2

Dans une chanson d'un groupe québécois, on trouve les paroles suivantes :

[...] C’est si triste que des fois quand je rentre à la maison
Pis que j’parke mon vieux camion
J’vois toute l’Amérique qui pleure
Dans mon rétroviseur…

[dans L'Amérique pleure à 1:02, Les Cowboys fringants]

Le verbe parker est une variante orthographique ou un anglicisme pour parquer (Wiktionnaire) ; les deux sont notées \paʁ.ke\. Par ailleurs au Québec, stationner pour garer/parquer est courant (BDL).

Il est clair que le chanteur ne prononce pas \paʁ.ke\ mais plutôt ce que j'assimile être « à l'anglaise ». Il se trouve que je (sud-ouest du Québec, région mét.) prononce ce verbe exactement comme le chanteur. Je ne pense pas qu'il s'agisse d'une coïncidence mais plutôt d'une prononciation courante dans ma région.


  • Peut-on retranscire avec l'API la prononciation qu'on entend du chanteur pour le verbe en question et la qualifier ou l'expliquer ; s'agit-il d'un emprunt phonétique ?
  • Cette prononciation du verbe est-elle uniforme à la grandeur du Québec ou autrement quelle est sa fréquence relative par rapport aux autres ou sa distribution géographique dans la province ou au pays ?
2

2 Answers 2

3

The "English" pronunciation of ''r'' after a vowel in borrowings from English is the usual pronunciation in Montreal and other regions of Quebec where there has historically been a high degree of contact with English, such as the Outaouais or the Eastern Townships. In Quebec City and most of eastern Quebec it is perfectly normal to use a French ''r'' in these cases, though an English ''r'' is also possible.

In some (but by no means all) francophone communities in Canada but outside of Quebec, it is not uncommon to hear an English ''r'' in French words, particularly among younger speakers, even ones for whom French is completely dominant. On hearing this, Quebecers may erroneously assume that English is dominant for them.

10
  • Ok, very interesting and informative, indeed, for me. My point is merely this: in all three languages I speak, borrowings from any source language usually are pronounced by native speakers of the target within the target language's sound system. Now, with French, if you listen to that song, the singer's pronunciation of park with an American accent is actually more difficult to do than keeping it within the French sound system. It requires extra effort to say park with an AmE accent than a French one. That's all. Thank you for your explanation.
    – Lambie
    Aug 2, 2021 at 22:02
  • In the states, you will hear Spanish speakers who have a good command of English revert to the Spanish pronunciation of certain Spanish borrowings in English. That for me makes sense because their native sound system was Spanish to begin with. Likewise, when I hear French people from France speaking English and they mention something like a place name in France, they will usually use their French accent for it and not "americanize it". When I speak French, if I use an AmE borrowing in French, I try and said it like French people do. So, I will say un mél, for email, for example.
    – Lambie
    Aug 2, 2021 at 22:14
  • 1
    @Lambie. Hi. Actually, it's common for languages to have sounds that are only used in loanwords. For example, in Engish, it's common to pronounce loanwords from French with the proper nasal vowels, or some approximation.This doesn't necessarily mean wholesale adoption of the French sound system, of course. French and Englsh also have a ch sound for Scottish or German words. Likewise, in Canadian French, only certain English sounds are used. So, for example, you'll never hear an English "dark" l, and you'll only hear [a], never [æ], where English would have [æ] in a word.
    – Anonymous
    Aug 3, 2021 at 0:08
  • It would be fair to say that the way English words are pronounced in Montreal French is much closer to English than it is in European French, but it is still quite far from English, for various reasons. Often a young Quebec anglophone will have such a good command of French that the first hint of his Englishness is that he may - intentionally or not - pronounce English words in English rather than in the specific Canadian French system for English loanwords. The effect is similar to a Hispanic American speaking unaccented English but then saying Latino in Spanish in the middle of a sentence.
    – Anonymous
    Aug 3, 2021 at 0:19
  • 1
    Anyway, the bottom line is, French Canadians do not pronounce English loanwords completely in English. It's just that their system of pronunciation for these words incorporates more English sounds than European French would use.
    – Anonymous
    Aug 3, 2021 at 16:56
1
  1. Ce R correspond à la variante du R anglais décrite comme spirante rétroflexe voisée [ɻ].

Elle ne semble être utilisé en français québécois que dans des emprunts à l'anglais et donc bien correspondre au lien fourni.

  1. Je laisse la deuxième partie de la question avec quelqu'un de plus au fait des usages canadiens.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.