Quebec quoi?
May 24th, 2004
Despite study of French at the junior, high school, and university levels, I am universally confounded by native speakers of the language, their usages unusual, their tempo staccato, their liaisons downright dangerous.
This is nothing compared to Québecois, which is unintelligible even to the French. Here’s a convenient guide to usage in Québec, should you happen to find yourself there, puzzled over why your dîner date showed up six hours early.
(From a Language Log entry on winetalk borrow-words in French Canadian coffee shops.)