Misplaced Pages

#658341

115-534: Canadian French is a common umbrella term to describe all varieties of French used in Canada, including Quebec French. Formerly it was used to refer solely to Quebec French and the closely related dialects spoken in Ontario and Western Canada , in contrast with Acadian French , which is spoken in some areas of eastern Quebec ( Gaspé Peninsula ), New Brunswick , and in other parts of Atlantic Canada , and Métis French , which

230-477: A British warship that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations, in what became known as the Gaspee Affair . The affair was investigated for possible treason, but no action was taken. In 1773, private letters were published in which Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson claimed that the colonists could not enjoy all English liberties, and in which Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver called for

345-544: A boycott on imports of all British merchandise . American spokesmen such as Samuel Adams, James Otis, John Hancock, John Dickinson, Thomas Paine, and many others, rejected aristocracy and propounded " republicanism " as the political philosophy that was best suited to American conditions. The Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout the Empire and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval or even consultation. They argued that

460-751: A collective label for all these varieties, and Quebec French has also been used for the entire dialect group. The overwhelming majority of francophone Canadians speak this dialect. Acadian French is spoken by over 350,000 Acadians in parts of the Maritime Provinces , Newfoundland, the Magdalen Islands , the Lower North Shore and the Gaspé Peninsula . St. Marys Bay French is a variety of Acadian French spoken in Nova Scotia. Métis French

575-621: A comparison can be made, the differences between both varieties are analogous to those between American and British English even if differences in phonology and prosody for the latter are greater. Quebec's culture has only recently gained exposure in Europe, especially since the Quiet Revolution ( Révolution tranquille ). The difference in dialects and culture is large enough that speakers of Quebec French overwhelmingly prefer their own local television dramas or sitcoms to shows from Europe or

690-517: A full non-breaking space is not used before the semicolon , exclamation mark , or question mark . Instead, a thin space (which according to Le Ramat de la typographie normally measures a quarter of an em ) is used; this thin space can be omitted in word-processing situations where the thin space is assumed to be unavailable, or when careful typography is not required. A notable difference in grammar which received considerable attention in France during

805-532: A horse or a carriage), the Québécois variety in its informal register tends to use embarquer and débarquer , a result of Quebec's navigational heritage. With the onset of British rule in 1760 , the French of Canada became isolated from that of Europe. This led to a retention of older pronunciations, such as moé for moi ( audio comparison ) and expressions that later died out in France. In 1774,

920-473: A large military and naval force: Convinced that the Revolution was the work of a full few miscreants who had rallied an armed rabble to their cause, they expected that the revolutionaries would be intimidated .... Then the vast majority of Americans, who were loyal but cowed by the terroristic tactics ... would rise up, kick out the rebels, and restore loyal government in each colony. Washington forced

1035-537: A lesser extent, Aroostook County , Maine, and Beauce of Quebec. Although superficially a phonological descendant of Acadian French, analysis reveals it is morphosyntactically identical to Quebec French. It is believed to have resulted from a localized levelling of contact dialects between Québécois and Acadian settlers . There are two main sub-varieties of Canadian French. Joual is an informal variety of French spoken in working-class neighbourhoods in Quebec. Chiac

1150-797: A meeting with representatives from Congress to negotiate an end to hostilities. A delegation including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin met British admiral Richard Howe on Staten Island in New York Harbor on September 11 in what became known as the Staten Island Peace Conference . Howe demanded that the Americans retract the Declaration of Independence , which they refused to do, and negotiations ended. The British then seized New York City and nearly captured Washington's army. They made

1265-507: A much larger force. As Benjamin Franklin wrote to Joseph Priestley in October 1775: Britain, at the expense of three millions, has killed 150 Yankees this campaign, which is £20,000 a head ... During the same time, 60,000 children have been born in America. From these data his mathematical head will easily calculate the time and expense necessary to kill us all. In the winter of 1775,

SECTION 10

#1732913730659

1380-661: A strong influence on Quebec French. The phonological features traditionally distinguishing informal Quebec French and formal European French have gradually acquired varying sociolinguistic status, so that certain traits of Quebec French are perceived neutrally or positively by Quebecers, while others are perceived negatively. Sociolinguistic studies conducted in the 1960s and 1970s showed that Quebecers generally rated speakers of European French heard in recordings higher than speakers of Quebec French in many positive traits, including expected intelligence, education, ambition, friendliness and physical strength. The researchers were surprised by

1495-768: A structure of shared sovereignty during prosecution of the Revolutionary War and facilitating international relations and alliances. The Articles were fully ratified on March 1, 1781. At that point, the Continental Congress was dissolved and a new government of the United States in Congress Assembled took its place the following day, on March 2, 1782, with Samuel Huntington leading the Congress as presiding officer. According to British historian Jeremy Black ,

1610-466: A vehicle for deliberation and collective action. During secret debates, conservative Joseph Galloway proposed the creation of a colonial Parliament that would be able to approve or disapprove acts of the British Parliament, but his idea was tabled in a vote of 6 to 5 and was subsequently removed from the record. Congress called for a boycott beginning on December 1, 1774, of all British goods; it

