Quebec French has more phonemes than French of France, as it retains phonemic distinctions between /a/ and /ɑ/, /ɛ/ and /ɛː/, /ø/ and /ə/, /ɛ̃/ and /œ̃/; the latter of each pair has disappeared in Parisian French (the /ɛ̃/ and /œ̃/ distinction is upheld in Meridional French).
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Vowels
Quebec French replaces tense vowels (/i, y, u/) with their lax ([ɪ, ʏ, ʊ]) equivalents when the vowels are both short (e.g. except before /ʁ/, /ʒ/, /z/ and /v/, but the vowel /y/ is pronounced [ʏː] before /ʁ/) and only in closed syllables. This means that the masculine and feminine adjectives petit 'small' and petite ([p(ə)ti] and [p(ə)tit] in France) are [p(ə)t͡si] and [p(ə)t͡sɪt] in Quebec. The same goes with /y/ → [ʏ] and /u/ → [ʊ]. In some areas, notably Beauce, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and (to a lesser extent) Quebec City and the surrounding region, even long tense vowels may be laxed.
This laxing of the high vowels (/i/, /u/, and /y/) in the specified context always occurs in stressed syllables, e.g. lutte [lʏt] 'struggle', but it occurs only sometimes in unstressed syllables, e.g., vulgaire 'vulgar' can be [vylɡaɛ̯ʁ] or [vʏlɡaɛ̯ʁ]. The lax allophone of a high vowel may also appear in open syllables by assimilation to a lax vowel in a following syllable: musique 'music' can be either [myzɪk] or [mʏzɪk]. The lax vowel may even be retained in derived words where the original stressed lax vowel has disappeared: musical 'musical' can be [myzikal] or [mʏzikal]. Also, the lax allophone may arise optionally in open syllables through dissimilation as in toupie 'spinning top' [tupi] or [tʊpi], especially in reduplicative forms such as pipi 'pee-pee' [pipi] or [pɪpi]. These phenomena are conditioned lexically and regionally. For example, for the word difficile 'difficult', the standard pronunciation [d͡zifisɪl] is found throughout Quebec, but the alternative pronunciations [d͡zifɪsɪl], [d͡zɪfɪsɪl] and [d͡zɪfsɪl] are also used.
One distinct pronunciation in Quebec French is the vowel a, /a/ and /ɑ/ are pronounced differently. The general realization in final open syllables is [ɑ] or [ɔ] (Canada [kanadɑ] or [kanadɔ]), but [ɔ] is now strongly marked as informal. There are some exceptions; the words la, ma, ta, sa, fa, papa and caca are always pronounced with the sound [a], as in French of France. In internal open syllables, some Quebecers pronounce the vowel /ɑ/ as [ɒː] or [ɔː] (gâteau [ɡɒːto] or [ɡɔːto] 'cake'), this is considered to be informal. Some Quebecers diphthongize the vowel /ɑ/ as [ɑʊ̯] in final closed syllables (pâte [pɑʊ̯t] 'dough').
Metropolitan French's [wa] (represented by <oi>) is always pronounced [wa] or [wɑ(ː)] in standard Quebec French, but it can also be realized in some additional different ways ([we, wɛ, waɛ̯, waɪ̯, wei̯, wɔ, wɒː, wɑɔ̯]) in Joual, including [ɛ] found (exclusively) in droit, froid, flexions of noyer and croire, and soit. Such pronunciations are remnants from one of the founding French dialects.
Another informal archaic trait from 17th century Parisian popular French is the tendency to open [ɛ] into [æ] in a final open syllable. On the other hand, in grammatical word endings as well as in the indicative forms of verb être (es and est), the [ɛ] is tensed into [e]. That is also common in France, but failure to tense the [ɛ] in Quebec is usually perceived as quite formal. However, Quebecers usally pronounce [ɛ] when they are reading.
As well, the phoneme /a/ can be also pronounced [æ], as it is generally pronounced farther front and more closed than the Parisian /a/. Quebec French /a/ approaches [æ] even more when it is located in a closed syllable or an unstressed open syllable.
Nasal vowels
The nasal vowels are very different from Metropolitan French: /ɛ̃/ → [ẽɪ̯̃], /ɑ̃/ → [ã], /ɔ̃/ → [ɒ̃ʊ̯̃], and /œ̃/ is generally pronounced [ɚ̃] or [ʌ̃ɹ]. Some speakers pronounce /ɑ̃/ as [æ̃] in open syllables. /ɛ̃/ and /ɔ̃/ are always diphthongized.
