Joual ([ʒwal]) is the common name for the linguistic features of basilectal Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for a large number of artists from that area. Speakers of Quebec French from outside Montreal usually have other names to identify their speech, such as Magoua in Trois-Rivières, and Chaouin south of Trois-Rivières. Linguists tend to eschew this term, but historically some have reserved the term joual for the variant of Quebec French spoken in Montreal.
Contents
- Today
- Origin of the name joual
- Most notable or stereotypical linguistic features
- English loanwords Anglicisms
- References
Like most regional and class variants of a widely spoken language, joual is stigmatized by some and celebrated by others. While joual is often considered a sociolect of the Québécois working class, that perception is outdated. Both the upward socio-economic mobility among the Québécois, and a cultural renaissance around joual connected to the Quiet Revolution in the Montreal East-End have resulted in joual being spoken by people across the educational and economic spectrum. Today, many Québécois who were raised in Quebec during the last century (command of English notwithstanding) can understand and speak at least some joual.
Today
The language levels of the population are diverse today, particularly following the adoption of Bill 101. However, slang and other basilectal varieties of Quebec French are still very present in Quebec culture. This phenomenon occurs through music, storytelling, television, radio, in movies and in conversations.
Origin of the name joual
Although coinage of the name joual is often attributed to French-Canadian journalist André Laurendeau, usage of this term throughout French-speaking Canada predates the 1930s.
The actual word joual is the representation of how the word cheval (Standard French: [ʃəval], horse) is pronounced by those who speak joual. The weak schwa vowel [ə] disappeared. Then the voiceless [ʃ] was voiced to [ʒ], thereby creating [ʒval]. Next, the [v] at the beginning of a syllable in some regional dialects of French or even in very rapid speech in general weakens to become the semi-vowel [w] written ⟨ou⟩. The end result is the word [ʒwal] transcribed as joual.
Most notable or stereotypical linguistic features
Diphthongs are normally present where long vowels would be present in standard French. There is also "sontais, sontè" for "ils étaient, ils ont été."
Although moé and toé are today considered substandard slang pronunciations, these were the pronunciations of Old French and French used in all provinces of Northern France—by the royalty, aristocracy and common people. After the 1789 French Revolution, the standard pronunciation in France changed to that of a previously-stigmatized form in the speech of Paris, but Quebec French continued to evolve from the historically older dialects, having become isolated from France following the 1760 British conquest of New France.
Joual shares many features with modern Oïl languages, such as Norman, Gallo, Picard, Poitevin and Saintongeais though its affinities are greatest with the 17th century koiné of Paris. Speakers of these languages of France predominated among settlers to New France.
Another outstanding characteristic of Joual is the use of profanity called sacre in everyday speech.
English loanwords (Anglicisms)
There are a number of English loanwords in joual, although they have been stigmatized since the 1960s:
Some words were also previously thought to be of English origin, although modern research has shown them to be from regional French dialects: