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Quebec French profanities, known as (singular: ; from the verb , "to consecrate"), are words and expressions related to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and its
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
that are used as strong
profanities Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such as anger, ex ...
in
Quebec French Quebec French ( ), also known as Québécois French, is the predominant variety (linguistics), variety of the French language spoken in Canada. It is the dominant language of the province of Quebec, used in everyday communication, in education, ...
(the main variety of
Canadian French Canadian French (, ) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Canadian French'' referred solely to Quebec French and the closely re ...
),
Acadian French Acadian French () is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has seven regional accents, including Chiac and Brayon. Phonology Since there was relatively little linguistic contact with F ...
(spoken in
Maritime Provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...
, east of Quebec, and parts of
Aroostook County, Maine Aroostook County ( ; ) is the northernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maine. It is located along the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 67,105. The county ...
, in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
), and traditionally French-speaking areas across Canada. are considered stronger in Québec than the sexual and scatological profanities common to other varieties of French, (such as , "
shit ''Shit'' is an English-language profanity. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British and Irish English. As a slang ...
").


History

The originated in the early 19th century, when the social control exerted by the Catholic clergy was increasingly a source of frustration. One of the oldest is , which can be thought of as the Franco-Canadian equivalent of the English "goddamn it". It is known to have been in use as early as the 1830s. The word in its current meaning is believed to come from the expression ("Don't say that, it is sacred/holy"). Eventually, started to refer to the words Quebecers were not supposed to say. This is likely related to the
commandment Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments * One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism * The Great Commandment * The New Commandment * Commandment (album), ''Commandment'' (album), a 2007 album by Six Feet Under * Commandments (film), ''Commandments' ...
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" (Exodus 20:7). The influence and social importance of Catholicism at that time allowed to become powerful forms of profanity. As a result of the
Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...
in the 1960s, the influence of the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in Quebec has declined but the profanity still remains in use today.


List of common

These are commonly given in a phonetic spelling to indicate the differences in pronunciation from the original word, several of which (notably, the deletion of final consonants and change of to before ) are typical of informal
Quebec French Quebec French ( ), also known as Québécois French, is the predominant variety (linguistics), variety of the French language spoken in Canada. It is the dominant language of the province of Quebec, used in everyday communication, in education, ...
. The nouns here can also be modified for use as verbs (see "Non-profane uses", below). Additionally, some forms, notably and , can become semi-adjectival when followed by , as in (Scram, you fucking cat!); is often added at the end for extra emphasis. Often, several of these words are strung together when used adjectivally, as in (see "Intricate forms", below) and many combinations are possible. Since swear words are voluntarily blasphemous, the spellings are usually different from the words from which they originate. For example, can be written , , , , and so on. There is no general agreement on how to write these words, and the
Office québécois de la langue française The (, OQLF; ) is an agency of the Quebec provincial government charged with ensuring legislative requirements with respect to the right to use French are respected. Established on 24 March 1961 by the Liberal government of Jean Lesage, the ...
does not regulate them. * : "
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
" * (): "
chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...
" * : " ciborium" or " pyx", receptacles in which the host is stored * (''Christ''): "
Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
", or , a more emphatic version of , both verbs meaning "to curse" * , or (''hostie''): "
host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...
" * (m) or (f): " damned" (or " damn") * (): "
Sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...
" * : "
Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
", added before others (ex. , , etc.) * (): from the sin of
simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...
* (): "
tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...
"; typically considered the most profane of the * (): "
the Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loret ...
"


