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Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Introduction to swear words – Part 1 (#239)
Swear words lend a colloquial (spoken) impact to the message being shared. Swear words traditionally relate to matters which are most likely to offend others. This attracts people’s attention and invokes an emotional response from those who are listening.
If you travel anywhere in Québec or listen to Francophones speak anywhere in Canada, you will certainly run into swear words or obscenities. They are used much more loosely used in French than in English.
In East Asian societies (China for example), the most sacred aspects of society are family networks and honouring one’s parents and ancestors. It is therefore no surprise that East Asian swear words have mostly to do with one’s mother, ancestors, and family relations (if you were to say “Your mother” to someone in Chinese, don’t be surprised if you get an angry response).
In Western societies, for many centuries the Church was the most sacred aspect of society. Religious blasphemy was the most sure-fire way to invoke a negative or emotional reaction. Therefore many of our Western English swear words in Canada and the USA relate to God, or subjects which were determined taboo by religion and religious puritan principles.
Examples are “Damned” (which relates to hell), “F@#$” (which is an affront to the Church’s conservative views towards intercourse), “Hell” (self-explanatory), “Shit” (which indirectly contravenes the notion of the Church’s early puritan obsessions with cleanliness and purity), “Pissed” (for the same reasons as “shit”), “C#@t” (which relates to genitalia – a subject rendered taboo by the church), etc. etc.
In Canadian and Québec French, swear words also stem from a liturgical (church / clerical) origin. However, unlike more abstract Canadian English swear words, most Canadian French obscenities stem from the objects used in Catholic ceremonies.
Swear words in Québec and Canadian French are called “des jurons” or “des sacres”.
Important note: French swear words in Canada are very different from French swear words in France, with only a few exceptions (such as merde/marde, pute/putain, etc.)
In Québec and elsewhere in French Canada, there’s a general consensus that most of the objects and swear words relate to traditions in the Catholic Church. Yet what most people in Québec do not realize is that Canadian & Québec French swear words would not have existed had it not been for the Protestant church’s presence in Québec and North America from the time of Samuel de Champlain (essentially, day one).
A photo I took of a bar sign in Montréal the other day. A photo full of irony. A “Ciboire” is both a sacred Catholic wafer box / ciborium, but is also a French swear word. Here, the bar is playing on the irony between its modern “obscene” meaning, and its historical “religious” meaning.
There were three major parishioner groups in North America in the 1600s and early 1700s: (1) the French Catholics, (2) the French Protestants (known as the Huguenots) who were prosecuted in France and who fled to the North America to escape persecution from French Catholics, (3) Anglophone (as well as Dutch speaking) Protestants.
(On a personal note, I’m in part descended from several families of the original Protestant French settlers, not the Catholic French settlers… among them Louis Dubois, the head of the Huguenots, and several others from 1614 to the late 1600s. The Protestant French colonialists made their way westward, and Western Canada is now populated with many of their descendants. Interestingly enough, the total number of descendants of the original Protestant French settlers now probably outnumbers all the descendants of the original Catholic French settlers in North America. All of this is something which is not taught in Québec’s education system… which unfortunately contributes to the notion of the Two Solitudes [It can be a bit frustrating]).
The “Protestant French” population in North America was viewed by the “Catholic French” population as being blasphemous and as “outsiders” (despite being of the same French origins). The Catholic French population in North America made a specific point of demarcating the difference between “Catholic French settlers” and “Protestant French settlers” by creating swear words which related to “Catholic-specific” ritual pieces (this is why North American French swears are based upon Catholic “objects”, versus North American English swear words which are based upon general abstract religion).
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HOW TO USE SWEAR WORDS IN FRENCH
Swear words in Canadian & Québec French are often inserted into sentences in the same way as in English. In very general terms, the most common ways of using them follow four simple rules. (There are other ways to use them, but the following are the main ways we use them the most often):
1. As an imperative:
- F#@#! I’ve had it!
- Tarbarwatte! Que j’en ai marre!
- Shit that’s great!
- Crisse qu’y est bon!
- God-damn it!
- Câlisse!
2. Using “de” (of a) to link the swear word with the object to which it refers:
- C’est un ciboire de char!
- That’s a hell of a car!
- Toé, le p’tit câline de morvaillon!
- You, ya little pisser of a brat!
3. As a tensified verb:
Generally by adding the equivalent an English “-ed” at the end (which is “é” in French). Thus, hostie (damn) can be conjugated to a past/present passive tense, hostié (damned).
- Son hostié char!
- His damned car!
- C’t’un cristié bon gateau!
- God-damn that cake is good!
4. Adding “en X” after a verb, an adjective or an adverb
- Je suis tanné en cimoinak!
- I’m so F’in tired of it!
- Le ciel et si bleu en ostie!
- The sky is so god-damned blue!