Diphthongization
Long and nasalized vowels are generally diphthongized when stressed, except the [aː] vowel. The phoneme /ɛː/ is also diphthongized to [ɛɪ̯] in unstressed syllables. For instance, the word neige ('snow') is pronounced [nɛːʒ] in Metropolitan France, but [naɪ̯ʒ] ~ [næɪ̯ʒ] in Quebec French. Other cases include:
The diphthongs [ɑɔ̯], [ɑʊ̯], [aɛ̯], [aɪ̯], [aœ̯], [ãʊ̯̃] and [ãɪ̯̃] are considered informal and rarely used in formal contexts, but even some teachers use them. The diphthongs [æɪ̯], [æɛ̯], [ɶœ̯], [oʊ̯], [øʏ̯], [ɪi̯], [ʊu̯], [ʏy̯], [ẽɪ̯̃] and [ɒ̃ʊ̯̃] are not considered informal and usually go unnoticed by most speakers. [ɑː] is not diphthongized by some speakers, and [ãː] is diphthongized only in joual.
Phonological feminine
Metonymies provide interesting evidence of a phonological feminine. For instance, although most adults would probably say that autobus is masculine if they were given reflection time, specific bus routes defined by their number are always feminine. Bus No. 10 is known as l'autobus 10, or more often la 10. Using le 10 in this context, although normal in France, would be strikingly odd in Quebec (especially Montreal), except in some regions, particularly the Outaouais, where it is the standard. (An alternative explanation, however, is that bus routes in Montreal are called "lines" so "la 10" is short for "la ligne 10," not "l'autobus 10," since it is the route being referred to, and not an individual bus.)
There are many differences in informal grammar: for instance, some words have a different gender from in standard French (une job rather than un job). Tha is partially systematic. For example, just as the difference in pronunciation between chien [ʃjẽɪ̯̃] (masc.) and chienne [ʃjɛn] (fem.) is the presence or absence of a final consonant, likewise ambiguous words ending in a consonant (such as job (/dʒɔb/)) are often assigned to the feminine.
Also, vowel-initial words that in standard grammar are masculine are sometimes patterned as feminine, as preceding masculine adjectives are homophonous to feminine adjectives (un bel avion; bel /bɛl/ = belle fem.): the word is patterned as feminine (une belle avion). Another explanation would be that many other words ending in -ion are feminine (nation, élection, mission, etc) and that the grammatical gender of avion is made to conform to this pattern, but the number of "-ion" words that are masculine ("lion, pion, camion, lampion," etc.) weakens that explanation.
Consonants
Around 12 different rhotics are used in Quebec, depending on region, age and education among other things. The uvular trill [ʀ] has lately been emerging as a provincial standard, and the alveolar trill [r] was used before in and around Montreal. In modern Quebec French, the voiced uvular fricative [ʁ] is more common. As a matter of comparison, the voiced velar fricative [ɣ] or voiceless uvular fricative [χ] is more generally used in France.
The velar nasal [ŋ] is often found as an allophone of the palatal nasal [ɲ], the word ligne 'line' may be pronounced [lɪŋ].
In colloquial speech, the glottal fricatives [h]/[ɦ] are found as allophones of /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, respectively. They can also be pronounced as [ʃʰ] and [ʒʰ] if the original fricatives aren't entirely relaxed. That is particularly found in the Beauce region to the point where the pronunciation is frequently stereotyped, but it can be found throughout Quebec as well as other French-speaking areas in Canada.
Dental stops are usually affricated before high front vowels and semivowels: in other words, /ty/, /ti/, /tɥ/, /tj/, /dy/, /di/, /dɥ/, /dj/ are then pronounced [t͡sy], [t͡si], [t͡sɥ], [t͡sj], [d͡zy], [d͡zi], [d͡zɥ], [d͡zj] (except in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Côte-Nord). Depending on the speaker, the fricative may be more or less strong or sometimes even assimilate the stop in informal speech. For example, constitution could have any of the following pronunciations: /kɔ̃stitysjɔ̃/ → [kɒ̃ʊ̯̃st͡sit͡sysjɒ̃ʊ̯̃] → [kɒ̃ʊ̯̃ssisysjɒ̃ʊ̯̃].
In joual, some final mute t's may be pronounced:
lit /li/ → [lɪt].There is also the special case of "debout" [dəbʊt] 'standing up' and "ici" [isɪt] 'here' (sometimes actually written icitte). On the other hand, the t in but 'goal' and août 'August' are not pronounced in Quebec, but they are pronounced in France (decreasingly for but). They often reflect centuries-old variation or constitute archaisms.
