French outside Quebec

[mlw03]

I'm moving to Alberta next summer for a job I've taken. While I know that officially I do not have to learn a word of French for my job, I'm wondering if there is any utility in trying to learn a little bit, either out of practicality or courtesy. I'm American and took Spanish as my foreign language in high school, so I'd be starting at ground zero. It is worth trying to learn, and if so, any suggestions on resources?

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[mashmetoo]

I'm moving to Alberta next summer for a job I've taken. While I know that officially I do not have to learn a word of French for my job, I'm wondering if there is any utility in trying to learn a little bit, either out of practicality or courtesy. I'm American and took Spanish as my foreign language in high school, so I'd be starting at ground zero. It is worth trying to learn, and if so, any suggestions on resources?

Outside of Quebec, maybe northern Ontario bordering Quebec, the rest of Canada is basically English speaking. There might be a few remote communities that also speak French in Alberta, but unlike America where you have Latin Americans that often do not speak a work of English, all Canadians speak English (with French added on if you are Francophone). You'll be absolutely fine with just the American English in Alberta 🙂 (but if it was in Quebec, then you'd be in trouble).

 

[mlw03]

Thanks for the comments. Although I will have to modify my spelling of words like 'labor' and 'center'. Do non-Francophone Canadians generally take French as their foreign language in school?

 

[mashmetoo]

Thanks for the comments. Although I will have to modify my spelling of words like 'labor' and 'center'. Do non-Francophone Canadians generally take French as their foreign language in school?

Yes, required learning from grade 7 through grade 9.

 

[HerbalPlz]

Yes, required learning from grade 7 through grade 9.

???

I'm from Ontario and I was taking French from Grade 1 - Grade 9. Maybe kindergarten but my memory is hazy.

 

[tussy]

You'll need french in Quebec, parts of the east coast, around the ottawa valley, but that is all. Alberta is probably the least french part of Canada. No need to learn any at all. I worked in Alberta for 3 years.

I took french as a required course from grades 1-12. I have a certificate somewhere saying I'm bilingual, though i don't remember much of it at all at this point.

 

[mashmetoo]

???

I'm from Ontario and I was taking French from Grade 1 - Grade 9. Maybe kindergarten but my memory is hazy.

There was no French in grade 6 for me. Started in grade 7, mandatory thru grade 9. Maybe it depends on the school system.

 

[mlw03]

Thanks for the comments, all. I still would like to try and learn a bit eventually, but what you all are saying convinces me I can wait until I have a bit more time than I currently do in fellowship to start on it.

 

[HerbalPlz]

To be honest, outside of Quebec, French is not that popular.

If I were you, I'd learn a Chinese language. Mandarin or Cantonese are both good choice. Trust me, you'd see so much more use out of one these languages than French in almost any province in Canada. It's especially good if you decide to go to Vancouver or Toronto at some point.

 

[mlw03]

Thanks for the advice, but no plans to dabble in the Far Eastern languages. It's not so much "need to" as "would it be polite?". I've always been irked at people moving to the US and not learning a word of English, and you guys have shown through your responses that in western Canada French is not the lingua franca.

 

[mashmetoo]

Thanks for the advice, but no plans to dabble in the Far Eastern languages. It's not so much "need to" as "would it be polite?". I've always been irked at people moving to the US and not learning a word of English, and you guys have shown through your responses that in western Canada French is not the lingua franca.

Outside of Quebec, English is king. If you responded in French to inquiries outside of Quebec 1) people will think you are snobbish 2) people will think you are weird 3) it is absolutely unnecessary - it would be polite to respond in ENGLISH rather than French 4) people will most likely NOT know what you are saying as the vast majority of Canadians outside of Quebec speak English and only English -what you are then doing is equivalent to speaking Spanish to your baby boomer American patients.

Also, if you want to learn "authentic" French, learn it in France. The French will tell you that Quebecois French has a weird accent. This is because back in the day, when France had colonies in North America, their colonists were all peasants, and spoke "peasant French" - i.e., with a peasant accent. So fast forward a few hundred years, Quebecois French has an accent of what the French of Europe would consider to be a "peasant" French (this is what I've been told by Francophones). Someone from Nigeria would speak more "proper" French than Quebecois French, again, this is what I've been told.

With the way the economy is going, heck, learning a far Eastern language might not be such a bad idea.

 

[futuredoc1004]

As you will not have the ability to practice any French you loearn, the effort will be entirely counterproductive. 🙁 I would not bother if I were you.

 

[NameForMe]

Also, you don't have to change the way you spell anything. We have a tendency to use both American and British spellings.

 

[psychoswim]

As you will not have the ability to practice any French you loearn, the effort will be entirely counterproductive. 🙁 I would not bother if I were you.

^^ This. Unless you happen to be around some French-speaking people where you can practice, it's really hard to learn "on your own".

As for accents, well it's still funny that the people from France seem to have a whole bunch of English terms incorporated into their vocabulary that we don't here (like "shopping" for example). People everywhere have different accents... Sometimes I barely understand French people from Belgium or France, or from eastern QC for that matter 😉