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HAVING FUN WITH SWEARS
You can have a lot of fun with our French swears. They’re much more flexible than English swears. You can mix and match them, and play on sounds.
Example 1 : My main gym buddy for many years was Francophone. He always used to tease me about one physical aspect or another of mine. But I would throw the insults right back at him. I played on the French swear expression of calling someone “Viande de chien” (dog meat). But I modified it and always called him “Viande de bouche de cheval!” (horse-mouth meat). His busted a gut every time! (“Hé, toi-là! Viande de bouche de cheval, que c’est qui se passe?”, “Hey! Horse mouth meat, what’s up?”).
Example 2 : Instead of saying a hard-core swear word, you can substitute it with a less-offensive word which takes the first letter of the offensive swear word, or which sounds similar.
Take this sentence for example: “Il a trop acheté en ciboire!” (Christ, he bought too much!).
“Ciboire” can be replaced by something as mundane as s’il vous plaît, Simon, cite, etc.
They all start with a “SEE” sound. Thus you can say “Il a trop acheté en s’il vous plaît“. This is best when you are unaware of how the obscenity (such as “ciboire”) would be taken by the person you’re talking to. Creative, isn’t it?
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SOFTENING OF SWEARS
One of the reasons why there are so many swear words in Québec and Canadian French is owing to the number of “softened” swears. Softening makes them much more acceptable and allows them to be said to a larger audience.
In English a softer version of “Damn” would be “Darn”. A softened version of “Shit” would be “Schnoot”. A softened version of “F#@$*” would be “Fudge”. “Pissed” is softened to “Peeved”. “C*&#” is softened to “Pussy”, and so on.
Unlike in English, the softening possibilities in French go on and on and on – to the extent that there are hundreds of them (English likely only has a few dozen, or less).
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THE NEXT FEW POSTS
The next few posts will give alphabetical lists of many swear words in Québec and Canadian French, and related “softened” words. Best now to charge your pace-makers, and to put passwords on your computers for the kiddies!!
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SERIES: QUÉBEC AND CANADIAN FRENCH SWEAR WORDS (6 POSTS)
- Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Introduction to swear words – Part 1 (#239)
- Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears A to CH – Part 2 (#240)
- Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears CI to J – Part 3 (#241)
- Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears M to SAC – Part 4 (#242)
- Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears SAI to V – Part 5 (#243)
- Gettin’ vulgar! This ain’t no picture book for the kiddies! – Part 6 (#244)
Celebrating 400 years of Francophone history in Ontario (#220)
The last post set the table for this post. In the last post I discussed how curious I find that Francophone Ontario gets so little attention compared to Acadia: “Les Ontarois”: More than double Acadia’s population, yet they rarely get outside attention”.
In this post, I’ll bring to your attention one of the most significant events in Ontario’s history: This year’s celebrations 400 years of Ontarois (Franco-Ontarian) history.
(The official logo of the 400th anniversary celebrations)
Following Étienne Brulé’s Ontario expeditions in 1610, Samuel de Champlain founded what is now Ontario in 1615, where he took took up residence at his newly-founded settlement 90 minutes North of Toronto (in what is now Penetanguishene-Midland in Cottage Country).
400 years later, Ontarois (Franco-Ontarians) now constitute North America’s largest Francophone population outside Québec, with more than 610,000 people. In addition, almost 1,500,000 people in Ontario are able to speak French (self-identified as being able to hold a conversation in French, Stats-Can 2011).
According to Statistics Canada, Ontarois numbers are on the increase… with the number of people who speak French at home in Ontario having increased by 9.5% between 2006-2011, to 595,000 people. This is the largest growth rate of any Francophone population in Canada, be it in Western Canada, Acadia or Québec.
In celebration of 400 years of Francophone history in Ontario, a consortium of government and non-governmental organizations have launched “Ontario 400”. Ontario 400 is charged with helping to organize and highlight a whole host of year-long celebrations all over Ontario. The largest celebrations will be during the summer, but the celebrations are already underway in many parts of Ontario.
The official “Ontario 400” website can be viewed here:
(English): http://ontario400.ca/en/statistics/
(French): http://ontario400.ca/
Some interesting highlights & links from the Ontario-400 website:
- 41.5% % of Ontario’s Francophones live in Eastern Ontario (which includes Ottawa & area),
- 28.7% live in Central Ontario (which includes Toronto, the Golden Horseshoe & area)
- 22.5% live in the North-East of Ontario (including Sudbury, North Bay, and the northern highway 11 Francophone regions)
- 5.9% live in the Southwest (which includes Windsor & area)
- 1.4% live in the Northwest (which includes Thunder Bay & area)
- Traveller’s guide for Ontario in French (Francophone gastronomy, cultural attractions and travel information) : http://publications.voyagesontario.com/
- Calendar of events (strangely it’s in French only): http://ontario400.ca/calendrier/ and http://ontario400.ca/
Have a look through the website… it’s quite interesting. I’m told that the largest Toronto-Area celebrations will be in Penetanguishene this summer at the original 1615 Samuel de Champlain settlement, which is now Sainte-Marie-aux-Pays-des-Hurons, less than 90 minutes North of Toronto (with people coming from all over Southern Ontario for it).
