Really enjoying eastern Quebec...looks very beautiful...I think I would like to ride my RT sightseeing this area. When you stop for lunch or supper, try and show some of the restaurants & meals if possible. Looking forward to part two...thanks for taking the time to make these video's.
@@CharlesEtienneAuger Last year I visited montreal (as part of a wider trip to Canada from australia, my daughter lived in BC and now AB) and loved it, but didn’t leave the island, didn’t get any further out. For Another day Out of interest as to your background, and from “sort of” understanding the language issue in QC (and as, during my visit, seemed that quebecois speaking English …to help me out with my schoolboy French…would in a notable accent and, generally, was clear it wasn’t “natural” to them) would you describe yourself as a French speaker who also speaks great English, or a native English speaker (in Quebec?!) who’s decent at French?
@@Kenny1977-b1j I'm actually French-Canadian and I spoke French exclusively, growing up. I learned English while living in another province for a few years as a child. I can tell you that all Québecois people really want from English speakers is an effort. Bonjour, s'il vous plait, merci. (Hi, please and thank you). The same level of effort you would show while visiting, say, Italy. The fact that, presumably, you speak with an Australian accent would help you because you clearly won't be seen as an English-Canadian who's not willing to make an effort. I would try to learn the phonetic way of saying that you're from Australia and to ask who you're speaking with if they speak English. ''Bonjour, je suis australien. Parlez-vous anglais?''. You'll get an nice smile in return and the reciprocal effort to converse and serve you in English. Most hotels and restaurants won't hire unilingual staff anyway so honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned. By your question, I can tell that you're sensitive to the topic and that's a great first step, as opposed to being rude about it and thinking less of Québecois for wrongly presuming they live in a Parisian bubble, refusing to learn or speak English because it's very far from the truth. I hope you visit us again and have a great time!
@@CharlesEtienneAuger thank you. Your few years out of province is probably the key to my earlier curiosity? I remembered enough school-era French to get by last year in montreal, opened every conversation with a decent (though grammatically weak) effort… school was a long time ago, and montrealers seemed good at filling the gaps! . I’d read ahead of our trip not to consider Quebecois as “France French” anyway, including as the locals aren’t always keen on those Europeans yourselves, and (as I found looking and listening in) there are differences in words, accent and approach to life - “North Americans who speak French” is more accurate? I appreciated the Quebec struggle for retaining language, history and identity (before arrival I read a lot about the history, of the Seigneur era, through to the quiet revolution…). Arguably, are similarities to the struggle of welsh speakers / identity in Wales, the Basque…. Yep, one day we’ll be back, riding a m/bike around eastern townships, the north shore, maybe Gaspe (home of Gaspesienne 13… great beer! …
@@Kenny1977-b1j I feel fortunate that our family moved for a few years. I learned English easily and kept it just as easily. Good on you to read up on our history! Fair dinkum ;) Indeed, French people from Europe have a vastly different way of speaking and will often actually borrow more English words than we do. (Parking, Shopping, Weekend..ect) One funny little trivial piece of information is that their version of the TV show 'The Voice' (I don't know if you have that down under) is actually called 'The Voice' and they pronounce is as such. Our version is called 'La Voix'. Odd, isn't it? Otherwise, we are different in our personality traights as well. French-Canadians is quite accurate. We share more with English-Canadians than we do Americans, that's for sure. Your comparison with Wales, the Basque (I'd add the Catalans to that) is spot on! I'm in my late 30's and consume most of my media in English and so do a lot of people my age. It's going to be important for those who follow us and also people emigrating to this part of the world to keep the language the official language of the area, by law. It won't die because, well, there is always France... but used daily? I hope we keep up the effort. That said, it's also very important for native French speakers here to learn and use English regularly because if we're really honest with ourselves, it's the language of business pretty much all over the globe and must be mastered. Full bilingualism would be my objective, should I come to power ;)
Great series, cheers from Texas.
Cheers, thanks for watching!