Many of the features of Quebec French are mistakenly attributed to English influence; however, the historical evidence shows that most of them either descend from earlier forms from specific dialects and are forms that have since changed in France or internal developments (changes that have occurred in Canada alone but not necessarily in all parts).
Consonant reduction
It has been postulated that the frequency of consonant reduction in Quebec French is due to a tendency to pronounce vowels with more "strength" than consonants, a pattern reversing that of European French.
Consonant clusters finishing a word are reduced, often losing altogether the last or two last consonants, in both formal and informal Quebec French. It seems that the liquids /ʁ/ and /l/ are especially likely to get dropped, as in table, /tabl/ → [tab], or astre, /astʁ/ → [ast] → [as] 'star'.
The phone /l/ in article determiners and even more in personal pronouns in most dialects does not exist in the mental representation of these words. As a matter of fact, pronouncing il and elle as [ɪl] and [ɛl] is seen as very formal and by some pedantic. Elle is further modified into [aː] in informal speech, a sound change similar to that of [ɛ] into [a] before /ʁ/.
In colloquial speech, the combination of the preposition sur + definite article is often abbreviated: sur + le = su'l; sur + la = su'a or sa; sur + les = ses. Sometimes dans + un and dans + les is abbreviated to just dun and dins. In the informal French of France, sur + le also becomes su'l, such as L'dimanche, i'est su'l pont dès 8 heures du mat ('On Sundays, he's hard at work from 8am'). No other contractions are used.
Some initial consonants are also reduced: [jœl] gueule (France, [ɡœl]), especially in the construction ta gueule [ta jœl] "shut up". Many Québécois even write gueule as yeule.
Vowel harmonization and consonant assimilation
The high front vowels in Quebec French show a net tendency to be unvoiced or even lost, as in municipalité, /mynisipalite/ → [myni̥si̥pali̥te], [mynspalte].
Much more common is the nasalization of some long vowels placed after (or occasionally before) a nasal consonant: même [mɛːm] → [mɛ̃ɪ̯̃m], jeûne [ʒøːn] → [ʒø̃ỹ̯n], jaune [ʒoːn] → [ʒõʊ̯̃n] etc.
Similarly, consonants in clusters are often assimilated, usually with the consonant closer to the stress (that is, to the end of the word) transmitting its phonation (or its nasalization): demande [dmãːd] → [nmãːd], chaque jour [ʃak ʒʊu̯ʁ] → [ʃak̬ ʒʊu̯ʁ]. Progressive assimilation also exists but is limited to [ʃ] and [s] before [v] and [m]: cheval [ʃval] → [ʃv̥al], semaine [smɛn] → [sm̥ɛn].
The drop of the /ə/, which is as usual in Quebec as it is in France (although it does not happen in the same places), creates consonant clusters, which causes assimilation. For instance, the 1st person singular pronoun "je" may be devoiced before a verb with a voiceless consonant initial. That is most notable in verbs normally beginning with an [s], as the well-known example je suis 'I am' that is often realized as "chu" ([ʃy]), and je sais 'I know', realized as "ché" ([ʃe]) or ([ʃːe]) . Since the drop of /ə/ is not exclusive to Quebec, thie phenomenon is also seen in other dialects.
One extreme instance of assimilation in Quebec French is vocalic fusion, associated with informal speech, rapid elocution, and consonant drops. Vocalic fusion can be total (as in prepositional determiners sur la [sʏʁla] → [sya] → [saː] or dans la [dãla] → [dãa] → [dæ̃ː], as well as dans les [dãle] → [dẽɪ̯̃]) or it can be partial, as in il lui a dit, [ɪllɥiɑd͡zi] → [ɪllɥiɔd͡zi] → [iɥiɔd͡zi] → [ijɔd͡zi] or [iːjɔd͡zi]. Partial fusion can happen also in slow elocution.
Liaison
Liaison is a phenomenon found in spoken French where an otherwise mute final consonant is moved to the beginning of a following word beginning with a vowel.
The rules for liaison are complex in both European French and Quebec French. The general belief among linguists is that Quebecers link less frequently than their European counterparts (that is a feature also common in regional varieties of French in France). Liaison is mandatory only if the first word is monosyllabic or is petit (normally monosyllabic anyway) or méchant and is usually avoided in all other cases.
Example
From Les insolences du Frère Untel (1960), by Jean-Paul Desbiens, p. 27.