If you live in or close to Ontario, these celebrations might be a fun way to help you practice your French.
(Pics of Sainte-Marie-aux-Pays-des-Huron North of Toronto)
Happy 400th birthday!!
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SERIES: FRANCOPHONE ONTARIO & ONTAROIS (6 POSTS)
- ENG – “Les Ontarois”: More than double Acadia’s population, yet they rarely get outside attention (#219)
- ENG – Celebrating 400 years of Francophone history in Ontario (#220)
- ENG – Links related to everything “Franco-Ontarian” or “Ontarois” (#221)
- ENG – Why Franco-Ontarians are not better recognized in a pan-Canadian sense, or internationally – Part 1 of 2 (#222)
- ENG – Why Franco-Ontarians are not better recognized in a pan-Canadian sense, or internationally – Part 2 of 2 (#223)
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“Les Ontarois”: More than double Acadia’s population, yet they rarely get outside attention (#219)
Here is a short, but controversial post for you.
There are more than twice the number of Ontarois as there are Acadians (note: Ontarois(e) is the new name which people use more and more to describe Franco-Ontarians).
But strangely enough, outside Ontario, they do not garner nearly the same amount of attention as Acadians.
Yet, Ontarois also
- have a few distinct accents
- have a Francophone history just as long as Québec’s and Acadia’s (Samuel de Champlain also founded Ontario, just like Québec. He lived in Southern Ontario for over one to two years in 1615. His home was just North of present-day Toronto, in what is now Midland in Cottage Country. I guess he liked his cottage at the lake too! Even today, if you drive 90 minutes North of Toronto to the towns of Penetanguishene and Tiny-municipality – where he established the first European settlement in Ontario — you’ll see and hear wall-to-wall French with an Ontarian accent).
- have many Francophone media super stars (Marie-Mai and Véronique DiCaire among the most recent ones, but there has been a long line of Ontarois celebrities)
- have given Canada some of its foremost politicians and other personalities (the recent and former Prime Minister, Paul Martin, is Ontarois from Windsor)
- have a provincial government, hospitals, and grade-school & post-secondary education institutions which operate or serve its population in French
- live in a province where some areas are over 85% to 90% Francophone (even more Francophone than numerous areas of Québec).
- have their own extensive media industry
- Radio-Canada has numerous studios across Ontario,
- there are more Francophone radio stations in Ontario than anywhere elsewhere outside Québec,
- there are numerous Francophone newspapers, among which Le Droit is one of the largest daily newpapers in Canada,
- the Francophone Toronto-based television station TFO is one of (and possibly is) North America’s largest educational TV stations,
- the national Francophone TV station UNIS is based in Toronto, which broadcasts coast-to-coast-to-coast
- are growing in overall numbers (with those speaking French at home having grown by 9.5% from 2006 to 2011 according to the 2011 Statistics Canada census, one of Canada’s largest growth-rates of any community!)
- shares a province with an an Anglophone community, of which large numbers are able to speak both French and English, and thus lends much moral support and understanding for their Francophone communities (I placed the bilingual numbers on the above map).
Heck, when Toronto’s mayor, John Tory, recently won the mayoral election, the first words of his live televised victory speech were in French, not English.
There are more Francophones in Ontario than there are Anglophones in Québec (yet people always talk about the Anglophones in Québec, but hardly ever about the Francophones in Ontario).
Considering all of the above, I remain completely baffled as to why only Québecois and Acadians get the bulk of the attention when people outside these regions or outside Canada think about, talk of, or write about French in Canada or of Francophone Canada.
It looks like a case of the Two Solitudes on many, many different levels (Francophone-to-Francophone, Region-to-Region, Québec-to-Ontario, Country-to-Country, Anglophone-to-Francophone, and on and on).
I have some (rather complex) pet theories why this may be the case, but I’ll leave them for another post (check in a couple of posts from now… I have a stab at jotting my thoughts on the issue in a separate post).
I can give you an excellent example of what I regularly see. Yesterday a private foreign company published a post on their blog pertaining to French in Canada (I won’t mention who they are, so as not to single them out). Frankly speaking, from a historic and language-explanation perspective, it was one of the best “short” descriptions I have ever seen (better than any Wikipedia article). I was more than impressed. Yet, even though they said French in Canada has many dialects and is found across the country, they mentioned the most important and main French speaking areas in Canada are Québec and Acadia.