1725-413: Is a blending of Acadian French syntax and vocabulary, with numerous lexical borrowings from English. The term "Canadian French" was formerly used to refer specifically to Quebec French and the closely related varieties of Ontario and Western Canada descended from it. This is presumably because Canada and Acadia were distinct parts of New France , and also of British North America , until 1867. The term

1840-574: Is found generally across the Prairie provinces . The term joual is commonly used to refer to Quebec working class French (when considered a basilect ), characterized by certain features often perceived as phased out, "old world" or "incorrect" in standard French . Joual , in particular, exhibits strong Norman influences largely owing to Norman immigration during the Ancien Régime (they were perceived as true Catholics and allowed to immigrate to

1955-726: Is found to be distinct from those of other varieties of French: Some recent Quebec French lexical innovations have spread, at least partially, to other varieties of French, for example: On Twitter, supporters of the Quebec separatist party Bloc Québécois used hashtags that align with the syntactic pattern found in hashtags used in French political discourse , rather than adopting the hashtags commonly used by other Canadian parties with similar political positions. For phonological comparisons of Quebec French, Belgian French , Meridional French , and Metropolitan French , see French phonology . These examples are intended not exhaustive but illustrate

2070-471: Is no longer usually deemed to exclude Acadian French. Phylogenetically , Quebec French, Métis French and Brayon French are representatives of koiné French in the Americas whereas Acadian French, Cajun French, and Newfoundland French are derivatives of non-koiné local dialects in France. The term anglicism ( anglicisme ) is related to the linguistic concepts of loanwords , barbarism , diglossia , and

2185-517: Is spoken in Manitoba and Western Canada by the Métis , descendants of First Nations mothers and voyageur fathers during the fur trade . Many Métis spoke Cree in addition to French, and over the years they developed a unique mixed language called Michif by combining Métis French nouns, numerals, articles and adjectives with Cree verbs, demonstratives , postpositions , interrogatives and pronouns. Both

2300-558: Is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties , the most prominent of which is Québécois ( Quebec French ). Formerly Canadian French referred solely to Quebec French and the closely related varieties of Ontario ( Franco-Ontarian ) and Western Canada —in contrast with Acadian French , which is spoken by Acadians in New Brunswick (including the Chiac dialect ) and some areas of Nova Scotia (including

2415-603: Is the sole official language of Quebec as well as one of two official languages of New Brunswick and jointly official (derived from its federal legal status) in Nunavut , Yukon and the Northwest Territories . Government services are offered in French at select localities in Manitoba , Ontario (through the French Language Services Act ) and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in the country, depending largely on

SECTION 20

#1732913730659

2530-642: The Académie française , but are commonly used in Canada and Switzerland. There are other, sporadic spelling differences. For example, the Office québécois de la langue française formerly recommended the spelling tofou for what is in France tofu "tofu". This recommendation was repealed in 2013. In grammar, the adjective inuit "Inuit" is invariable in France but, according to official recommendations in Quebec, has regular feminine and plural forms. Grammatical differences between informal spoken Quebec French and

2645-814: The Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. In 1772, anti-tax demonstrators in Rhode Island destroyed the Royal Navy customs schooner Gaspee . On December 16, 1773, activists disguised as Indians instigated the Boston Tea Party and dumped chests of tea owned by the British East India Company into Boston Harbor . London closed Boston Harbor and enacted a series of punitive laws , which effectively ended self-government in Massachusetts. In late 1774, 12 of

2760-669: The British Empire was a constitutional monarchy with sovereignty in the King-in-Parliament . Aristocrats inherited seats in the House of Lords , while the gentry and merchants controlled the elected House of Commons . The king ruled through cabinet ministers who depended on majority support in the Commons to govern effectively. British subjects on both sides of the Atlantic proudly claimed

2875-471: The Declaration of Independence , which embodied the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism , rejected monarchy and aristocracy , and famously proclaimed that " all men are created equal ". The fighting continued for five years, now known as the Revolutionary War . During that time, the kingdoms of France and Spain entered as allies of the United States. The decisive victory came in

2990-518: The Declaration of Independence , which was drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson and presented by the Committee of Five , which had been charged with its development. The Congress struck several provisions of Jefferson's draft, and then adopted it unanimously on July 4. The Declaration embodied the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism , rejected monarchy and aristocracy , and famously proclaimed that " all men are created equal ". With

3105-686: The English Empire , and they formed part of the British Empire after the union of England and Scotland in 1707. The development of a unique American identity can be traced to the English Civil War (1642–1651) and its aftermath. The Puritan colonies of New England supported the Commonwealth government responsible for the execution of King Charles I . After the Stuart Restoration of 1660, Massachusetts did not recognize Charles II as

3220-534: The Great Lakes . About 60,000 Loyalists migrated to other British territories in Canada and elsewhere, but the great majority remained in the United States. With its victory in the American Revolution, the United States became the first constitutional republic in world history founded on the consent of the governed and the rule of law . The Thirteen Colonies were established in the 17th century as part of

