How different is Canadian French compared to France French?
359331
the difference lies in the fact that the people of Quebec speak in a more lacked slang like way of speaking french rather then french "french" which is more formal in the that it is spoken. But if you were to learn french "french' it would not be hard to adjust to the way of speaking that we have. It is almost like going to britian if you are english.
517922
I know all the words of the commonly sang Canadian national anthem. Although there are three verses, it is the first verse which is the official one. I also know the words in French, and they are a complete different translation of the English version.
408501
Everyone identifies differently: Some are "Quebecois", some are "English" some are "french" some consider themselves just plain old Canadian but others prefer french Canadian or English Canadian.  There are alot of immigrants in Canada though and they do not consider themselves any of the above and then the natives make things more interesting.  The history of Canada is a bit sad you know the french lived with the natives but essentially largely took over their lands...then the English invaded a bit more brutally.  Killing alot of french Canadians and natives and moving them into one province and oppressing the french Canadians for years via the catholic church and reduced employment opportunities.  The history makes self identification interesting and touchy. A good idea is to let people correct you if you refer to them as the wrong thing...then the best idea is to let them self identify.
366950
The main Canadian accent has a slight quirk that makes it unique in the world. I never thought I said 'aboot' either until I started to study linguistics. Of course, Canadians don't say 'aboot', but what we do say sounds to American ears like 'aboot' (yes, cutenucguy, if you're Canadian the chances are 95% that you say it).\n\nThe issue is diphthongs before unvoices consonants. That shouldn't mean anything, but as a quick example, consider the phrase 'out loud'. The two-vowel sound (diphthong) in the middle is the same, but one word ends with an 'unvoiced'\n/t/, the other with a 'voiced' /d/. If you're American, you should pronounce the 'ou' in 'loud' longer than the one in 'out'. Similarly, you should take longer saying 'ride' than 'write' (this is actually the main way we distinguish between the two.\n\nIf you're Canadian, though, not only will 'out' and 'write' be shorter than 'loud' and 'ride', but the vowel sound will be different. There's a good chance that the vowel in 'loud' with be '(open your mouth and say) aaah' followed by 'ooh', while in 'out' it will be 'uhhh...' followed by 'ooh'. (Well, I'm oversimplifying but that's it essentially). Another pair you can think about is 'house' and its plural 'houses'. If you're a Canadian you can almost be sure that you open your mouth more to say 'houses' than to say 'house'.\n\nThere's nothing wrong with this! Wear it as a badge of pride! And if we go to war with the States, it can be our shibboleth!
874029
Very easy to learn.  They have "language in 10 minutes a day" books in the book stores...that can help you learn French.  The computer courses are great too.\nFrench doesn't have too many hard to make sounds and we have the same alphabet so you'll do just fine.\nGood luck!!!
586415
Depends on what you want to know.  First and foremost you need to brush up on either of the official languages: le français or English
765988
Actually, Canadians spell more in the American way than in the British way.  I am Canadian and also spell "labor", "favorite", and "realize".  When we were in school, we were taught that either spellings were correct.  For example "color/colour" or "labor/labour".  I just checked my Canadian calender to see what they had for "Labor Day".  It is spelled the American way (Labor Day).
956006
Canada is a bilingual nation.  Our official languages are English and French.  Although only one province is officially bilingual that is New Brunswick, Quebec official language is French and has strict laws to keep it that way.  The rest of the nation is English officiallly.
521512
Those of us that are a little older can probably remember French being the romance language. That was because up until the US entered World War 2, French was the international language. In fact the French were very grateful to the U.S. They gave us the statue of liberty as a gesture of their gratitude. So that is a value.\n\nMany Americans were angry when the French refused to join the battle in Iraq. They said they placed more value on human life than we did. So there is another value.\n\nI see the remark regarding bathing. This is on the true side, however, the French did invent the bidet, so they do believe in keeping the important things clean. That is a value, of sorts.\n\nIf you were to go to Canada, The entire country has all road signs printed in English and French, except for the French Canadian Provinces where it is French only. They would appear to be a bit paranoid about losing their language. I guess that is a value.
616879
yep, French is a romance language (those languages that come from latin), but it isn't in South America, it is in Europe(just in case)
562385
i know both. \n\nJe parle francais et italien et je pense francais est mois difficile que italien. \n\n(I speak french and italian and i think taht french is less difficult than italien)
277081
and you'd be surprised at the number of americans who think there is a language called 'canadian' as well!\n\nthe two (american and what you call 'proper' english) are related enough that it may be better to classify one or the other as more of a written 'dialect' than a whole different language.  i realize that 'dialect' is usually reserved for the spoken word, but it's a good fit in this case, do you think?\n\none comment, you DO convey an air of 'superiority', intentional or not, when you distinguish between american and proper english... do you wish to imply that american english is improper?  there are always a few who will take great exception... but i'm not one of them.\n\nregards, 'over here'.
1037708
There isn't a difference. We would usually just refer to it as football, and only use soccer when differentiating it from American Football when talking to dumb Canadians \n\nJust kidding ;)
637947
I live in Ottawa, close to Québec. Despite the fact I'm French myself, I wouldn't live there. I like Ottawa better, because I get to have my French language shot (I can get books in French at the library, lots of French food around, bilingual jobs etc.) but without the politics. I like Quebec people... it's just the constant politic battle about French that got me tired. In Quebec, you HAVE to put your kids in a French school if one of the parent if French. You have to speak the language. You have to be pro-independance... OK, I exagerated a bit about the last one, but you get the picture.
936654
I currently live in Canada, but I grew up in what is now the Russian Federation.  Yes, I enjoy living in Canada, but it was somewhat difficult to adjust...mostly because of getting accustomed to the new language.  I have spoken English for many years and traveled to many English-speaking nations before living here, but it still was a lot to get used to.  I still have a heavy accent and sometimes mispronounce words or arrange sentences poorly when I am speaking English, but most Canadians are tolerant of this.  \n\n...however, I've got plans to leave Canada to live in Germany, but probably not for a few years still.  I am nearly fluent if not fluent, in German, and I have always been interested in the German culture.  What will Canada do without me?  Ha ha...
173334
I don't know any Canadians but why whould they be different than anyone else?  Some bad and some good.
1076388
sorry i don't think that french people have a cute accent while speaking french, most of the time i was annoyed that they speak such a bad English and if there's also the accent it just drives me crazy. i must say i started admiring french people who can actually talk good English and in my life i only met one person