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Writing English in Quebec

Why Should I Care?

Students who are in Quebec and writing papers in English are in a special situation. It is important that you follow English writing rules. However, many official names, and documents are in French and may not always be translated or available in English. Much of your documentation may also be in French, either local newspaper articles, books, or journal articles, so it is important that you write clearly for an anglophone audience, without losing specificity and accuracy.

A very French province, although quite bilingual

The province of Quebec’s official language is French, since 1985. This was voted unanimously in the National Assembly, as proposed by the liberal Premier Robert Bourassa.

Statistically, the language most spoken in Quebec is also French. The 2021 census found that 93.7 percent of people in Quebec had knowledge of French, of which 47.3 percent responded French only, and 46.4 percent responded to have knowledge of both English and French.

As you can see, there are lots of bilingual people in Quebec. According to the 2021 census, 51.7 percent of people in Quebec had knowledge of English, of which 5.3 percent responded English only, and 46.4 percent said both English and French.

Source: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&HEADERlist=0&DGUIDlist=2021A000224&SearchText=Quebec

When in doubt about a word, or an official expression, please refer to the official source of the Quebec government, the Grand dictionnaire terminologique of the Office québécois de la langue française.
https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/

French / Foreign quotes:

  • Using a foreign language document is not a bad thing. This shows an extended literature review. However, you cannot assume your reader is able to read the other language. Our recommendation is to translate the quote to English, with an italicized mention that you did the translation yourself. Of course, if your translation is inaccurate, it will be on you.

… Some literature, such as Ramsay’s epic novel La pluie du cerveau (2011), is particularly gripping:

The weather was fine, until it started to rain. Then we were wet, cold, miserable, and thinking too much. We needed to move. But to where? We did not know where we were. So what to do? The loudest of the bunch decided to look for wood, so we could start a fire. But no one had a match, or a clue (Author’s translation, p. 35).

  • Sometimes a quote just cannot be translated accurately. In this case, do the best you can, and include the original passage (as short as possible) as you go along.

… Some of Tremblay’s writing is speaking from the heart: “Goddammit. They can’t do this to us. (Tabarnak, y peuvent pas nous faire ça!)” (Author’s translation).

Accents:

  • Accents don’t exist in English, or on English keyboards.
  • It’s ok to NOT USE accents for major objects of toponymy,
    • Quebec, Quebec City, Montreal, St Lawrence River, Mount Royal.
  • It’s best to USE accents for smaller cities, person names, official titles, proper nouns.
    • Rivière-du-Loup

Italics:

  • Used for French words that are hard to translate in English, such as dépanneurs, cégep, casse-croûte.
  • Used also for any foreign word, such as
    • chaebols (South Korean family-controlled conglomerates)
    • maquiladoras (Mexican industrial plants on the US border)
    • favelas (slums outside large Brazilian cities)

Numbers:       

  • Ten and under, spell it out. 11 and above, use digits.
  • Use a comma for every three digits above zero.
    • 1,000 : 1 thousand
  • Use a period to indicate decimals.
    • 1,000.10 : 1 thousand and 1 tenth
  • The French style is different:
English French
13,235.65 dollars  13 235,65 dollars
9,235.56 dollars 9235,56 dollars

NOTE – a space is used to separate thousands in French, but not for less than 10 thousand)

  • Careful with values over a million. The naming varies:
English French
One thousand Mille
One million Un million
One billion Un milliard
One trillion Un billion

NOTE – the federal government uses a hybrid style for numbering, which borrows from both the French and English styles. We would not recommend that in a paper.

Institutions and Organizations:

  • Most provincial institutions, organizations, agencies and departments do not have an English official name. You will have to use the French official name, with accents, its acronym, and a reworded translation to guide the reader. You can search online for an equivalent organization in an English-speaking province or State for equivalent wording.
  • No italics for the original French wording (it’s an official legal name).
  • Generally speaking, French uses capital letters only for the first word, and a Proper noun. In the case of a government department (ministère), the keyword is capitalized if there is a politician (minister) assigned to that office/portfolio.
  • Examples
    • Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM)
      According to the city police, crime statistics are decreasing over time. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) published these findings in its annual report.
    • Société de transport de Montréal (STM)
      According to Montreal’s transit authority, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), ridership in the subway has increased by ten percent.
    • Commission de toponymie du Québec (CTQ)
      According to the province’s place-naming agency, the Commission de toponymie du Québec (CTQ), no one has contested the cultural relevance of Sherbrooke Street in Montreal.
    • Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec (MÉQ)
      A memo from the provincial department of education states that schools will be closed on June 24 every year. The Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec (MÉQ) hopes students will partake in the National Holiday.
    • Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC)
      There was a long lineup outside the provincially owned and run marijuana dispensary. Demand for the newly legalized drug may be outstripping supply from the fledgling Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC).