3335-655: The Hat Act of 1732, and the Iron Act of 1750. Colonial reactions to these policies were mixed. The Molasses Act of 1733 placed a duty of six pence per gallon upon foreign molasses imported into the colonies. This act was particularly egregious to the New England colonists, who protested it as taxation without representation. The act increased the smuggling of foreign molasses, and the British government ceased enforcement efforts after

3450-612: The Hessian and British armies at Trenton and Princeton , thereby regaining control of most of New Jersey. The victories gave an important boost to Patriots at a time when morale was flagging, and they have become iconic events of the war. In September 1777, in anticipation of a coordinated attack by the British Army on the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia, the Continental Congress was forced to depart Philadelphia temporarily for Baltimore , where they continued deliberations. In 1777,

3565-588: The New England textile mills and the northern lumber camps. As a result, Quebec French began to borrow from both Canadian and American English to fill accidental gaps in the lexical fields of government, law, manufacturing, business and trade. From the Quiet Revolution to the passing of the Charter of the French Language , the French language in Quebec saw a period of validation in its varieties associated with

Quebec French - Misplaced Pages Continue

3680-511: The Olive Branch Petition in which they attempted to come to an accord with King George. The king, however, issued a Proclamation of Rebellion which declared that the states were "in rebellion" and the members of Congress were traitors. The Battle of Bunker Hill followed on June 17, 1775. It was a British victory—but at a great cost: about 1,000 British casualties from a garrison of about 6,000, as compared to 500 American casualties from

3795-793: The Quebec Act guaranteed French settlers as British subjects rights to French law , the Roman Catholic faith and the French language to appease them at a moment when the English-speaking colonies to the south were on the verge of revolting in the American Revolution . In the period between the Act of Union of 1840 and 1960, roughly 900,000 French Canadians left Canada to emigrate to the United States to seek employment. The ones that returned, brought with them new words taken from their experiences in

3910-699: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 , designating the territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River as an Indian Reserve closed to white settlement. The Proclamation failed to stop westward migration while angering settlers, fur traders, and land speculators in the Thirteen Colonies. George Grenville became prime minister in 1763, and "the need for money played a part in every important decision made by Grenville regarding

4025-530: The Stamp Act Congress ; its "Declaration of Rights and Grievances" argued that taxation without representation violated their rights as Englishmen . In 1767, tensions flared again following the British Parliament's passage of the Townshend Acts . In an effort to quell the mounting rebellion, King George III deployed troops to Boston . A local confrontation resulted in the troops killing protesters in

4140-463: The Tea Act lowering the price of taxed tea exported to the colonies, to help the British East India Company undersell smuggled untaxed Dutch tea. Special consignees were appointed to sell the tea to bypass colonial merchants. The act was opposed by those who resisted the taxes and also by smugglers who stood to lose business. In every colony demonstrators warned merchants not to bring in tea that included

4255-599: The macaronic mixture of the French and English languages. According to some, French spoken in Canada includes many anglicisms. The " Banque de dépannage linguistique " (Language Troubleshooting Database) by the Office québécois de la langue française distinguishes between different kinds of anglicisms: Academic, colloquial , and pejorative terms are used in Canada to refer to the vernacular . Examples are des "sabirisation" (from sabir , " pidgin "), Franglais , Français québécois , and Canadian French. American Revolution The American Revolution

4370-513: The syntax used in spoken Quebec French and that of other regional dialects of French . However, the characteristic differences of Quebec French syntax are not considered standard despite their high-frequency in everyday, relaxed speech. One far-reaching difference is the weakening of the syntactic role of the specifiers (both verbal and nominal), which results in many syntactic changes: Other notable syntactic changes in Quebec French include

4485-432: The 1740s. On the other hand, certain merchants and local industries benefitted from the restrictions on foreign competition. The limits on foreign-built ships greatly benefitted the colonial shipbuilding industry, particularly in New England. Some argue that the economic impact was minimal on the colonists, but the political friction that the acts triggered was more serious, as the merchants most directly affected were also

4600-664: The 1970s, the official position on Québécois language has shifted dramatically. An oft-cited turning point was the 1977 declaration of the Association québécoise des professeurs de français defining thus the language to be taught in classrooms: "Standard Quebec French [ le français standard d'ici , literally, "the Standard French of here"] is the socially favoured variety of French which the majority of Francophone Québécois tend to use in situations of formal communication." Ostiguy and Tousignant doubt whether Quebecers today would still have

4715-428: The 1990s is the feminine form of many professions that traditionally did not have a feminine form. In Quebec, one writes nearly universally une chercheuse or une chercheure "a researcher", whereas in France, un chercheur and, more recently, un chercheur and une chercheuse are used. Feminine forms in -eur e as in ingénieu re are still strongly criticized in France by institutions like

Quebec French - Misplaced Pages Continue

4830-418: The American Revolution (see Salutary neglect ) . During the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the British government fielded 45,000 soldiers, half British Regulars and half colonial volunteers. The colonies also contributed money to the war effort; however, two-fifths of this spending was reimbursed by the British government. Great Britain defeated France and acquired that nation's territory east of