There was just one problem with this article (which was supposed to discuss Canadian French), there was zero mention of Ontario — one of the largest components in Canada’s overall French and Francophone realities.
It’s just not the above article either… In fact this happens over and over again all over the board when people write and talk about French in Canada. I find this chronic omission of anything Ontarois-related to be endemic and representative of many articles, blog posts, and general media coverage. Even I was guilty of falling into this trap in my younger years. Ontario is scarcely ever mentioned, whereas Acadia gets the lions share of the attention – either abroad or elsewhere at home.
Although I consider my own personal background more tied to Franco-Albertan, Franco–Prairien and Pan-Franco-Canadian culture than what I consider it tied to Ontarois (or Franco-Ontarien) culture, the longer I live in Ontario, and the longer I see and hear Ontarois in my everyday life, the more perplexed I become by this question.
On top of it all, I happen to live in one of the least Francophone regions of Toronto, yet I hear French in my neighbourhood more often than you’d think.
This lack of awareness of Francophone Ontario’s existence (versus an extravagantly large amount of attention accorded to a much “smaller” Acadia) is a real head-scratcher. One would think Ontario would find itself on near-equal footing with Acadia, in terms of attention from elsewhere in Canada or abroad (Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying… Acadia is certainly unique in many important ways, and does deserve every bit of attention it gets… But one would also think that Ontarois culture and Francophone Ontario should be right up there too).
Am I missing something here?? It sure makes you think, doesn’t it? What are your thoughts?
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Related posts:
“Tant à Découvrir”: The Ontario Government’s French Licence Plates issued to the public… Seen on vehicles across Ontario. If you keep your eyes open for them, you’ll spot them around Toronto, and the North & East of Ontario.
“Tant à découvrir”… Funny how the logo plays right into this theme. Ironic isn’t it?
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SERIES: FRANCOPHONE ONTARIO & ONTAROIS (6 POSTS)
- ENG – “Les Ontarois”: More than double Acadia’s population, yet they rarely get outside attention (#219)
- ENG – Celebrating 400 years of Francophone history in Ontario (#220)
- ENG – Links related to everything “Franco-Ontarian” or “Ontarois” (#221)
- ENG – Why Franco-Ontarians are not better recognized in a pan-Canadian sense, or internationally – Part 1 of 2 (#222)
- ENG – Why Franco-Ontarians are not better recognized in a pan-Canadian sense, or internationally – Part 2 of 2 (#223)
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A very funny, well made movie: “Henri Henri” (#210)
Flights are amazing for getting things done – be it work, reading, or movies. Unfortunately I haven’t had the time I need to see many of our movies in French here in Toronto. But I’ve been fortunate in the sense that I could rely on numerous flights the last couple of years to catch up on movies. Air Canada usually has a very good selection of the top box-office Montréwood movies.
On a flight a few days ago I watched ‘’Henri Henri”. It was the first time I had seen a Montréwood film like this. The entire movie had the feel of “Forest Gump” meets “Amélie” meets the quirkier, innocent feel of the small town setting in “Edward Scissor Hands”. It was quite different for a Montréwood film to have this sort of atmosphere.
Best yet, it was funny – in an adult / mature kind of way (I don’t think kids would find it funny – so that should say it’s perfectly suited to adults). I had my big earphones on, so I couldn’t really hear myself laugh, but I must have laughed loud enough a few times because people across the aisle looked at me more than a couple of times (but they just smiled, so all is good!).
Here is the trailer:
Montréwood can pull things off amazingly well… and here is yet another prime example.
I’m not going to spoil the plot for you, but I’d don’t mind leaking a little bit of the storyline. Henri was an orphan, who took a job as the convent’s “lightbulb screwer” (he screwed in burned out lightbulbs… let’s be clear about that). Once he grew up and had to leave the orphanage, he kept his pleasant nativity from an isolated childhood, and subsequently took a job doing the only thing he knew, screwing in light bulbs. With the encouragement of his older co-worker and a customer who he befriended (who both doubled new friends and & life coaches), he met a girl. What happened after came with a twist (both due to his background and hers). The rest I’ll leave for you to find out when you watch the film.
If you’re learning French, this movie contain NO Joual (which is great for learners whose French is closer to entry level). Everything is in international French, and the Québecois accent is toned down to a minimum (it could not be toned down any futher). Thus this would be a perfect film for anyone learning French, even at an elementary level. Much of the movie is carried by the actors’ actions anyway.
Hats off to the writer/director Martin Talbot, and the producers Christian Larouche and Caroline Héroux for a job well done. And the acting by Victor Trelles Turgeon, Sophie Desmarais, Michel Perron and Marcel Sabourin was excellent. It had the feel of a big-budget movie, right from the beginning. Great job!!
Quebec Culture Blog 