Seventeenth-century French that kept going on its own for three hundred years. The most audible feature is affrication: t and d become ts and dz before i and u. High vowels lax in closed syllables — 'vite' is closer to English 'vit' — and the long vowels of old French survive as diphthongs. The nasal vowels sit higher and further forward than in Paris, and all four are still distinct.
Where: Québec, Canada
Anything the spelling engine can transcribe, the accent can move. Slow it down to hear the shape.
A wider pitch range than Paris, with stress that can fall earlier in a phrase. Older speakers keep an apical, rolled r; younger urban speakers use the Parisian uvular one.
In the order the mouth applies them. Every before-and-after is playable — click the IPA. The pattern is the rule as the engine runs it, for the curious.
t(?=[iyɪʏjɥ]) → t͡sWhen: before i, u, or the glides j and ɥ
How: Say the t and let it turn into an s as you release into the vowel. 'Tu' is 'tsu'.
The tongue is already high for the vowel, so the stop leaks into a hiss on release. It is the single most reliable marker of a Québec speaker.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu | |||
| petit | |||
| tiens | the nasal rule runs too | ||
| tout | unchanged — the vowel is ou, not u |
d(?=[iyɪʏjɥ]) → d͡z| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| dire | |||
| dur | |||
| lundi |
i(?=[pbtdkɡqʔmnɲŋɴfvθðszʃʒɕʂʐçxχɣʁħʕhβʝlʎɹrɾjwɥʈɖɳɽʋɦ]+$) → ɪWhen: when the syllable is closed by a consonant and is the last in the word
How: The i of English 'bit', not of 'beat'.
The three high vowels each have a lax version in this position, exactly as English does. Parisian French has none.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| vite | |||
| dire | |||
| ville | |||
| vie | unchanged — the syllable is open |
y(?=[pbtdkɡqʔmnɲŋɴfvθðszʃʒɕʂʐçxχɣʁħʕhβʝlʎɹrɾjwɥʈɖɳɽʋɦ]+$) → ʏ| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| lune | |||
| dur | |||
| jupe |
u(?=[pbtdkɡqʔmnɲŋɴfvθðszʃʒɕʂʐçxχɣʁħʕhβʝlʎɹrɾjwɥʈɖɳɽʋɦ]+$) → ʊ| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| route | |||
| toute | |||
| rouge |
a$ → ɑHow: The a of English 'father', at the end of the word only.
The back a that Paris lost is alive here, and it is what a final -a becomes.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | |||
| ça | |||
| chat |
ɛ̃ → ẽHow: Say é through the nose.
Québec nasals are a notch higher than Parisian ones: 'vin' is almost 'vain' said through the nose.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pain | |||
| vin | |||
| main |
ɑ̃ → ɐ̃Which is why a Parisian sometimes hears Québec 'an' as 'in'. The two nasals have moved towards each other but stay distinct.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| blanc | |||
| dans | |||
| chanter |
Other accents of French: Parisian · Marseille / Midi · Belgian · all accents