A Reddit thread questioning why we speak "franglais" inspired me to consider how this curious dialect continues to persist in Montreal culture. So, we asked people on Reddit and Twitter what speaking two languages in one means to them. Find out their answers below! Visit MTLBlog for more headlines. Montreal, as we all are very aware, is filled with beautiful diversity and culture. A big part of this culture is the mix of the French and English languages. And what exists in our city, that occurs almost nowhere else in the world, is the curious use of "franglais." If you live here and consider yourself bilingual, there is a huge chance that some of the sentences that come out of your mouth are half in English and half in French. Take for example when you're telling your friends about your jeudi plans, and you let them know you're going to un p'tit 5 (cinq) à 7 (sept). And then you go on to tell them about un beau gosse who has a "je ne sais quoi" about them, and no one has to ask what you mean. It may seem like it's just the use of anglicisms or francization, but it's really so much more than that. It's the intertwining of two cultures to create one. But, a Reddit thread began that questioned why two people who both speak French would continue to speak "franglais" with each other, and wondering – what exactly is the reason behind mixing the two languages together? As a Montrealer, people are forever asking you if your mother tongue is French or English, and it can get annoying if you just want to express yourself in a happy medium of the two. So, if you feel me on this one, here's what you can tell people from this point forward: I speak Frenglish or in my original language, Franglais— Inky boi (@Inkyboi101) October 24, 2019 One Reddit user, @deutschelunchbox, lets everyone reading the thread know that this use of both French and English in the same sentence is known in linguistics as "code-switching." In a direct message, this user explained to me that we use code-switching in informal contexts to be better understood. In the 80s, it began to be regarded as normal for anyone that spoke more than one language — if that's a consolation for any of us who feared our franglais vocabulary as weird. https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal/comments/dmxcp5/jessaie_de_comprendre_pourquoi_parler_le/f56l7jb?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x from https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal Montrealers choose one language over the other for specific words because they feel that they can express certain sentiments better in one tongue over the other. READ ALSO: Don't Read This Article Si T'es Pas Bilingue https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal/comments/dmxcp5/jessaie_de_comprendre_pourquoi_parler_le/f56h98q?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x from https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal/comments/dmxcp5/jessaie_de_comprendre_pourquoi_parler_le/f56hz9f?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x from https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal Do we switch languages when we assume the person we're speaking to will better understand us or do we do it because we cannot think of certain words in the language in which we were originally speaking? View this post on Instagram Happy Monday Friends ! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Who can relate with me ? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ -⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ -⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ -⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ -⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #frenchlanguage #frenglish #bilangual #frenchinLA #frenchyinNY #paris #frenchy #france #paris #la #Dubai #NY⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #travel #language #french #Iloveparis #loveNY A post shared by Dominique Bossavy (@dominiquebossavy) on Jul 22, 2019 at 12:01pm PDT It's hard to think about it because franglais for us Montrealers seems to come so naturally. Some people argue that bilingualism is not a language, and while of course, this is true, does it mean franglais cannot be a language? Is it simply our Montreal way of showing off our ability to speak two languages? https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal/comments/dmxcp5/jessaie_de_comprendre_pourquoi_parler_le/f57qwli?