Canadian French

Canadian French is an umbrella term for the varieties of French used in Canada. French is the mother tongue of about 6.7 million Canadians (23% of the Canadian population)^[1], and includes the following varieties:

• Quebec French is spoken in Quebec. Closely related varieties descended from it are spoken by francophone communities in Ontario, Western Canada, Labrador and even in the New England region of the United States, and differ primarily by their greater conservatism. The term Laurentian French has limited currency as an umbrella term for these varieties, and Quebec French, somewhat confusingly, is also used. The overwhelming majority of francophone Canadians use this dialect.
• Acadian French is spoken by the Acadians in the Canadian Maritimes and some parts of Quebec and Newfoundland. It is the ancestor of Cajun French. Acadian French shares many traits with Quebec French.
• Newfoundland French is spoken by a limited population in Newfoundland. It is an endangered dialect.

The term Canadian French was formerly used to refer specifically to Quebec French and the closely related varieties of Ontario and Western Canada descended from it.^[2] This is presumably because Canada and Acadia were distinct parts of New France, and even British North America until 1867. However, the term Canadian French is now not usually felt to exclude Acadian French.

Notes

1. ^ Statistics Canada — Language Composition of Canada
2. ^ Francard and Latin, in Le régionalisme lexical, write: "Le français du Québec a rayonné en Ontario et dans l'ouest du Canada, de même qu'en Nouvelle-Angleterre. [...] Le français québécois et le français acadien peuvent être regroupés sous l'appellation plus large de français canadien², laquelle englobe aussi le français ontarien et le français de l'Ouest canadien. Ces deux derniers possèdent des traits caractéristiques qui leur sont propres aujourd'hui dans l'ensemble canadien et qui s'expliquent surtout par un phénomène de conservatisme, mais il s'agit de variétés qui sont historiquement des prolongements du français québécois." The footnote reads: "Il faut noter ici que le terme de français canadien avait autrefois un sens plus restreint, désignant le français du Québec et les variétés qui s'y rattachent directement, d'où l'emploi à cette époque de canadianisme pour parler d'un trait caractéristique du français du Québec."

See also

• French language in Canada
• Bilingualism in Canada
• Languages in Canada

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