New Englanders are lucky to have a Francophone region a quick plane or scenic car ride away. While many of us dream of visiting the Louvre or La Tour Eiffel, don’t forget you can speak French and immerse yourself in another culture with a weekend getaway up north! This month at the FCC we are offering a few events to our members to encourage them to learn more about the language and culture of Québec.
On October 21, we explored the differences between Canadian French and European French with our teacher Myriam Faucher Bilodeau. Below are some words and expressions from the workshop that are uniquely québecois.
Québecois Expressions
The expression: Passer la nuit sur la corde à linge
What it means: to have slept badly/passer une mauvaise nuit ou mal dormir
The expression
: Se lâcher lousse
What it means: to celebrate/party/laisser libre cours à ses impulsions ou faire la fête
The expression: C’est quétaine !
What it means: It’s outdated/out of fashion or in a bad taste/C’est démodé ou c’est de mauvais goût
En France ou au Québec ?
In France you refer to your boyfriend or girlfriend as your petit ami/petite amie and in Québec you refer to them as your chum or blonde.
In France if you want to stop by the corner store for a snack, you would go to the épicerie du coin. In Québec, you stop by the dépanneur.
Heading to the mall to buy some new jeans? In France this activity would be faire du shopping while in Québec you would tell your friends, “Je magasine” (verb: magasiner) !
On October 21, we explored the differences between Canadian French and European French with our teacher Myriam Faucher Bilodeau. Below are some words and expressions from the workshop that are uniquely québecois.
Québecois Expressions
The expression: Passer la nuit sur la corde à lingeWhat it means: to have slept badly/passer une mauvaise nuit ou mal dormir
The expression
: Se lâcher lousseWhat it means: to celebrate/party/laisser libre cours à ses impulsions ou faire la fête
The expression: C’est quétaine !What it means: It’s outdated/out of fashion or in a bad taste/C’est démodé ou c’est de mauvais goût
En France ou au Québec ?
In France you refer to your boyfriend or girlfriend as your petit ami/petite amie and in Québec you refer to them as your chum or blonde.
In France if you want to stop by the corner store for a snack, you would go to the épicerie du coin. In Québec, you stop by the dépanneur.
Heading to the mall to buy some new jeans? In France this activity would be faire du shopping while in Québec you would tell your friends, “Je magasine” (verb: magasiner) !
Natalie Collet
Former Membership Manager
From the Midwest, Natalie is a Francophile at heart. Her interest in French started when studying ballet and the language and culture entranced her through her student years. She became involved with the - Alliance - in the suburbs of Chicago after she spent an unforgettable year teaching English in a French high school near Bordeaux. She is happy to join the team in Boston and work with the members to provide them with unique opportunities, quality programming, and a community through French!