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x from https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal In a direct message, this Reddit user told me they "think franglais is to Montreal what poutine is to Quebec," and I think that's rather poetic (and accurate). View this post on Instagram Il était une fois où j’étais connue comme étant la plus belle langue du monde. Oui, il était une fois où vous étiez fiers de moi. Où vous n’aimiez que moi. Ah ! Il était une fois ! Toutefois, tout au long du siècle, ma vie a changée. Elle a été bouleversée. Je me sens en danger. Puisque vous me trompez. Oui, vous me trompez ! Vous trompez la plus belle langue du monde avec la lingua franca du monde ! J’étais votre amour, mais l’anglais est devenu votre amant. Chaque moment où vous me rejetez en le caressant, j’ai mal au cœur. Chaque moment où vous me rejetez en l’embrassant, j’ai mal au cœur. Ne vous enorgueillissiez-vous pas de ma pureté ? Pourquoi alors c’est vous qui me rendez impure ? Ne m’aimiez-vous pas de tout cœur ? Pourquoi alors c’est vous qui vous avérez infidèles ? L’anglais était censé être votre ami. Un ami qui vous ouvre de nouvelles portes. Un ami qui s’ajoute à vos forces. Pourquoi cet ami, qu’apparemment vous détestiez, est-il devenu votre nouvel amour ainsi que votre force !? Pourquoi moi, qui étais auparavant votre grande fierté, suis-je devenu votre ancien amour ainsi que votre faiblesse !? [Pour en lire plus, accéder au site-web de Chrysalising] . . . #franglais #frenglish #anglicisme #madéclarationsolennelle #langue #linguafranca #lalanguefrançaise #lalangueanglaise #plusbellelangue #writeup #article #chrysalising #khushigoyal #blog #multilingual #multilingue #multilingualblog #multilingualblogger #multilingualblogging #blogger #blogueuse #english #anglais #french #français #wordpress #wordpressblog #wordpressblogger #puneblogger #puneblogging A post shared by Chrysalising (@_chrysalising_) on Jul 3, 2019 at 2:44am PDT In my opinion, Montreal is blessed to have invented its own little language, or dialectic, at least. It's just further proof of how unique our city is. Some people even say franglais is like a secret language since other people around the world can't understand it. So, franglais is almost a superpower in this sense. Intrigued by the Reddit thread, MTL Blog took the language conversation to Twitter, where we asked people what speaking franglais means to them. Here are some of the responses: Diversity, colors, integration, inclusion, generosity, richness, pride, confidence #Montreal👌🏽— Corine Colors (@CorineColors) October 28, 2019 Life in Montreal can be hard, franglais seems to help make it a little easier. It makes me feel less bad when I’m trying to speak French (I’m a new learner) and being able to use English for a word I may not know, and no-one seems to be upset I’m not sticking to one language :)— Hallow’s Eve L Spookard (@DinobotTwit) October 28, 2019 Practical, some things don't translate. It's nice to be able to just say them— Aquari-mess (@bruteusmaximus) October 28, 2019 Great advantage for me. It is helpful in my work especially that I understand two languages. It is easy to communicate for those who can understand either French or English. I am enjoying it actually. 😊— jyseerys (@jayseereyes) October 28, 2019 And it's a 2 in 1 when it comes to language skills. It's amazing, j'ai l'opportunité de faire des fautes de grammaire in two different languages— dammit janet 🎃 (@florenceREAL) October 28, 2019 We're happy to hear there's harmony in the coexistence of these two languages. I don’t notice it but others do. They love how we can switch between languages without skipping a beat. It’s a privilege to be exposed to both languages!!! Lucky us!— Claire Perron (@FoxQC) October 28, 2019 Sometimes it's just pure amusing to read! My Haitian queen somewhere in Montreal ordering Poutine don’t worry ma bijoux j’arrive 😍— Jalph P. Morgan 🇭🇹 (@JalphLauren) October 31, 2019 Lucky us, indeed! Since this means we can ghost people in two languages: View this post on Instagram Salut la visite, bitch. #frenglishmemes #franglais A post shared by (っ◔◡◔)っFucking Shitposts ♡ (@fuckin_shitposts) on Sep 28, 2019 at 7:55am PDT And, the leader of our country, Justin Trudeau, speaks franglais too. So, I vote it's a real, Montreal-specific language. Most of us accidentally switch from English to French, or vice versa, in the same sentence... Do any of us know exactly why? It seems this question is something for which we may never get a full answer, or whose answer is completely subjective. Regardless, franglais is a deeply embedded part of Montreal culture that I hope never fades away.
