Bonjour

Bienvenue à toutes et à tous!

No, my blog will not be written in French, but it will be talking about the various aspects of the French accent. Now for starters, the most common regional French accents are from France (of course), Canada, Haiti, Africa, Caribbean, and Louisiana. However, I’d like to talk about the French accents I’ve heard over the years, such as French from France, Canadian French, and African French, so as I will be able to share my personal take on all three.

France

I’ve always admired the French accent from France because I feel like the accent makes French sound cool. For example, French rap from France sounds a lot like American rap, just in a different language. Although the country consists of various regional accents, its population generally uses the Metropolitan French, which is considered as standard and is basically the stereotypical French accent from Paris. I’ve noticed that this French accent isn’t too keen on articulation since it looks like French people barely open their mouths when they speak.

Canada

When it comes to French, Canada is widely known for their Quebec accent. Nonetheless, we can’t forget about the Acadian French accent, as well as our very own here in Ontario! The Canadian French accent highlights the vowels in words and tends to linger on the t a lot more. For instance, tu would sound like tsu.

Africa

French is very common in Africa since there are 31 countries that speak it as a first or second language, which makes it the continent with the most French speakers in the world! The accent is very much influenced by the African languages, which gives an aggressive approach it. It is also known to be heard with voices that are deeper than the usual.

Here are some funny clips on the stuff Parisians say, as well as what French Canadians (Québécois) say, according to stereotypes. *Warning: Contains French Curse Words*

All of these three have an immense influence on the accent I have today. Going from a Belgian accent (which is basically identical to the French accent) to obliviously adopting the Canadian French accent due to the change of my residence, as well as genetically having the African French accent in my blood, it makes me confused on which of the previous categories I belong to. Regardless, I love all three of these accent et pis chui fière d’être francophone!

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varieties_of_French#European_dialects