Will Fodorites recommend places in Quebec where little English is spoken ? We are traveling in August with HighSchool age boys, who are taking French and want to give them some practice. We all love the outdoors, so if non city areas are the way to go , please send recommendations. Thanks

almost anywhere in Quebec outside of the Montreal and southwest is 99.9% Francaphone. The most interesting areas weould be the Saguenay, (Chicoutimi-Jonquiere), Trois Riviere-Shawnigan,and the Gaspe but most of all of course Quebec City where English is only spoken in the tourist areas. <BR> <BR>For the outdoors type places the Saguenay and Gaspe are probably the best but perhaps others have better suggestions. Quebec is quite big.

The north shore of the Gaspe is decidely French speaking. Along the south shore, some English hangs on because towns like New Carlisle were settled by Loyalists. <BR> <BR>Chicoutimi is in the heart of Quebec and highly French speaking. <BR>In fact, a pet store owner had a parrot that spoke only English. The local language police got after him about it. <BR>The Quebecois get so upset about it that they will not allow non French labelling on packages. <BR> <BR>

Hi <BR> <BR>I lived in Montreal for 5 years, and even within Montreal, there are areas you can go which are predominantly francophone, particularly in east Montreal and the South Shore of the Saint Lawrence, as well as all but the western end of Laval Island and points north. <BR> <BR>Moving along the Saint Lawrence River northeast from Montreal to Quebec City, you'll hit many predominantly francophone communities. North of Quebec City along the Saint Lawrence River up through Tadoussac, Baie Comeau, and on to Sept-Iles, anglophones are fewer and further between. The Saguenay/Lac St. Jean region is predominantly French also. <BR> <BR>Honestly though if I had to pick one place to study French in Quebec, it would be Quebec City. Gorgeous location, beautiful city with plenty to entertain oneself, and a 95% francophone population with a fair number of those unilingual francophone. <BR> <BR>While my French improved dramatically living in Montreal, I had a strong base to begin with, and really made an effort to practice, watching TV shows with slang, conducting day-to-day affairs in French and speaking French with my francophone buddies. In some ways, for someone like me, Montreal was a good place to learn French, because bilingual people can translate an expression for you when confusion arises. However, with a few exceptions, most anglophones I knew with little French education ended up giving up trying because people would almost ALWAYS switch to English. <BR> <BR>Throughout Quebec, though, you'll find francophones wanting to practice their English. They will sometimes be as persistent as you are trying to practice your French. People can detect your anglo accent quite readily and see you as an opportunity; plus, sometimes they genuinely don't understand what on earth you're trying to say or will see your blank look when they speak and figure it will be easier if the transaction takes place in English. Even with 8 years of French training, it took me several years of living in Montreal before people would not switch languages on me. More rarely, though, even in my final year in Montreal, sometimes people would use an expression I did not know...and it would be back to English. <BR> <BR>By the way, Bob Brown--be careful with those urban myths...packages in Quebec and everywhere across Canada are in both French and English. Misinformation and generalizations about BOTH francophones and anglophones are half the problem in a province where in my experience many people of both languages try to learn the other's language and generally just get along. (Sorry to pick on you.) <BR> <BR>Have a great time. DAN

Thanks for the responses. Like Dan mentioned, when were in Montreal , as soon as we tried French, they switched to English. Frustration we would like to avoid by having the people we speak with , not speak English. Would it be best to stay North of Quebec City? Thanks . <BR>

Hi Rus- <BR> <BR>I understand your desire to expose your kids who are studying French to the language used by native speakers in everyday situations. The province of Quebec is a good place to do this, but there are certain challenges throughout la Belle Province. <BR> <BR>#1. There is "joual"...a slang that most Quebecers use in day-to-day conversation, that adds humour and local flair to conversations. More educated Quebeckers veer more toward French, more working class more toward "joual"...although both are generally understood and used to varying degrees by both. Sometimes the lines between international French and this slang can get blurred. I learned localisms and improved my French as a package, because I wanted to understand as many aspects of Quebec culture and communicate on as many levels with Québécois people as I could. <BR> <BR>#2. The slang does vary from region to region...a friend of mine from Sherbrooke used the word "cossin" to mean "thing"...this identifies her to others as a Sherbrookoise. The French & slang spoken in parts of the North, such as the Saguenay, Chicoutimi/Lac St. Jean region, according to friends of mine, differs considerably from that in the South of Quebec. <BR> <BR>#3. Even in areas where little English is spoken, people may not understand your attempts nor you their speech. There won't be a switch of languages, but you might find it simply frustrating. <BR> <BR>All this said, I think Quebec City is your best bet. Although it varies, people in my experience are more understandable and speak closer to standard French (more standard even than in Montreal). Further north in Quebec in the Saguenay and Gaspésie, as well as in north New Brunswick (les Acadiens), accents to my ears get more difficult to understand...although you might enjoy the challenge. I might add that I have a perspective of someone who lived in Montreal. French-speaking people from elsewhere can find Quebec accents (from anywhere) difficult to understand at times. As a Belgian said to one of my Montréalaise friends once after a complete lack of communication "On ne parle pas la même langue." <BR> <BR>Again, I recommend Quebec City for your purposes, and maybe go whale-watching in Tadoussac up north. <BR> <BR>Have fun. DAN

I agree. I reread what I said and admit that it did not come out quite right. Of course there is English on the packages in stores. In fact, I learned the right French words to use when I wanted to buy something by studying the English side of various packages. <BR>You can correct me if I am wrong on this, but I read somewhere that kosher foods with Hebrew only labelling could be sold only at definite times of the year in Quebec. <BR> <BR>

There was a brief kerfuffle I remember a few years back, when a zealous Office de la Langue Francaise inspector wanted to ensure that the kosher foods were in French as well as Hebrew. I remember the head of the OLF, Louise Beaudoin, backed down, but I forget the details exactly.

I recommend Quebec City. Almost completely French, but if you are having trouble many can speak some English.

Hi, <BR>The written French in Quebec is the same as European French, although spoken French can contain unusual expressions. I was told that French speakers in Quebec speak 18th century French, which contains expressions that are not used anymore in France, or used only in remote areas of the French countryside. I would say Quebec French is a bit like the English spoken in Scotland.