A Few Ways That France & French Speaking Canada Are Different

Quebec vs France: Differences in French Vocabulary

Greetings from Quebec City in Quebec, Canada. Today we’re sharing some of the differences between French Canadian vs French French. We’ll take a look at the main differences and similarities between the French spoken in the two countries. In Quebec, the people and culture do feel more European than North American, even the architecture feels European, but there are still some big differences between the two.

Canadian French vs French in France

There is a different accent in the French spoken in France vs the French spoken in Quebec. It’s pretty similar to how British English varies from American English. Written French is the same in both places, so if you learned French in school, you’ll be able to read French in France and French in Quebec. Even if you speak Spanish, Portuguese or Italian, you’ll be able to work out some words. Both places also have many English tourists, so you can often get by with only English.

To French residents, Canadian French sounds very old to them. That’s because the French spoken in Quebec comes from a dialect in the Northwest of France from 300 years ago, so it has evolved independently of the language in France. When you consider the French spoken in France, they have many dialects and accents as well, from Paris to more far-flung regions of France, just how some Americans have a southern accent while others have a northern accent.

If you have trouble understanding French in the south of France, or in Quebec, you can always ask them to speak a little more “Parisian” and they will usually oblige.

French Vocabulary

In addition to accents, there are also a few French vocabulary differences between Quebec and France. In some instances, a few word might mean one thing in France but another thing entirely in Quebec.

French Grammar

There are also some difference in grammar between Candian French and French in Franc. French Canadians shorten or abbreviate a lot more words than the French do. You see this a lot in the article, for example instead of le they might just use l’ but in general, you can get by with basic French in both areas.

Other Differences between Quebec and France

Another difference between Quebec and France that you will notice is the food. When it comes to food, both Quebec and France have amazing food! Whether you prefer escargot and frog legs, or poutine and duck, you will find excellent food in France and in Quebec.

Check out some of our other videos about France and Quebec!