4945-469: The Americans invaded northeastern Quebec under generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery , expecting to rally sympathetic colonists there. The attack was a failure; many Americans were killed, captured, or died of smallpox. In March 1776, aided by the fortification of Dorchester Heights with cannons recently captured at Fort Ticonderoga , the Continental Army led by George Washington forced

5060-466: The British had significant advantages, including a highly trained army, the world's largest navy, and an efficient system of public finance that could easily fund the war. However, they seriously misunderstood the depth of support for the American Patriot position, misinterpreting the situation as merely a large-scale riot. The British government believed that they could overawe the Americans by sending

5175-715: The British out of Boston in the spring of 1776, and neither the British nor the Loyalists controlled any significant areas. The British, however, were amassing forces at their naval base at Halifax, Nova Scotia . They returned in force in July 1776, landing in New York and defeating Washington's Continental Army in August at the Battle of Brooklyn . This gave the British control of New York City and its strategic harbor . Following that victory, they requested

5290-455: The British sent Burgoyne's invasion force from Canada south to New York to seal off New England. Their aim was to isolate New England, which the British perceived as the primary source of agitation. Rather than move north to support Burgoyne, the British army in New York City went to Philadelphia in a major case of mis-coordination, capturing it from Washington. The invasion army under Burgoyne

5405-549: The British to evacuate Boston . The revolutionaries now fully controlled all thirteen colonies and were ready to declare independence. There still were many Loyalists, but they were no longer in control anywhere by July 1776, and all of the Royal officials had fled. Following the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, the Patriots had control of Massachusetts outside Boston 's city limits, and

5520-551: The British to deploy troops to Boston. A Boston town meeting declared that no obedience was due to parliamentary laws and called for the convening of a convention. A convention assembled but only issued a mild protest before dissolving itself. In January 1769, Parliament responded to the unrest by reactivating the Treason Act 1543 which called for subjects outside the realm to face trials for treason in England. The governor of Massachusetts

5635-656: The Crown nullified their colonial charters in response. In 1686, James finalized these efforts by consolidating the separate New England colonies along with New York and New Jersey into the Dominion of New England . Edmund Andros was appointed royal governor and tasked with governing the new Dominion under his direct rule . Colonial assemblies and town meetings were restricted, new taxes were levied, and rights were abridged. Dominion rule triggered bitter resentment throughout New England. When James tried to rule without Parliament ,

5750-416: The English aristocracy removed him from power in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. This was followed by the 1689 Boston revolt , which overthrew Dominion rule. Colonial governments reasserted their control after the revolt. The new monarchs, William and Mary , granted new charters to the individual New England colonies, and local democratic self-government was restored. After the Glorious Revolution,

5865-419: The English. Grenville believed that the colonies should help pay the troop costs. In 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act , decreasing the existing customs duties on sugar and molasses but providing stricter measures of enforcement and collection. That same year, Grenville proposed direct taxes on the colonies to raise revenue, but he delayed action to see whether the colonies would propose some way to raise

SECTION 50

#1732913730659

5980-582: The Loyalists suddenly found themselves on the defensive with no protection from the British army. In each of the Thirteen Colonies, American patriots overthrew their existing governments, closed courts, and drove out British colonial officials. They held elected conventions and established their own legislatures , which existed outside any legal parameters established by the British. New constitutions were drawn up in each state to supersede royal charters. They proclaimed that they were now states , no longer colonies . On January 5, 1776, New Hampshire ratified

6095-416: The Michif language and the Métis dialect of French are severely endangered . Newfoundland French is spoken by a small population on the Port au Port Peninsula of Newfoundland. It is endangered—both Quebec French and Acadian French are now more widely spoken among Newfoundland Francophones than the distinctive peninsular dialect. Brayon French is spoken in Madawaska County , New Brunswick, and, to

6210-418: The Mississippi River. In early 1763, the Bute ministry decided to permanently garrison 10,000 soldiers in North America. This would allow approximately 1,500 politically well-connected British Army officers to remain on active duty with full pay (stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable). A standing army would provide defense against Native Americans in

6325-489: The Thirteen Colonies (Georgia joined in 1775) sent delegates to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia . It began coordinating Patriot resistance through underground networks of committees . In April 1775 British forces attempted to disarm local militias around Boston and engaged them . On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress responded by authorizing formation of the Continental Army and appointing George Washington as its commander-in-chief. In August

6440-641: The US of a number of British programmes being shown with subtitles (notably from Scotland). Historically speaking, the closest relative of Quebec French is the 17th and 18th-century koiné of Paris . Formal Quebec French uses essentially the same orthography and grammar as the French of France, with few exceptions, and exhibits moderate lexical differences. Differences in grammar and lexicon become more marked as language becomes more informal. While phonetic differences also decrease with greater formality, Quebec and European accents are readily distinguishable in all registers . Over time, European French has exerted

6555-400: The United States. Conversely, certain singers from Quebec have become very famous even in France, notably Félix Leclerc , Gilles Vigneault , Kate and Anna McGarrigle , Céline Dion , and Garou . Some television series from Quebec such as Têtes à claques and L'Été indien are also known in France. The number of such shows from France shown on Quebec television is about the same as

6670-503: The Virginia legislature to propose independence, and he did so on June 7, 1776. On June 11, a committee was created by the Second Continental Congress to draft a document explaining the justifications for separation from Britain. After securing enough votes for passage, independence was voted for on July 2. Gathered at Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia , 56 of the nation's Founding Fathers , representing America's Thirteen Colonies , unanimously adopted and issued to King George III

6785-478: The appearance of Indigenous people, boarded the ships of the East India Company and dumped £10,000 worth of tea from their holds (approximately £636,000 in 2008) into Boston Harbor . Decades later, this event became known as the Boston Tea Party and remains a significant part of American patriotic lore. The British government responded by passing four laws that came to be known as the Intolerable Acts , further darkening colonial opinion towards England. The first

6900-411: The city their main political and military base of operations, holding it until November 1783 . The city became the destination for Loyalist refugees and a focal point of Washington's intelligence network . The British also took New Jersey, pushing the Continental Army into Pennsylvania. Washington crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey in a surprise attack in late December 1776 and defeated

7015-434: The colonies "in all cases whatsoever". The repeal nonetheless caused widespread celebrations in the colonies. In 1767, the British Parliament passed the Townshend Acts , which placed duties on several staple goods, including paper, glass, and tea, and established a Board of Customs in Boston to more rigorously execute trade regulations. Parliament's goal was not so much to collect revenue but to assert its authority over

SECTION 60

#1732913730659

7130-446: The colonies exported agricultural products to Britain in return for manufactured goods. They also imported molasses, rum, and sugar from the British West Indies . The British government pursued a policy of mercantilism in order to grow its economic and political power. According to mercantilism, the colonies existed for the mother country's economic benefit, and the colonists' economic needs took second place. In 1651, Parliament passed

7245-622: The colonies were legally British corporations subordinate to the British Parliament. Parliament insisted that the colonists effectively enjoyed a " virtual representation ", as most British people did, since only a small minority of the British population were eligible to elect representatives to Parliament. However, Americans such as James Otis maintained that there was no one in Parliament responsible specifically to any colonial constituency, so they were not "virtually represented" by anyone in Parliament. The Rockingham government came to power in July 1765, and Parliament debated whether to repeal

7360-541: The colonies, acknowledged that he leaked the letters, which led to him being removed from his position. In Boston, Samuel Adams set about creating new Committees of Correspondence , which linked Patriots in all 13 colonies and eventually provided the framework for a rebel government. Virginia, the largest colony, set up its Committee of Correspondence in early 1773, on which Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson served. A total of about 7,000 to 8,000 Patriots served on these Committees; Loyalists were excluded. The committees became

7475-465: The colonies, establishing their independence as the United States of America in July 1776. Discontent with colonial rule began shortly after the defeat of France in the French and Indian War in 1763. Although the colonies had fought and supported the war, Parliament imposed new taxes to compensate for wartime costs and turned control of the colonies' western lands over to the British officials in Montreal . Representatives from several colonies convened

7590-494: The colonies. The new taxes were enacted on the belief that Americans only objected to internal taxes and not to external taxes such as custom duties. However, in his widely read pamphlet, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania , John Dickinson argued against the constitutionality of the acts because their purpose was to raise revenue and not to regulate trade. Colonists responded to the taxes by organizing new boycotts of British goods. These boycotts were less effective, however, as

7705-406: The colonies—and for that matter by the ministries that followed up to 1776." The national debt had grown to £133 million with annual debt payments of £5 million (out of an £8 million annual budget). Stationing troops in North America on a permanent basis would cost another £360,000 a year. On a per capita basis, Americans only paid 1 shilling in taxes to the empire compared to 26 shillings paid by

7820-524: The complex influence that European French has had on Quebec French pronunciation and the range of sociolinguistic statuses that individual phonetic variables can possess. Like other varieties, Quebec French is characterized by increasingly wide gaps between its formal and informal forms. Notable differences include the generalized use of on (informal for nous ), the use of single negations as opposed to double negations: J'ai pas (informal) vs Je n'ai pas (formal) etc. There are increasing differences between

7935-412: The crowd. They hit 11 people; three civilians died of wounds at the scene of the shooting, and two died shortly after. The event quickly came to be called the Boston Massacre . The soldiers were tried and acquitted (defended by John Adams ), but the widespread descriptions soon began to turn colonial sentiment against the British. This accelerated the downward spiral in the relationship between Britain and

8050-411: The dialect St. Marys Bay French ), Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador (where Newfoundland French is also spoken). In 2011, the total number of native French speakers in Canada was around 7.3 million (22% of the entire population), while another 2 million spoke it as a second language. At the federal level, it has official status alongside English . At the provincial level, French

8165-409: The direct payment of colonial officials, which had been paid by local authorities. This would have reduced the influence of colonial representatives over their government. The letters' contents were used as evidence of a systematic plot against American rights, and discredited Hutchinson in the eyes of the people; the colonial Assembly petitioned for his recall. Benjamin Franklin, postmaster general for

