Yesterday I was years old when I discovered that I understand the French of Benin and Burkina Faso better than the French of Quebec. I wasn’t fluent but I had conversations. Opinions were exchanged. At no point was I mystified what language people were speaking.
4 responses to “Benin vs Quebec”
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“I understand the French of Benin and Burkina Faso”
Varieties of French in West Africa is a really interesting topic. A few years ago I watched a detective series from Senegal (started off well and got sillier toward the end) and one of the main characters would be recognized as being from Burkina Faso the second he opened his mouth.
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I literally don’t perceive the French of Quebec as French. I don’t even understand their “bonjour, comment ça va?” While with any other French speaker I have normal conversations. I mangle prepositions like crazy but I can communicate while in Quebec I can’t order a coffee because it’s like speaking Japanese.
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French has changed in 20 years, at least in the Montreal region, precisely with all the French/Maghreb/West African immigration. The way my 14yo speaks French has nothing to do with the way I spoke French at his age, and people thought I was French back in the days because I had kind of a Radio-Canada accent, Give it a try again in May. And happy trip to Germany!
Ol.
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African French is more similar to France French than Canadian French is, as their paths diverged more recently. African French speakers are also much kinder with language learners than either French people or French Canadians.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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