French is the mother tongue of 6.8 million Canadians concentrated primarily in Québec . Québec is actually the only province in Canada where French is the official language, a fact of major importance for its people.  Québec's history has been marked by several English invasions that have significantly influenced the culture and even the language.

As a result, the French spoken in Québec is different from that spoken in France or other variations of French encountered throughout the world. Although French Canadian is considered standard French and not a dialect, because of significant differences in syntax and phonetics, a French person visiting Québec for the first time may have some difficulty understanding what is being said. Often, in fact, they may find themselves in comical situations. 

One reason for this is that French Canadians tend to hold on to French words that in France have already been replaced with English ones (e.g. 'STOP'  signs - see image), while other differences are due to the strong English influence on the French language in Canada.

Here are some  examples of French Canadian sentences that may sound humorous to a French person:

During a press conference, a militant spoke out about a threat on people's health care benefits : “C’est comme une épine dorsale au dessus de nos têtes” (It’s like having a spine above our heads).

In an office in Ottawa the following humorous exchanges were reported:

“Dites-moi à quelle âge les enfants changent de prix” (Tell me something, at what age do children cost differently?)

"Pouvez-vous faire quelque chose pour ma fille ? Elle est fille-mère et nourrit son enfant au sein sans pouvoir joindre les deux bouts" ( Could you do something for my daughter ? She’s a mom-girl, who is breast-feeding her child without being able to join two sides)

“Depuis que mon mari est mort, il n’y a plus de bêtes sur le ferme" (Since my husband died, there is no beast left in the farm).

Written by Annie Dejoie

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