8280-479: The extraordinarily negative discourse about it between 1940 and 1960. It is instead in the loss of social position suffered by a large proportion of Francophones since the end of the 19th century that one must seek the principal source of this degrading perception." Ouaouaron , the Canadian French word for bullfrog , a frog species native to North America, originates from an Iroquois word. Maringouin ,

8395-571: The fall of 1781, when the combined American and French armies captured an entire British army in the Siege of Yorktown . The defeat led to the collapse of King George's control of Parliament, with a majority now in favor of ending the war on American terms. On September 3, 1783, the British signed the Treaty of Paris giving the United States nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of

8510-458: The first in a series of Navigation Acts , which restricted colonial trade with foreign countries. The Thirteen Colonies could trade with the rest of the empire but only ship certain commodities like tobacco to Britain. Any European imports bound for British America had to first pass through an English port and pay customs duties. Other laws regulated colonial industries, such as the Wool Act of 1699 ,

8625-529: The first state constitution. In May 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. New Jersey , South Carolina , and Virginia created their constitutions before July 4. Rhode Island and Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown. The new states were all committed to republicanism, with no inherited offices. On May 26, 1776, John Adams wrote James Sullivan from Philadelphia warning against extending

8740-425: The flora and fauna such as atoca ( cranberry ) and achigan ( largemouth bass ), from First Nations languages . The importance of the rivers and ocean as the main routes of transportation also left its imprint on Quebec French. Whereas European varieties of French use the verbs monter and descendre for "to get in" and "to get out" of a vehicle (lit. "to mount" and "to dismount", as one does with

8855-637: The following five categories. The influences on Quebec French from English and Native American can be reflected in any of these five: The following tables give examples of each of the first four categories, along with the Metropolitan French equivalent and an English gloss. Contextual differences, along with individual explanations, are then discussed. Examples of lexically specific items: Examples of semantic differences: Examples of grammatical differences: Examples multi-word or fixed expressions unique to Quebec: Some Quebec French lexical items have

8970-520: The following: However, these features are common to all the basilectal varieties of français populaire descended from the 17th century koiné of Paris. In their syntax and morphology , Quebec French verbs differ very little from the verbs of other regional dialects of French, both formal and informal. The distinctive characteristics of Quebec French verbs are restricted mainly to: Canadian French Canadian French ( French : français canadien , pronounced [fʁãˈsɛ kanaˈd͡zjɛ̃] )

9085-623: The formal language abound. Some of these, such as omission of the negative particle ne , are also present in the informal language of speakers of standard European French, while other features, such as use of the interrogative particle -tu , are either peculiar to Quebec or Canadian French or restricted to nonstandard varieties of European French. While the overwhelming majority of lexical items in Quebec French exist in other dialects of French, many words and expressions are unique to Quebec, much like some are specific to American and British varieties of English. The differences can be classified into

9200-750: The franchise too far: Depend upon it, sir, it is dangerous to open so fruitful a source of controversy and altercation, as would be opened by attempting to alter the qualifications of voters. There will be no end of it. New claims will arise. Women will demand a vote. Lads from twelve to twenty one will think their rights not enough attended to, and every man, who has not a farthing, will demand an equal voice with any other in all acts of state. It tends to confound and destroy all distinctions, and prostrate all ranks, to one common level[.] The resulting constitutions in states, including those of Delaware , Maryland , Massachusetts , New York , and Virginia featured: In Pennsylvania , New Jersey , and New Hampshire ,

9315-626: The goods taxed by the Townshend Acts were widely used. In February 1768, the Assembly of Massachusetts Bay Colony issued a circular letter to the other colonies urging them to coordinate resistance. The governor dissolved the assembly when it refused to rescind the letter. Meanwhile, a riot broke out in Boston in June 1768 over the seizure of the sloop Liberty , owned by John Hancock , for alleged smuggling. Customs officials were forced to flee, prompting

9430-453: The greater friendliness rating for Europeans, since one of the primary reasons usually advanced to explain the retention of low-status language varieties is social solidarity with members of one's linguistic group. François Labelle cites the efforts at that time by the Office québécois de la langue française "to impose a French as standard as possible" as one of the reasons for the negative view Quebecers had of their language variety. Since

9545-417: The hated new tax. In most instances, the consignees were forced by the Americans to resign and the tea was turned back, but Massachusetts governor Hutchinson refused to allow Boston merchants to give in to pressure. A town meeting in Boston determined that the tea would not be landed, and ignored a demand from the governor to disperse. On December 16, 1773, a group of men, led by Samuel Adams and dressed to evoke

9660-632: The informal spoken language, but that notion is often exaggerated. The Québécois have been found to show a stronger aversion to the use of anglicisms in formal contexts than do European francophones, largely because of what the influence of English on their language is held to reveal about the historically superior position of anglophones in Canadian society. According to Cajolet-Laganière and Martel, out of 4,216 "criticized borrowings from English" in Quebec French that they were able to identify, some 93% have "extremely low frequency" and 60% are obsolete. Despite this,

