Quebecers have this particularity of speaking a unique patois in the world. I love their accent, but I don’t always understand everything they say. If I tell you this: “Hlst evening, I joined my gang at the local restaurant for dinner. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so it was great fun to all be together. There was Martin, Annie, and Stéphanie, and as usual, Martin arrived late, but we always forgive him, he’s a real charmer! We chatted about everything and nothing, our jobs, the latest gossip, and the vacations we would like to take together next summer. It was really relaxed, everyone was laughing, and we shared good food like poutine and homemade burgers. Afterwards, we went for a walk on the main street, just to digest it all. There’s nothing better than spending time with your gang to remember that we’re so lucky to have friends like that in our lives! Did you understand everything? Not me, but don’t panic, apparently Google now translates Quebecois, and it’s quite unusual. Discovery.
Quebecois, a special language!
Quebec French, also called Laurentian French, has its origins in old Parisian! To understand, we have to go back to the 17th century, when Quebec was still called “New France”. The settlers at this time were mostly French from Paris, the north and west of France. Quebec French, while retaining elements from regional langue d’oïl such as Norman, Poitevin, Gallo and Saintongeais, mainly draws its roots from the French spoken in Paris in the 18th century. So, in Quebec, we don’t say car, but “chariot” and we don’t say husband, but “chum”, without forgetting the famous Tabernacle which we would equate to the swear word “Merde ou Putain” in France! You have Quebec friends, Google Translate will now help you to understand them!
Quebec French finally translated
Since October 22, 2024, it is now possible to translate into Quebec French with Google Translate. This new feature offers a great opportunity to become familiar with local expressions. Until now, Google Translate did not differentiate French from Quebecois. This is now done by choosing the “French Canada” mode. This mode integrates words and expressions commonly used in Quebec such as “char”, “blonde”, “chum”, “store”, “tiguidou”, or even “brue”, terms rarely, if ever, used in France. In addition, voice mode offers the possibility of listening to these translations, although Google’s Quebec accent still has room for improvement. And I love that!
The Google Translate test…
To conclude, I am not going to leave you wondering about my introductory text. Here is the result obtained after using this new function. To do this, I went here: translate.google.fr, and I chose French Canada translated into French. Here is the result: “Hlst evening, I joined my team at the small local restaurant for dinner. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so it was fun to all be together. There was Martin, Annie and Stéphanie, and as usual, Martin arrived late, but we always forgive him, he’s a real charmer! We talked about everything and nothing, our jobs, the latest gossip and the vacations we would like to take together next summer. It was very relaxed, everyone was laughing and we shared good food like poutine and homemade burgers. Afterwards, we went for a walk on the main street, just to digest it all. There’s nothing better than spending time with your group to remind yourself that you’re very lucky to have friends like that in life! It’s already clearer, isn’t it? And you ? Have you already tested this fun feature, but especially useful for those planning a stay in Montreal or an expatriation? Give us your opinion, or share your experience with us. Please notify us of any errors in the text, click here to post a comment.
