait des plantes :( ); plus, un banc d'essai de fouets; et un reportage sur un chef autochtone. «Chi-miigwetch!» (Ojibwe pour merci beaucoup!) «Bienvenue» (You're welcome) comme on dit au Canada (Critiqué par Usito et l'OQLF – Office québécois de la langue française, – mais tout le monde l'utilise quand même.)
Moi, j'mange – 23 min
– s4ep9 Du réconfort à l'approche de l'hiver: des plats d'antan revisités avec Loonie, la cheffe végétalienne, elle prépare "le tofu chasseur;" l'aquafaba des pois chiches – substitut d'oeuf – avec Florence-Léa; légumes locaux, c'est la saison des courges d'hiver, bien sûr
STAT – 22 min
– s1ep25-28
De garde 24/7 – 46 min
– s8ep7 Peser ses mots «Pour les médecins, savoir utiliser les bons mots est d'une importance capitale non seulement pour préciser leur pensée médicale, mais aussi pour favoriser une bonne relation avec leurs patients et patientes.»

Youtube
Wandering French – 1:40 min
1 nov 22 – Avoir l'air mais pas la chanson
(Voir aussi https://www.dufrancaisaufrancais.com/lexique/definition-expression/canada/il-a-lair-mais-il-na-pas-la-chanson/)

Current book
Un outrage mortel by Louise Penny, translation of A Great Reckoning – 480 pages

Balado
Aujourd'hui l'histoire – 23 min
– Louis-Joseph Papineau, un seigneur aux idées républicaines
From the website:
«Papineau voulait l'indépendance des Canadiens français, mais sans l'abolition du régime seigneurial ni changement au pouvoir du clergé. Lors des rébellions de 1837-1838, il s'est montré partisan d'un système républicain semblable à celui des États-Unis ... À cette époque, il se montre en accord avec l'annexion du Canada aux États-Unis.»
:shock:

Québécismes
Ça prend pas la tête à Papineau
Ça prend pas la tête à Papineau fait référence à quelque chose qui ne demande pas une grande intelligence. On utilise cette expression pour dire que quelque chose est simple à comprendre, évidente ou facilement réalisable. La tête à Papineau fait référence à Louis-Joseph Papineau. Il s'agit d'un politicien célèbre et reconnu pour sa grande intelligence. Il a notemment mené les Patriotes durant la rébellion de 1837.

Ex : Il s'est encore perdu pour venir ici, ça prend pourtant pas la tête à Papineau, il y a des panneaux partout.
https://www.je-parle-quebecois.com/lexique/definition/expression-quebec

Note: the rebellion of 1837-38 took place partially at La Tortue, a settlement across the river from Montreal. My great-grandmother's eldest sister was born there in 1839 where their parents had a farm. I haven't yet been able to determine exactly when they arrived, so I don't know whether or not they were there during the rebellion.
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby CaroleR » Sat Nov 12, 2022 1:56 am

4-10 Nov, 22

News feeds, the usual
Read a piece by Kim Thúy (La table de Kim) on Radio-Canada's Solo, part of the Arts section.
Excerpt: « Quand il m'a laissée sur le trottoir d'un quartier qui m'était inconnu, en plein hiver, à minuit, sans un seul dollar en poche ni chaussettes dans mes bottes, j'ai eu peur qu'il ne m'appelle plus. »

Textbook + workbook
Par ici: méthode de français – Échelle québécoise 5-6 (B1) – I neglected to say that the texts come with CDs, so downloading from the site isn't necessary if you have a CD player. I don't, so it didn't occur to me to mention it in previous posts.
**Hiver**
• Épisode 8: Aux petit soins – (suite de la semaine précédente) prévenir et soigner les engelures (très important, mon pays c'est l'hiver*). This is especially critical for immigrants who have never experienced extreme cold. There have been cases of undocumented people crossing the border in the middle of winter without adequate clothing, suffering from frostbite so severe they've had to have most of their fingers amputated. PSA: Do NOT try to cross the border in the winter! Also: what you need to know about vitamin D and the lack of sun in winter; and instructions for using a dehumidifier. I'm heartened by all this useful info directed toward immigrants. Our weather must be a big shock for them, unless they come from similar climates.
*"Mon pays c'est l'hiver" refers to the song Mon pays, by Gilles Vigneault
• Épisode 9: Comment te sens-tu? (Tout le monde est malade.)