9775-542: The integrity of Quebec French, while Metropolitan French on the other hand does not have that same protective attitude and in recent decades has been more influenced by English, causing Quebec French not to borrow recent English loanwords that are now used in Metropolitan French. There is a continuum of intelligibility between Quebec and European French; the two are most intelligible in their more standardized forms and pose more difficulties in their dialectal forms. If

9890-578: The issuance of the Declaration of Independence, each colony began operating as independent and sovereign states. The next step was to form a union to facilitate international relations and alliances. On November 5, 1777, the Congress approved the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union and sent it to each state for ratification. The Congress immediately began operating under the Articles' terms, providing

10005-592: The king proclaimed Massachusetts to be in a state of open defiance and rebellion . The Continental Army surrounded Boston, and the British withdrew by sea in March 1776, leaving the Patriots in control in every colony. In July 1776, the Second Continental Congress began to take on the role of governing a new nation . It passed the Lee Resolution for national independence on July 2, and on July 4, 1776, adopted

10120-532: The leaders of the American resistance to British actions, and later largely determined the war effort at the state and local level. When the First Continental Congress decided to boycott British products, the colonial and local Committees took charge, examining merchant records and publishing the names of merchants who attempted to defy the boycott by importing British goods. Meanwhile, Parliament passed

10235-534: The legitimate king for more than a year after his coronation . In King Philip's War (1675–1678), the New England colonies fought a handful of Native American tribes without military assistance from England, thereby contributing to the development of a uniquely American identity separate from that of the British people . In the 1680s, Charles and his brother, James II , attempted to bring New England under direct English control. The colonists fiercely opposed this, and

10350-489: The most politically active. The British government lacked the resources and information needed to control the colonies. Instead, British officials negotiated and compromised with colonial leaders to gain compliance with imperial policies. The colonies defended themselves with colonial militias , and the British government rarely sent military forces to America before 1755. According to historian Robert Middlekauff , "Americans had become almost completely self-governing" before

10465-741: The new world as an example of ideal French settlers). For example the word placoter can mean both to splash around or to chatter which comes from the Norman French word clapoter which means the same thing. Its equivalent in Acadian French is called Chiac . The origins of Quebec French lie in the 17th- and 18th-century regional varieties (dialects) of early modern French, also known as Classical French , and of other langues d'oïl (especially Poitevin dialect , Saintongeais dialect and Norman ) that French colonists brought to New France . Quebec French either evolved from this language base and

10580-456: The number of British shows on American television even though French news channels like France 24 and a francophone channel based in France, TV5 Québec Canada , are broadcast in Quebec. Nevertheless, Metropolitan French series such as The Adventures of Tintin and Les Gens de Mogador are broadcast and known in Quebec. In certain cases, on French TV, subtitles can be added when barbarisms, rural speech and slang are used, not unlike cases in

10695-493: The perception of exaggerated anglicism use in Quebec French could be attributed, in part, simply to the fact that the anglicisms used are different, and thus more noticeable by European speakers. French spoken with a large number of anglicisms may be disparagingly termed franglais . According to Chantal Bouchard, "While the language spoken in Quebec did indeed gradually accumulate borrowings from English [between 1850 and 1960], it did not change to such an extent as to justify

10810-534: The prevalence of anglicisms in Quebec French has often been exaggerated. Various anglicisms commonly used in European French informal language are mostly not used by Quebec French speakers. While words such as shopping, parking, escalator, ticket, email and week-end are commonly spoken in Europe, Quebec tends to favour French equivalents, namely: magasinage, stationnement, escalier roulant, billet, courriel and fin de semaine , respectively. As such,

10925-455: The province of Massachusetts. A new ministry under Lord North came to power in 1770, and Parliament repealed most of the Townshend duties, except the tax on tea. This temporarily resolved the crisis, and the boycott of British goods largely ceased, with only the more radical patriots such as Samuel Adams continuing to agitate. In June 1772, American patriots, including John Brown , burned

11040-543: The proximity to Quebec and/or French Canadian influence on any given region. In New Brunswick, all government services must be available in both official languages. Quebec French is spoken in Quebec. Closely related varieties are spoken by Francophone communities in Ontario, Western Canada and the New England region of the United States, differing only from Quebec French primarily by their greater linguistic conservatism . The term Laurentian French has limited applications as

11155-640: The rebels' weapons and arrest their leaders, leading to the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The Patriots assembled a militia 15,000 strong and laid siege to Boston, occupied by 6500 British soldiers. The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on June 14, 1775. The congress was divided on the best course of action. They authorized formation of the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief, and produced

11270-445: The resulting constitutions embodied: The radical provisions of Pennsylvania 's constitution lasted 14 years. In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution. The new constitution substantially reduced universal male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to

11385-588: The revenue themselves. Parliament passed the Stamp Act in March 1765, which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets were required to have the stamps—even decks of playing cards. The colonists did not object that the taxes were high; they were actually low. They objected to their lack of representation in the Parliament, which gave them no voice concerning legislation that affected them, such as