Really enjoying eastern Quebec...looks very beautiful...I think I would like to ride my RT sightseeing this area. When you stop for lunch or supper, try and show some of the restaurants & meals if possible.
Looking forward to part two...thanks for taking the time to make these video's.
Catching up on some comments here. For this series, I sadly have not recorded any of my food ;) I'll make an effort next time. Cheers!
Great vid and commentary…looks very green (for me in Australia)
Thanks for watching! Glad you're enjoying it.
@@CharlesEtienneAuger Last year I visited montreal (as part of a wider trip to Canada from australia, my daughter lived in BC and now AB) and loved it, but didn’t leave the island, didn’t get any further out. For Another day
Out of interest as to your background, and from “sort of” understanding the language issue in QC (and as, during my visit, seemed that quebecois speaking English …to help me out with my schoolboy French…would in a notable accent and, generally, was clear it wasn’t “natural” to them) would you describe yourself as a French speaker who also speaks great English, or a native English speaker (in Quebec?!) who’s decent at French?
@@Kenny1977-b1j I'm actually French-Canadian and I spoke French exclusively, growing up. I learned English while living in another province for a few years as a child. I can tell you that all Québecois people really want from English speakers is an effort. Bonjour, s'il vous plait, merci. (Hi, please and thank you). The same level of effort you would show while visiting, say, Italy. The fact that, presumably, you speak with an Australian accent would help you because you clearly won't be seen as an English-Canadian who's not willing to make an effort. I would try to learn the phonetic way of saying that you're from Australia and to ask who you're speaking with if they speak English. ''Bonjour, je suis australien. Parlez-vous anglais?''. You'll get an nice smile in return and the reciprocal effort to converse and serve you in English. Most hotels and restaurants won't hire unilingual staff anyway so honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned. By your question, I can tell that you're sensitive to the topic and that's a great first step, as opposed to being rude about it and thinking less of Québecois for wrongly presuming they live in a Parisian bubble, refusing to learn or speak English because it's very far from the truth. I hope you visit us again and have a great time!
@@CharlesEtienneAuger thank you. Your few years out of province is probably the key to my earlier curiosity? I remembered enough school-era French to get by last year in montreal, opened every conversation with a decent (though grammatically weak) effort… school was a long time ago, and montrealers seemed good at filling the gaps! .
I’d read ahead of our trip not to consider Quebecois as “France French” anyway, including as the locals aren’t always keen on those Europeans yourselves, and (as I found looking and listening in) there are differences in words, accent and approach to life - “North Americans who speak French” is more accurate?
I appreciated the Quebec struggle for retaining language, history and identity (before arrival I read a lot about the history, of the Seigneur era, through to the quiet revolution…). Arguably, are similarities to the struggle of welsh speakers / identity in Wales, the Basque….
Yep, one day we’ll be back, riding a m/bike around eastern townships, the north shore, maybe Gaspe (home of Gaspesienne 13… great beer! …
@@Kenny1977-b1j I feel fortunate that our family moved for a few years. I learned English easily and kept it just as easily. Good on you to read up on our history! Fair dinkum ;) Indeed, French people from Europe have a vastly different way of speaking and will often actually borrow more English words than we do. (Parking, Shopping, Weekend..ect) One funny little trivial piece of information is that their version of the TV show 'The Voice' (I don't know if you have that down under) is actually called 'The Voice' and they pronounce is as such. Our version is called 'La Voix'. Odd, isn't it? Otherwise, we are different in our personality traights as well. French-Canadians is quite accurate. We share more with English-Canadians than we do Americans, that's for sure. Your comparison with Wales, the Basque (I'd add the Catalans to that) is spot on! I'm in my late 30's and consume most of my media in English and so do a lot of people my age. It's going to be important for those who follow us and also people emigrating to this part of the world to keep the language the official language of the area, by law. It won't die because, well, there is always France... but used daily? I hope we keep up the effort. That said, it's also very important for native French speakers here to learn and use English regularly because if we're really honest with ourselves, it's the language of business pretty much all over the globe and must be mastered. Full bilingualism would be my objective, should I come to power ;)