I mentioned that I visited Montreal recently. I love Montreal (and of course my dear friends who live there). I bought so many bande desinées! I brought back so many bagels!!!
Québec is majority French-speaking, and it gave me a chance to scrape off my rusty French and give it a go.
A little info for those who might not know. Montréal is in the Canadian province of Québec.
The actual province of Québec is huge- the largest province in Canada.
It also is the second most-populated province. Growing up on the West Coast, Québec felt far. Vancouver is much more English-speaking (with Cantonese and Mandarin being more common second languages. But, I did attend French Immersion elementary school, a little school called École Jules Quesnel .
Canada's relationship to French is laid out in its Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This means Canada has two official languages, French and English. That’s why all our packaging is in French as well. French Canadians live across Canada, though Quebec has the highest concentration of French speakers. There are also the Acadians in the Maritimes, and other communities across Canada.
I remember my dad sitting me down and saying that it was good for me to learn French for government jobs (considered the "good" jobs with nice pay and retirements when I was growing up). In elementary school, we all dutifully spoke French in the classroom and snuck into English conversations at recess. Because I learned French at a young age, it's melded to my brain, even though it's the rudimentary language of childhood mostly. Honestly, that’s why I got interested in Linguistics as an adult- the way babies and kids absorb languages is so interesting.
I went to an English-speaking high school, where I took Grade 12 French in the 8th grade, and haven't needed it much since. I didn't take a government job, I didn't even stay in Canada. But to me, it's a beautiful part of my Canadian identity.
Franglais
Anyway, all that to be said, my Franglais can be fun coming back to Montreal. I always want to practice, at least. A lot of "sorry!" and "je suis desole!". I also will say things like “Je suis walking here!!!”.
So Chey and I went into a cafe to order a latte. I'm lactose intolerant, so I ordered (what I thought) was an oat milk latte. At a previous café (we went from café to café like cats searching out sunbeams), I’d asked how to say “oat milk” in French. I stored it in my adult brain…
That's when I realized instead of saying "avoine" (or oat), I'd said "avion", which means airplane. Airplane milk. After laughing, and correcting me gently, he made me my latte.
The latte was delicious, and no airplanes were milked.
Are you bilingual? Or are you trying to learn any languages? Are there any fun language mistakes you've made?
This week is
‘s amazing substack “Out to See”. It combines some of my favorite things- lush flatlays of art supplies, experimental and playful plein air, and lots of tips and tricks. Give it a follow <3
I got my zine from Kathryn Durst in the mail. I was lucky enough to go to school with Kat, albeit a few years earlier, and have been inspired by her ever since. She is a true artist- always playing, experimenting, and engaging with the world around her in a voracious way. If you're lucky enough to be in Peterborough, ON, check her Instagram on what faires she might be going to next. Or, DM her!! It’s a beautiful book.
(and if you’re in Peterborough, stop by at my amazing friend Helen's “Kitcafe” and get one of her award-winning croissants!!!)
ok love u bye
Love those linguistic mix-ups. mortifying at the time but also hilarious - and fun to draw!
Avian is a bird. Lol