Person Names:

  • Please be respectful of the spelling.
  • Accents are culture sensitive. UK/CAN/US Keyboards do not have accents such as the ‘trema’ or ‘accent aigu’, so you do not see those accents in most Anglo-sphere newspapers and literature. However, in Quebec, we usually have bilingual keyboards, so students are encouraged to use the accents, especially for lesser known names. Accents can be found using INSERT > SYMBOL in Word.
    • Ex: Mikhaïl / Mikhail Gorbatchev               USE THE ACCENT IF POSSIBLE       
    • Ex: René Lévesque / Rene Levesque          USE THE ACCENT IF POSSIBLE

Person Titles:

  • If the person has a bilingual presence online, use the English title.
  • If the person has a french-only title, use your judgment. Many titles can be translated without loss of meaning.
    • CEO                                                                           PDG – président-directeur-général
    • Manager                                                                    Cadre, gestionnaire, directeur
    • Principal, Provost                                                      Recteur 

Place Names/Toponyms:

  • Each language, especially the main world languages like English, Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, will have translations of country names and important cities. It is acceptable to use the English name of a country when writing in English
    • For example, Moskva (Москва) is the capital of Rossiya (россия).
    • In English, Moscow is the capital of Russia.
    • In Mandarin, Mòsīkē (莫斯科) is the capital of Èluósī (俄罗斯).
    • In Hindi, Maasko (मास्को) is the capital or Roos (रूस).

    • In Spanish, Moscú is the capital of Rusia. 

    • In French, Moscou is the capital of Russie.
  • In English, when a city is of the same name as the state or province, it is important to add City to its name.
    • New York, or Quebec, refer to the state, or province.
    • New York City, or Quebec City, refer to the city.
  • For Quebec toponyms, it is acceptable to use English spelling for the province, and main cities.
    • The capital of the province of Quebec is Quebec City. (no accents)
      • La capitale de la province de Québec se nomme aussi Québec.
    • The metropolis of Quebec is Montreal.
      • La métropole du Québec est Montréal.
    • The Saint Lawrence River flows through the province.
      • Le fleuve Saint-Laurent coule dans la province.
  • For towns, use the local spelling, whether French in Quebec, or Russian in Russia. Do not try to translate the name to English.
      • Ex: Krasnodar                  BEST ENGLISH VERSION OF RUSSIAN CYRILLIC
      • Ex: Rivière-du-Loup        USE THE FRENCH ACCENTS

        • NOT Wolf River.


    • Hyphens: in French, there are lots of hyphens. They are very rare in English. When someone's name becomes a toponym, we add a hyphen between their first and last names. This is not the case when you refer to the person in your text.
      • For example: Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer who sailed on the Saint Lawrence River. The Samuel de Champlain Bridge was named in his honour.
        • Le pont Samuel-de Champlain permet de traverser le fleuve Saint-Laurent. Il a été nommé en l'honneur de l'explorateur Samuel de Champlain.
      • Street
        • 1200 Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest               French style
        • 1200 West Saint Catherine Street                English style
      •  Bridge
          • Pont Samuel-de Champlain                     French style
          • Samuel de Champlain Bridge                  English style

    Floors and Buildings:

    • Floors
      • French uses ‘étages’, or stories. English uses floors, or ‘planchers’. Montreal is rife with confusion in this regard.
    Basement Sous-sol
    First Floor/Ground Rez-de-chaussée
    Second Floor Premier étage (à l’étage, in a small house)
    Third Floor Deuxième étage
    • Building types

    Notice the word 'cottage', is not used for the same type of building, depending on the language used.

    Shopping Mall Centre d'achats
    Cottage Chalet
    Single-family home Cottage
    Townhouse

    Maison de ville / en rangée
    Semi-detached Jumelé
    Multi-unit dwelling

    Plex, Duplex, Triplex, Quatriplex
    Apartment building Bloc appartement
    One-bedroom

    apartment 4 et demi
    Two-bedroom

    apartment 5 et demi
    Studio

    apartment 1, 2 ou 3 demi
    Political Terminology:
    Parish Paroisse
    City Hall Hôtel de ville
    Courthouse Palais de justice
    City/Town Ville
    Hamlet/Village Village
    Borough Arrondissement
    Mayor Maire
    Alderman/Councillor Conseiller municipal
    Provincial Premier Premier ministre
    National Assembly Assemblée nationale
    Provincial Legislature Parlement provincial
    LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS


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