11500-422: The same general meaning in Metropolitan French but are used in different contexts. English translations are given in parentheses. In addition, Quebec French has its own set of swear words, or sacres , distinct from other varieties of French. One characteristic of major sociological importance distinguishing Quebec from European French is the relatively greater number of borrowings from English, especially in

11615-489: The same negative attitudes towards their own variety of French that they did in the 1970s. They argue that negative social attitudes have focused instead on a subset of the characteristics of Quebec French relative to European French, and particularly some traits of informal Quebec French. Some characteristics of European French are even judged negatively when imitated by Quebecers. Quebec French has some typographical differences from European French. For example, in Quebec French

11730-528: The stamp tax or to send an army to enforce it. Benjamin Franklin appeared before them to make the case for repeal, explaining that the colonies had spent heavily in manpower, money, and blood defending the empire, and that further taxes to pay for those wars were unjust and might bring about a rebellion. Parliament agreed and repealed the tax on February 21, 1766, but they insisted in the Declaratory Act of March 1766 that they retained full power to make laws for

11845-544: The tax, violating the unwritten English constitution . This grievance was summarized in the slogan "No taxation without representation". Shortly following adoption of the Stamp Act, the Sons of Liberty formed, and began using public demonstrations, boycotts, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws became unenforceable. In Boston , the Sons of Liberty burned the records of

11960-535: The unicameral legislature. Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America. In April 1776, the North Carolina Provincial Congress issued the Halifax Resolves explicitly authorizing its delegates to vote for independence. By June, nine Provincial Congresses were ready for independence; Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New York followed. Richard Henry Lee was instructed by

12075-627: The unwritten British constitution , with its guarantees of the rights of Englishmen , protected personal liberty better than any other government. It served as the model for colonial governments . The Crown appointed a royal governor to exercise executive power. Property owners elected a colonial assembly with powers to legislate and levy taxes, but the British government reserved the right to veto colonial legislation. Radical Whig ideology profoundly influenced American political philosophy with its love of liberty and opposition to tyrannical government. With little industry except shipbuilding,

12190-512: The vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson . Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October. Moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a Declaration of Rights and Grievances stating that the colonists were equal to all other British citizens and that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen , and Congress emphasized their determination by organizing

12305-603: The west and foreign populations in newly acquired territories (the French in Canada and the Spanish in Florida ). In addition, British soldiers could prevent white colonists from instigating conflict with Native Americans and help collect customs duties. Migration beyond the Appalachian Mountains increased after the French threat was removed, and Native Americans launched Pontiac's War (1763–1766) in response. The Grenville ministry issued

12420-414: The word for mosquito, also originates from an aboriginal language, Tupi-guarani , spoken by aboriginals on the northern coasts of Brazil. It is thought that early French colonists adopted this word in the late 1600s after exchanges with explorers returning from South America. Atoca , a synonym for Cranberry , also originates from Iroquois. The following are areas in which the lexicon of Quebec French

12535-402: The working class while the percentage of literate and university-educated francophones grew. Laws concerning the status of French were passed both on the federal and provincial levels. The Office québécois de la langue française was established to play an essential role of support in language planning . Protective laws also arose in response to the distaste towards anglicisms for preserving

12650-583: Was a rebellion and political movement in the Thirteen Colonies which peaked when colonists initiated an ultimately successful war for independence against the Kingdom of Great Britain . Leaders of the American Revolution were colonial separatist leaders who originally sought more autonomy as British subjects, but later assembled to support the Revolutionary War, which ended British colonial rule over

12765-490: Was enforced by new local committees authorized by the Congress. It also began coordinating Patriot resistance by militias which existed in every colony and which had gained military experience in the French and Indian War. For the first time, the Patriots were armed and unified against Parliament. King George declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion in February 1775 and the British garrison received orders to seize

12880-401: Was instructed to collect evidence of said treason, and the threat caused widespread outrage, though it was not carried out. On March 5, 1770, a large crowd gathered around a group of British soldiers on a Boston street. The crowd grew threatening, throwing snowballs, rocks, and debris at them. One soldier was clubbed and fell. There was no order to fire, but the soldiers panicked and fired into

12995-541: Was shaped by the following influences (arranged according to historical period) or was imported from Paris and other urban centres of France as a koiné , or common language shared by the people speaking it. Unlike the language of France in the 17th and 18th centuries, French in New France was fairly well unified. It also began to borrow words and gather importations (see loan word ), especially place names such as Québec , Canada and Hochelaga , and words to describe

13110-718: Was the Massachusetts Government Act which altered the Massachusetts charter and restricted town meetings. The second was the Administration of Justice Act which ordered that all British soldiers to be tried were to be arraigned in Britain, not in the colonies. The third was the Boston Port Act , which closed the port of Boston until the British had been compensated for the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party. The fourth

13225-653: Was the Quartering Act of 1774 , which allowed royal governors to house British troops in the homes of citizens without permission of the owner. In response, Massachusetts patriots issued the Suffolk Resolves and formed an alternative shadow government known as the Provincial Congress, which began training militia outside British-occupied Boston. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress convened, consisting of representatives from each colony, to serve as

#658341