Québécois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the use of the term Québécois in the English language. For the newspaper, see Le Québécois.
In Canadian English, a Québécois (IPA: [ke.be'kwa]), or in the feminine Québécoise (IPA: [ke.be'kwaz]), is a French-speaking native or resident of the province of Quebec, Canada. The term may also refer to a Quebecker who identifies with Quebec's French-speaking majority culture or someone of French-Canadian descent.
Quebecer or Quebecker (pronounced [kwəˈbɛkɚ] or [kəˈbɛkɚ]) is used to refer to any resident of Quebec, including English-speaking Quebecers or allophone natives or residents of Quebec.
With a lower-case initial, the word québécois can refer to Quebec French, a variant of the French language spoken Quebec's population. As an adjective, it refers to Quebec's francophone culture or population.
In French, the word Québécois generally refers to a native or resident of the province or of Quebec City. In a political or cultural context, it often takes on the same meaning as the English definition of the word.
Contents |
[edit] Terms using Québécois
[edit] English usage
English expressions employing the term stress the distinction between the ethno-cultural and sociological sense of Québécois and the legal and civic sense of Quebecer or Quebec.
- Québécois people
- Québécois society
- Québécois nation
The word appeared in a near-unanimous motion of Prime Minister Stephen Harper adopted by the Canadian House of Commons on 27 November 2006. The motion proposed that "... this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada", with the Prime Minister specifying that he was using the "cultural" and "sociological" sense of the word. The Prime Minister emphasized that the motion was a symbolic political nature, representing no constitutional change, no recognition of Quebec sovereignty, and no change in its political relations within the federation.[1].
The Province of Québec has 20 additional First nations also recognized by the Canadian federal government.[2].
[edit] French expressions used in English
French expressions employing "Québécois" are often used in English. Here the sense of the word remains ambiguous.
- Parti Québécois - Provincial-level political party that supports Quebec independence from Canada
- Bloc Québécois - Federal-level political party that supports Quebec independence from Canada
- Québécois de souche - "old-stock Quebecker" - Quebecker that can trace their ancestry back to regime of New France
- Québécois pure laine - "true blue" or "dyed-in-the-wool" Quebecker - usually means same as Québécois de vielle souche, but originally meant ardent Quebec nationalist; the term is resented by English-speaking Quebecers because it was often used by nationalists to question the belonging of minority groups who are by and large cool to Quebec nationalism; the term has fallen out favor since the term has been used by opponents of Quebec nationalism to highlight its exclusion of minorities.
[edit] French usage
- Les Québécois et Québécoises (masculine and feminine genders) to include women when referring to Quebecers as a whole.
- Le Québec aux Québécois - "Quebec to the Québécois" - slogan often chanted at Quebec nationalist rallies or protests.
[edit] Controversy
 |
Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
The word Québécois can be politically charged because it combines notions of territory and residence (in the Province of Quebec), ethno-cultural identity (of French-speaking Quebeckers), and ancestry ( Québécois de vielle souche). Government publications generally refer to Quebec territory and residence, while the news media focuses more on issues of ethnocultural identity — especially facing separation or nationalist issues.
On the extremes[citation needed], for example, people of Haitian ancestry living in Montreal may be considered[citation needed] Québécois because they reside in Quebec, or not Québécois because their ancestry cannot be traced back to New France. Their belonging may also be judged in accordance with their assimilation into mainstream Quebec culture and adoption of Quebec nationalist political views. As well, although English-speaking Quebecers may be included in the French meaning of the word, they rarely if ever self-identify as Québécois in English, and are only occasionally referred to as such in English in academic or political circles.[citation needed]
Even in French, however, some Quebecers have historically used the word to draw a similar distinction between French-speaking pure laine (lit. "100% wool"; i.e. "native, with ancestries tracing to France") Québécois and anglophone, aboriginal, or allophone residents of the province.[citation needed] This meaning is now discouraged among francophones in Quebec society, and public figures who have used it have been rebuked by other public figures and the media. This can be explained by the fact that this term has been used since the 1995 Referendum mostly by anglophones to highlight the exclusive aspects Quebec Nationalism.[citation needed]
As noted, most francophones are encouraged by some Quebec nationalists to use a single inclusive term which describes residents of the province without distinction to origin or ethnicity. This use has political overtones, as this definition adds to the legitimacy of Quebec nationalists claims to sovereignty. Others, view this definition as an imposed "political correctness". They view pure laine as a deprecated term in French — in modern speech the term is now used almost exclusively by anglophones, to denote that Quebec nationalists actually draw distinctions between residents of the province[citation needed]. Quebec nationalists in turn call this Quebec-bashing. One of the problems inclusive Quebecois nationalists (those who reject ethnic nationalism) face is that the history which they claim defines the "Quebec nation" is derived from the collective experiences of an ethnic nation - the French-Canadians. The remnants of these shared historical memories are pervasive in modern Quebec culture. For instance, the popular neo-folk song "Dégénérations" by the musical group Mes Aïeux is rife with references that harken back to a more simple, pastoral French-Canadian/Quebec society. It is debatable to what extent non pur-laine Quebeckers are able to identify with these historical references which are supposedly integral to Quebecois national identity.
The term “Québécois” is generally reserved for persons who self-identify as “Québécois”[citation needed] and who most likely have the following characteristics: 1. Caucasoid (or Caucasian) in race (non-Aboriginal and non–visible minority)[citation needed] 2. Have French as a mother-tongue (representing 83% of the provincial population according to the 2001 Census)[citation needed] 3. Are born in the Province of Québec[citation needed] 4. Have parents who also considered themselves as Québécois.[citation needed]
The term “Québécois” generally refers to the “Québécois pure laine” (or having the characteristics above-mentioned). Conversely, the term “Quebecer” refers to the inhabitants of the Province of Québec.[citation needed]
Although immigrants living in the Province of Québec (representing 10%) or anglophones (representing 10%) are “Quebecers” in the larger term (inhabitants of the province), they rarely are considered or consider themselves as belonging to the “Québécois” ethno-cultural group.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ CBC: House passes motion recognizing Québécois as nation, [1]
- ^ [http://pse2-esd2.ainc-inac.gc.ca/FNProfiles/FNProfiles_List.asp?Province1=QC List of Québec's First Nations (Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND)) )
