L’Action de grâce au Québec : le français qu’on entend toute la fin de semaine

Chaque réplique de la vidéo, telle qu’elle est dite. La narration est en anglais.

1. Jacob « Mmm... C’est écœurant! »
2. Narration If you learned French in school, that sounds like a disaster. Écœurant means disgusting.
3. Julie « Merci, Jacob! »
4. Narration But at a Québec table, it can be a compliment. This weekend is full of words like that. Let’s spend Thanksgiving in Québec.
5. Narration In French, Thanksgiving is l’Action de grâce.
6. Narration In Canada, it’s the second Monday of October, a date Parliament set in 1957.
7. Narration It became a yearly holiday in 1879. Long before that, Indigenous peoples celebrated the harvest every fall.
8. Narration You’ll see it written with or without an s: Action de grâce, or Action de grâces. Both are correct.
9. Narration In Québec, it’s traditionally celebrated less than in the rest of Canada. But the long weekend has a name of its own.
10. Narration In France, the weekend is le week-end. You’ll hear that in Québec too, but Québec’s language office recommends la fin de semaine. Literally, the end of the week.
11. Narration Three days off? La longue fin de semaine. The long weekend.
12. Julie « Jacob? Viens souper dimanche. Toute la parenté s’en vient! »
13. Jacob « Ben oui! Bonne fin de semaine, Julie! »
14. Narration La parenté: the relatives, the whole extended family. And souper? Hold that thought until Sunday.
15. Narration Saturday morning. Julie takes Jacob aux pommes.
16. Julie « Les pommes sont belles cette année! »
17. Narration Aller aux pommes: to go apple picking. Literally, to go to the apples. It’s a common way to say it in Québec.
18. Narration The sign at the gate says autocueillette: pick-your-own. That’s the term used frequently in Québec.
19. Narration Apple season here runs through September and October.
20. Jacob « J’en cueille combien? »
21. Julie « Remplis le panier! »
22. Narration Un panier: a basket.
23. Jacob « Pis ça, c’est des citrouilles? »
24. Narration Next to the apples: pumpkins. Une citrouille is the round orange pumpkin. Une courge is the broader word: any squash.
25. Jacob « Une citrouille-lanterne, déjà? »
26. Julie « Ben oui, l’Halloween s’en vient! »
27. Narration A carved one is une citrouille-lanterne. Carving is for Halloween, which is coming at the end of the month.
28. Narration Back in town, the shopping.
29. Julie « Une dinde, des atocas... pis quoi d’autre? »
30. Jacob « La tarte! »
31. Narration La dinde: the turkey. It’s feminine, la dinde. Le dindon is the male bird.
32. Narration Des atocas are cranberries. The dictionary word is canneberges, and in Québec you’ll hear both. Atoca comes from an Iroquoian language.
33. Narration And the pie? Pumpkin pie is a classic across Canada, but in Québec, many people prefer apple pie: une tarte aux pommes. Good thing Jacob picked apples.
34. Narration Sunday morning, on the way to Julie’s.
35. Jacob « Ouf! Y fait frette! »
36. Narration Y fait frette: it’s cold. In everyday speech, il fait often sounds like y fait. And frette is the familiar Québec way to say froid. It sounds like "fret".
37. Julie « Attache ta tuque! »
38. Narration Une tuque: the knit winter hat. In English Canada, many people write it toque. Elsewhere in French, it’s un bonnet.
39. Narration To say tuque, round your lips as if you were saying ee. In much of Québec, the t comes out with a little s: tsuk.
40. Narration Attache ta tuque can mean just that: put your tuque on, it’s cold. But it’s also an expression: brace yourself.
41. Narration The trees are turning, too. In Québec it’s la saison des couleurs, the colour season, and Thanksgiving weekend usually falls right in it.
42. Jacob « Mmm! Ça sent bon! »
43. Narration Ça sent bon: it smells good. Standard French, and useful in any kitchen.
44. Julie « C’est une soupe à la courge. »
45. Narration Remember courge? Soupe à la courge: squash soup.
46. Narration Another Québec classic: la soupe aux pois, made with dried yellow peas and salt pork.
47. Jacob « J’peux-tu y goûter? »
48. Julie « Non! Attends le souper! »
49. Narration J’peux-tu y goûter? Can I taste it? Y stands for it. And that little tu after the verb makes it a yes-or-no question, like in « T’as-tu été voter? »
50. Narration Sunday evening. Le souper.
51. Narration In Québec, déjeuner is breakfast, dîner is lunch, and souper is the evening meal. Belgium and Switzerland still say souper too.
52. Narration In France, breakfast is petit-déjeuner, déjeuner is lunch, and dîner is the evening meal. There, souper can mean a late meal, after a show.
53. Narration And this isn’t slang. Québec’s language office gives déjeuner, dîner and souper as the standard words here. So if you’re invited à dîner in Québec, it probably means noon.
54. Narration Quick check. Julie says « Viens dîner demain. » When do you show up?
55. Narration At noon.
56. Julie « Bon appétit, tout le monde! »
57. Jacob « Santé! »
58. Narration Bon appétit before you eat. Santé when you raise your glass: to your health.
59. Jacob « Julie, passe-moi les atocas, s’te plaît. »
60. Narration Passe-moi: pass me. It uses tu, so it’s for family and friends. And s’il te plaît, said fast, often sounds like s’te plaît.
61. Julie « Encore de la dinde? »
62. Jacob « Ben oui! »
63. Narration Encore: more, another helping. Ben oui: well, yes. Of course.
64. Jacob « Mmm... C’est écœurant! »
65. Julie « Merci! »
66. Narration Now you know. In the dictionary, écœurant means disgusting. In familiar Québec French, it can also mean amazing. The tone and the moment tell you which one. Just like c’pas pire.
67. Julie « T’as trop mangé? »
68. Jacob « Ouf... Ben oui. Chu plein. »
69. Narration Chu plein: I’m full. Chu, or chui, is how je suis often sounds in everyday Québec speech. Familiar, and very common.
70. Narration One word not to use for this: bourré. In familiar French, it also means drunk.
71. Julie « Tu repartiras avec les restes! »
72. Narration Les restes: the leftovers. Turkey sandwiches on Monday, and on Tuesday...
73. Narration Monday is the holiday itself. In Québec, it’s un jour férié: a statutory holiday.
74. Narration Banks and post offices close, but Québec law doesn’t make stores close that day, so many stay open.
75. Narration So if you forgot the atocas, you can probably still find some on Monday.
76. Jacob « Joyeuse Action de grâce! »
77. Narration To wish it: Joyeuse Action de grâce. You’ll also hear Bonne Action de grâce.
78. Narration Your turn. Seven phrases from this weekend. Answer before I do.
79. Narration La fin de semaine?
80. Narration The weekend.
81. Narration Y fait frette?
82. Narration It’s cold.
83. Narration Le souper?
84. Narration The evening meal.
85. Narration Chu plein?
86. Narration I’m full.
87. Narration Une tuque?
88. Narration A knit winter hat.
89. Narration Des atocas?
90. Narration Cranberries.
91. Narration And at the table: C’est écœurant?
92. Narration It’s amazing.
93. Narration Which word surprised you most? Tell us in the comments. Joyeuse Action de grâce.
94. Narration You heard it. Now you know it.