#franco-albertain

[kayla360]

Bonne Saint-Jean la gang !

[iheartvelma]

Notes on French Speakers in Canada, for Anglo Writers

“French-Canadian” is antiquated and to me, borderline offensive. It’s a bit like saying “Negro” or “Hispanic” vs Black / Afro-[x] or Latin[x] (or being more specific if nationality is involved). There is no singular community called the “French Canadians” unless you want to talk about all the French People From France who have emigrated to Montreal and have taken over the Plateau.

"French Canadian” brings up lumberjack stereotypes like Blacques Jacques Shellac.

So with that in mind, here’s a quick guide to the terminology you SHOULD be using.

First: off: Francophone = French speaker. Often paired with/against anglophone, for English speaker, and, particularly in Quebec, allophone for someone whose mother tongue is neither French nor English. The term langues autochtone (aw-tok-ton) is used for indigenous languages. 

Important side note: First Nations does NOT include the Métis nor the Inuit. Handy guide to this here.

Pronunciation tip: The ɛ̃ sound is the nasal vowel used in French with a final N at the end of words like fin, vin, Martin, Ontarien. It’s pretty easy to say: Take the word can, and say it without the N, to get kɛ̃, or at least a close approximation.

Québecois

Pronounced: keh-beh-kwa

If they’re from Québec, they are Québecois. Though of course there are distinctions like “québecois de souche” (old stock, ie family tree goes back to 1600s-1700s), and hyphenated adjectives for newcomers or minority language speakers (Haitian-, Vietnamese-, Indo-, Anglo-, etc) though I haven’t seen equivalent usage in Québec French per se. 

The common language at the time was, surprisingly, not French but rooted in the so-called Oïl languages, which is why common Quebec French retains many features of 1600s-1700s pronunciation and idioms. 

Contrary to what tourism videos might show you, there isn’t Parisian accordion music playing at all times; the folk tradition is much more based on the fiddle and leftover marching band instruments, but, like most modern, post-industrial societies, we also have electric guitars, synthesizers and turntables now. 

If they’re from another province, they are usually referred to as Franco-[provincial], hence: Franco-Ontarian, -Manitoban, -Albertan, etc.

Franco-Ontarien

Pronounced: frahn-ko-ohn-tarry-yɛ̃

The first Franco-Ontarians settled in Ontario when it was the ‘Pays d’haut’ part of New France, but really settled there in larger numbers in the 19th century. They gained an identity movement in the 1970s as a side effect of the Quiet Revolution, after attempts to assimilate them in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They fought and won the right to get provincial services in French including a French-language school system, although the province is not officially bilingual. Franco-Ontarians number about 700,000 today. 

Franco-Albertain

Pronounced: Frahn-ko-al-bear-tɛ̃ 

Francophones were the first Europeans to visit the province, with voyageurs employed in the fur trade exploring the region in the late 18th century. They settled into a number of communities in the Northwest Territories during the 19th century, including communities in present day Alberta. In 1928, the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta was formed to promote francophone rights, and to lobby the interests of Franco-Albertans to the province. Following the enactment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, Franco-Albertans pushed for further linguistic rights within the province, eventually resulting in the province establishing an independent public francophone school system in 1994. 

Franco-Manitobain

Pronounced: Frahn-ko-ma-nee-toh-bɛ̃ 

Franco-Manitobans (French: Franco-Manitobains) are Canadian francophones living in the province of Manitoba. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 40,975 residents of the province stated that French was their mother tongue. In the same census, 148,810 Manitobans claimed to have either full or partial French ancestry. There are several Franco-Manitoban communities throughout Manitoba, although the majority are based in either the Winnipeg Capital Region or the Eastman Region.

The first francophones to enter the region were fur traders during the late 17th century, with the first French settlers arriving in the subsequent century. Francophones constituted the majority of the region's non-First Nations population until the mid 19th century, when anglophones became the linguistic majority. In 1869, the Red River Rebellion was sparked by a group of Métis francophones, eventually resulting in the admittance of the Red River Colony as a bilingual province of Canada. However, the provincial government moved to revoke the linguistic rights accorded to francophones late 19th and early 20th centuries. Restoration of these linguistic rights did not begin until 1970, when French was made an official language of its public education system. The linguistic rights of Franco-Manitobans was also furthered as a result of several decisions made by the Supreme Court of Canada during the 1970s to 1990s.

