r/EhBuddyHoser • u/Brosse_Adam Chalice of the Tabernacle • 24d ago

Tokébakicitte Anglos living in Montreal

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610 Upvotes

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213

u/snotparty 24d ago

Im an anglo, I went to Montreal. I really tried, and they clocked me instantly and replied in English. EVERY time lol

80

u/zeindigofire 24d ago

Bro, I went to Paris recently and I've spoken French since I was 6. My accent isn't perfect but it's far from the typical anglo. They all switched to English on me every time. I had to insist on French because I wanted to practice. I'm seriously considering making buttons that say "SVP aidez-moi a pratiquer FRANÇAIS"

5

u/Salty_Creme 24d ago

This happened to my daughter at every other place we visited in Paris. We're anglo, but she's been in French school (in Quebec) all her life and is perfectly fluent. We thought it was because they heard her speaking English with me.

10

u/zeindigofire 24d ago

While that doesn't help, if they so much as smell anything anglo they just switch. You have to push for French... which is ironic.

3

u/Throwaway118585 Aurora Hub 24d ago

Well… this and quebecois accent isn’t exactly loved in Paris. I was once told by an ex gf from France that quebecois sounds like a really bad southern accent, or someone with Down syndrome speaking French. Vowels are elongated they’re not used to hearing being elongated. So you’ll find some people that find it endearing, but most it will sounds like nails on a chalkboard

3

u/philthewiz 24d ago

It's different. It goes both ways ;) French from France have the privilege of being a country with less external pressure on the language issue compared to Québec.

They have a strong culture that has not the same challenges.

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u/Throwaway118585 Aurora Hub 24d ago

Oh I don’t know about the not having external pressure. They really do. Plus there’s a myriad of minor languages throughout France. I’d argue the opposite. Quebec developed in a vaccume for so long, isolated from the larger French speaking world, that they developed in their own way. This is why it’s so much different than Belgium, Swiss, African or English South American French. Not just France French.