Montrealer Aly Brassard began a series earlier this month where she takes to the streets of Paris asking people to imitate the Quebec accent — uncovering just how big the language gap truly is. Turns out, the Parisians are overtly familiar with our use of the word "tabarnak," which came up a lot during Brassard's street interviews. Who's going to tell the people of France that Quebec is more than just poutines and religious swear words?
Her first video blew up (it has garnered nearly 600,000 views and 50,000 likes on TikTok), so much so that the content creator has gone on to upload three other clips, and they get funnier each time.
During Brassard's first attempt, she didn't receive too many responses, with a few people flat out refusing to even give the Quebec accent a try.
"Are you able to imitate the Quebec accent?" she asked the very first person. Their reply? "Imitate the what?!" Seemingly unaware that the Quebec accent is even a thing.
@alybrassardJ’essaye d’en trouver un meilleur demain? 🤔 #quebecvsfrance #paris #pourtoii
In her second attempt, which was right below the Eiffel Tower, the couple she asked made it clear they weren't fans of the Quebec accent. Refusing to give it a try, the French couple laughed (jokingly) with Brassard after she brought up Quebec French and whether they're fans of it. When they said "no" she hilariously replied, "Well, I guess I should stop talking then, right?"
Two people Brassard asked in the next segment didn't want to give the Quebec accent a try, not because they didn't like it, but simply because it is too hard to pull off. "Not at all," they responded when Brassard asked if they could imitate the accent. "It's too hard. You are inimitable," they said.
Brassard also tried to get an answer from a waiter walking with a tray in hand, but they instantly replied "not at all!" when asked if they could imitate the accent. I mean, they were working, so it's no surprise they didn't have the time to speak with Brassard.
After 40 seconds worth of failed attempts, Brassard finally found someone who was willing to give the Quebec pronunciation a go.
"I worked for a Canadian, so I can try a little," the French man said. "Are you Canadian? he asked Brassard. "Yes. Do you hear it [the Quebec accent] in my voice?" she retorted. The gentleman didn't hesitate for a single second, saying that he could definitely hear the accent in Brassard's voice.
As he began to walk away, he finally let out a low but confident "tabarnak" making it clear he knows how Quebec French works. He even mentioned how "un bec", which is how one would say "a kiss" in France is "un bisou" in Quebec.
@alybrassardC’est qui le meilleur?😂 #quebecvsfrance #pourtoii #france
With success at the end of Brassard's first TikTok, the content creator finally got the ball rolling with more tries and folks seemed a bit more eager to imitate Quebecers this time around. In the second TikTok, which was posted to Brassard's channel on September 9, she stopped two people on the street and they immediately went in for the Quebec accent kill.
"Franchement, oui!" they instantly (and very confidently) replied when asked to imitate the accent. "Oh, wait. But that's so good! Wow," Brassard said. In fact, the attempt was so spot on that even viewers in the comments said that they could easily pass for a Quebecer.
Brassard then hit the streeter jackpot when a fellow Frenchman said he not only can imitate the accent but that he loves Canadians, too. "With pleasure," he replied when asked to give the Quebec accent a try. "I love Canadians, they have a great mentality," he said before letting out a "tabarnak," "esti calisse" and "crisse que j'suis bien." Although the attempt was a bit lacklustre, failing to truly grasp our accent, the person definitely deserves an A for effort.
@alybrassardVotez qui gagne cette fois-ci 🟦⚜️🟦 #quebecvsfrance #gpexplorer #gpexplorer2 #imitation #pourtoi
In her third video, which was filmed at the GP Explorer racing event, Brassard was able to get some hilarious replies, many of which also use the notorious Quebec word "tabarnak." While it is definitely a word we love to say, there's far more to Quebec French than just our curse words, right? Someone tell the French!
One person Brassard asked was a bit too shy to even try, saying the accent is a hard one to imitate, particularly when it comes to mixing French and English (or as we know it: Franglais). "I can't do that, my god. It's too confusing," they said.
He was not the only one who was too bashful to give the Quebec accent a try. Another Parisian needed an example before taking a whack at the accent. "I cannot. Can you show me how to do true accent?" he asked Brassard. It was a this time that the Montreal-based TikToker gave him the most Quebec-sounding phrase that even I couldn't decipher what she was saying. And the person's expression afterward made it clear that he didn't either.
@alybrassardOn sonne vraiment comme le dernier ouuuu? 😂 #quebecvsfrance #imitation #paris #pourtoii
In her fourth and final attempt, Brassard received loads of "tabarnak" replies and a slew of other curse words we love to use but there was one standout attempt that had us all laughing out loud.
While one person she encountered had never even heard of Quebec, another not only knew about the Canadian province but seemed a bit too familiar with our accent. Whether the Paris resident was even speaking the French language in the 34-second TikTok is still up for debate, and yet his inflection and intonation were scarily accurate, so much so that even Brassard was taken aback.
"Not bad?" he asked. "Yeah, I think so," Brassard replied with a stunned expression.
Despite their efforts, it seems that many French folks are either unaware, unwilling or uncertain about the Quebec accent, whereas a few had it down a little too well.
Brassard has now received over 1.5 million views and nearly 150,000 likes across her four TikTok videos and there are hopefully a lot more to come.