TV
L'épicierie – 22 min
– s21ep8 Comment choisir des gâteries pour chien – c'était le fun, les chiens étaient trop cute; les différences entre des sauces comme tamari, soya, hosein – l'Asie rencontre le Québec dans la poutine (not to be confused with le Poutine); crème caramel – ça goûte le ciel!
Moi, j'mange – 23 min
– s4ep10 Toujours le temps pour un 5 à 7 (aka happy hour, "cinquasepter" as a verb) – this is not the cinq à sept de la France. :oops: Here is the official explanation from l'Office québécois de la langue francaise: « L’emploi du terme cinq à sept (ou cinq-à-sept) est utilisé pour désigner une rencontre de collègues ou d’amis qui prennent l’apéritif en fin d’après-midi, ni plus ni moins. »
+ les cidres du Québec; et, saviez-vous que le mot "chandail" vient de l'ail? Pas moi. C'était les marchands d'ail. Pourquoi il est utilisé pour un vêtement, je n'ai aucune idée.
STAT – 22 min
– s1ep29-32
De garde 24/7 – 46 min
– s8ep8 Haute surveillance
5 chefs dans ma cuisine – 22 min
– s1ep16 Soupe au maïs et jalapeño/Petit pain au maïs (au Canada, "le blé d'Inde" est le nom usuel de maïs) – chef Kimberly Lallouz – it's a corny episode. :lol:
La table de Kim – 46 min
– s2ep1 Être femme en 2020 – guests Karine Vanasse actor, Joséphine Bacon Innu poet, Chris Bergeron writer, trans woman. The food was made by Maria-José and Zoya de Frias, mother-daughter owners of the Congolese restaurant, Le Virunga, who were introduced in the beginning but didn't stay for the meal.

Excerpt from one of Joséphine Bacon's poems, which she recited first in Innu-aimun and then in French. I'm not sure of the title, but I think it may be Uiesh – Quelque part.

Innu version (interestingly, Google translate thinks it might be Bengali)
Apu tapue utshimashkueupaniuian pemuteiani
Anikashkau nishpishkun miam tshiashishkueu
Nuatshikaten
Miam ishkueu ka pakatat
Miam ishkueu ka peshuat auassa pemuteti

En français
Je n'ai pas la démarche féline
J'ai le dos large des femmes ancêtres
Les jambes arquées
De celles qui ont portagé
De celles qui accouchent
En marchant

Current book
Still reading Un outrage mortel by Louise Penny

Québécismes
à m'ment d'né = à un moment donné; at first I thought people were saying "à m'en nez." Thank goodness for subtitles or I may have forever wondered why people were always talking about their noses. :lol:
Matante et mononcle
https://www.dufrancaisaufrancais.com/ar ... quebecois/
"une matante" = someone old-fashioned and a little outdated, can also be boring and/or really talkative.
Ex. « Je pars en camping avec ma matante. Osti qu'elle peut être matante. » "Osti" is a swear, derived from l'hostie – the host – in the Catholic religion. Most swears in Quebec are religion-based, although, le mot en "f" is frequently used as well. Personally, I'm nearly fluent in québécois swears.
"un mononcle" = feminine of matante, more or less
Ex. « Change de veston, tu fais trop mononcle avec ça sur le dos. »
tiguidou = perfect, very good, okey dokey
Ex. «Tout est tiguidou.»

Fun word to pronounce
otorhinolaryngologie
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Re: Le français québécois: Lâche pas la patate!

Postby CaroleR » Sat Nov 12, 2022 2:21 am

I referenced Mon Pays by Gilles Vigneault in the previous post. It's an important song for les Québécois. Here's an excerpt about it from The Canadian Encyclopedia:
Originally composed as a theme song for a film, Gilles Vigneault’s “Mon pays” expresses nationalism, solidarity and connection to the northern landscape, and was adopted as a Québécois anthem.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/ ... e/mon-pays



Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver
Mon jardin ce n'est pas un jardin, c'est la plaine
Mon chemin ce n'est pas un chemin, c'est la neige
Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver

Dans la blanche cérémonie
Où la neige au vent se marie
Dans ce pays de poudrerie
Mon père a fait bâtir maison
Et je m'en vais être fidèle
À sa manière, à son modèle
La chambre d'amis sera telle
Qu'on viendra des autres saisons
Pour se bâtir à côté d'elle

Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver
Mon refrain ce n'est pas un refrain, c'est rafale
Ma maison ce n'est pas ma maison, c'est froidure
Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver

De mon grand pays solitaire
Je crie avant que de me taire
À tous les hommes de la terre
Ma maison c'est votre maison
Entre mes quatre murs de glace
Je mets mon temps et mon espace
À préparer le feu, la place
Pour les humains de l'horizon
Et les humains sont de ma race

Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver
Mon jardin ce n'est pas un jardin, c'est la plaine
Mon chemin ce n'est pas un chemin, c'est la neige
Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver

Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'envers
D'un pays qui n'était ni pays ni patrie
Ma chanson ce n'est pas une chanson, c'est ma vie
C'est pour toi que je veux posséder mes hivers
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