Acadien

Pronounced: Ah-kah-dyɛ̃

The Acadians were French settlers in what is now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as well as parts of Maine. They are linguistically and culturally different from the settlers who arrived in Quebec, coming mostly from southern Occitania vs northwestern Normandy and Brittany. Expelled during the Seven Years War, some were sent to Louisiana where their culture added to the melting pot that became “Cajun,” though some resettled in Canada after the war.

And National Acadian Day is celebrated in several towns and cities on August 15th.

[unpeudechuk]

Aujourd’hui est la journée international de la francophonie! D’être francophone au Canada est à la fois une privilège et une galère. Nous luttons encore pour l’égalité et vu que j’appartiens à une communauté minoritaire, je me sens à la fois très chanceux et très frustré. Si seulement le Gouvernement de l’Alberta pouvait mieux reconnaître la belle langue de Molière…. Cependant, la francophonie albertaine démure belle. C’est une communauté forte,diverse et accueillante et j’en suis fier.

Joyeuse journée internationale de la Francophonie!!!

[unicorns-they-were-unicorns]

So, Western Canada was all mad about the federal gov't in the 70s/80s/90s, but then a guy from here was PM (unfortunate lumping of more progressive provinces with AB), and we're now all "Bring on my eastern overlords!" (Sorry May but the greens aren't competitive yet - bring on prop rep!!). Anyways, as a grandchild of a man who had a "Let Those Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark" bumper sticker in the 70s who always voted Liberal (contradiction, yes), bring on my eastern overlords.

[franco-canadiens]

La nomination du juge Brown démontre l'importance du bilinguisme des juges à la Cour suprême du Canada.

WINNIPEG – La Fédération des associations de juristes d’expression française de common law inc. (FAJEF) est heureuse de constater la nomination d’un autre juge ayant une capacité en français à la Cour suprême du Canada, suite à la récente annonce de la nomination du juge Russell Brown de la Cour d’appel de l’Alberta.

Me Allan Damer, président de la FAJEF, déclare que, « la nomination d’un huitième juge pouvant comprendre et s’exprimer en français à la Cour suprême du Canada démontre à quel point le bilinguisme obligatoire des juges à la Cour suprême du Canada est parfaitement réaliste en 2015. »

Me Damer ajoute que, « la nomination d’un juge ayant une capacité bilingue de l’Alberta démontre clairement et concrètement à quel point le critère du bilinguisme des juges à la Cour suprême du Canada n’est aucunement incompatible avec le concept de la représentation régionale à ce tribunal de dernière instance au Canada surtout que tous les juges faisant partie de la magistrature fédérale ont accès à de la formation linguistique.

Enfin, la FAJEF tient à souligner que puisque les neuf juges de la Cour suprême du Canada sont tous appelés à interpréter les versions française et anglaise des lois fédérales, ainsi que celles des très nombreuses lois provinciales et territoriales bilingues, il est impossible de comprendre comment le bilinguisme ne peut pas être une compétence de base essentielle pour être nommé juge à la Cour suprême du Canada.

[franco-canadiana]

Bande-annonce de choeur d'une culture (visionner le film complet ici sur le site de l'ONF - 27:15)

Court métrage documentaire sur le périple mémorable de la Chorale Saint-Jean, d’Edmonton, invitée à participer aux festivités du 400e anniversaire de Québec. Ponctué par les témoignages des protagonistes, dont ceux de Laurier Fagnan, le chef de chœur, et de l'auteure-compositrice France Levasseur-Ouimet, le récit de ce « retour aux sources » nous réjouit et nous interpelle. Avec émotion et humour, le film démontre que l'avenir du français hors Québec n'est pas nécessairement sombre. Ainsi la culture franco-albertaine s'épanouit au-delà de la survivance et vient enrichir notre patrimoine à tous. 

Note aux étudiants du français : le film dispose des sous-titres français.

Trailer for Choir of a Culture (pun on 'heart' - see the full film on the NFB website, in French - 27:15)

Documentary short on the memorable journey of the Chorale Saint-Jean (Saint John Chorus), of Edmonton, invited to participate in the Quebec City Quadricentennial celebrations. Intersperced with the stories of its heroes, including those of Laurier Fagnan, Choir Director, and of author-composer France Lavasseur-Ouimet, this tale of 'returning to their roots' is joyful and engaging. With emotion and humour, the film demonstrates that the future of French outside of Quebec is not necessarily bleak. Franco-Albertan culture thus grows beyond mere survival and enriches our collective heritage.

-R