Joual is the name given by some to a working-class sociolect of Quebec French spoken in Montreal, after its pronunciation of the word cheval (horse). Its most important trait is said to be the quantity of loanwords from English. The term is said to have been coined by journalist André Laurendeau but the usage of this term can in fact be traced back to the 1930's and even before all around Francophone Canada.
Joual was traditionally spoken on the streets of working-class Montreal, but was popularized in the mid-20th century by authors such as Michel Tremblay and songwriters such as Robert Charlebois.
- Common joual words and their standard French equivalent (with English translation):
- toé -- toi (you)
- moé -- moi (me)
- chu -- je suis (I'm)
- ché -- je sais (I know)
- pis -- puis (then)
- y -- il (he)
- a -- elle (she)
- ouais -- oui (yeah)
- y'a -- il y a (there is, there are)
- icitte -- ici (here)
- ben -- bien (well)
- ouin -- oui (yeah)
- su'l -- sur le (on the)
- tsé -- tu sais (y'know)
Although moé and toé are today considered substandard slang pronunciations, these were the pronunciations of Old French used by the kings of France, the aristocracy and the common people in many provinces of France. After the French Revolution, the standard pronunciation in France changed to that of the bourgeois class in Paris, but Quebec retained many old pronunciations and expressions.
Joual shares many features with modern Oïl languages such as, Norman, Gallo, Picard and Poitevin-Saintongeais. Speakers of these languages of France were predominant in settlers to New France.
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