Mild forms

Most have modified, milder
euphemistic A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...
forms (see
minced oath A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is "gosh ...
). Such forms are not usually considered nearly as rude as the original. They are the equivalent of English words such as "gosh", "heck", or "darn". Many of the euphemistic forms are only similar-sounding to religious terms, so are considered not to denigrate the Church directly. * : * : * : * : (from the English "cream puff"), * : * : (from the English "Moses") * : * : (
anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...
of ), (merge of and ), The following are also considered milder profanity: * : "bastard" * : "boob", used to denote a breast or a complete idiot * (): "harm to God" * (): "shit", used in conjunction with other words, sometimes profanity: , , , , , , or , * : a mix between and Sometimes older people unable to bring themselves to swear with church words or their derivatives would make up ostensibly innocuous phrases, such as (literally, "five or six boxes of green tomatoes", being slang for , "green"). This phrase when pronounced quickly by a native speaker sounds like ("holy ciborium of the tabernacle"). Another example of a benign word that is church sounding is , which was simply an anglicism for "coal-tar", but pronounced just so, sounds like a merged and ("harm").


Intricate forms

In Québec French, swear words can be combined into more powerful combinations to express extreme anger or disgust. These intricate uses of French profanities can be difficult to master. The combinations are endless; some people in both Quebec and francophone communities in other provinces consider mixing and matching swear words to be a sort of skilled art. * or : means "to fuck something up"; comes from the derived noun , which refers to an animal's throat or maw, but is used in to mean the human mouth or face. The whole sentence can be summarized as "I'm gonna beat your fucking face in, you motherfucker". * : Very strong expression of anger. Can also be used as a descriptive phrase expressing anger or derision: , ("Jesus fucking Christ, there's no way you can be this stupid"). * : Expressive of extreme anger. * : Expressive of very extreme anger. * : Denotes extreme apathy and suppressed anger, similar to the English "I don't give a fuck". : "I don't give a fuck about politicians." * : Expression of anger aimed at someone perceived to be lacking in intellectual acumen; ("thick") is used as a derogatory term meaning "idiot", with ("
Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
") and ("of
shit ''Shit'' is an English-language profanity. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British and Irish English. As a slang ...
") acting as
intensifier In linguistics, an intensifier (abbreviated ) is a lexical category (but ''not'' a traditional part of speech) for a modifier that makes no contribution to the propositional meaning of a clause but serves to enhance and give additional emotional ...
s


Use

A very strong way to express anger or frustration is to use the words , , and . Depending on the context and the tone of the phrases, it might make everybody quiet, but some people use these words to add rhythm or emphasis to sentences. Usually, more than one of these words is used in Franco-Canadian profanity. The words are simply connected with (''of''), without any restrictions. Long strings of invective can be connected in this way, and the resulting expression does not have to have any concrete meaning—for example, (literally, "My host of (the) holy sacrament of (the) chalice of Christ"). Non-religious terms may also be strung together in this way, as in (literally, "My Christ of (a) car is broken, chalice of (the) tabernacle"). In areas where English is also commonly spoken, English expletives are often inserted. ("Fuck hehost") is common in Quebec. The adjective (with meanings varying from "crazy, disturbed" to "broken down") is much milder than "
fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...
ed" is in English. It is routinely used in, for instance, TV
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
dialogue. The same goes for "shit" (which in Quebec French is used only as an interjection expressing dismay, never as the noun for excrement). When used as a verb, (literally, "Go shit"), means not to excrete but rather to "fuck off". When used in the past-tense , it is used exactly as : ("My shoes are fucked", literally: "My shoes are shitted"). Even English-language dialogue containing these words can appear on Quebec French-language television without bleeping. For example, in 2003, when
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
s rioted in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
because a concert by the band
The Exploited The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1978 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,
had been cancelled, TV news reporters solemnly read out a few lyrics and song titles from their album ''Fuck the System''. The same is not true of Quebec's English-language television stations, which follow the same guidelines as other stations in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. In November 2017 the
CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...
ruled that "fuck" is not a swear word in French.


Non-profane uses

A slang term with the preposition means "a lot of": (or , etc.) means "a lot of food", similar to English constructs such as "fuck-ton" or "shitload". are often used as verbs too. For example, means "to beat the fuck out of", "to kick one's ass" or, more literally, "to give a beating", where is used as a stronger form of "to give" ( in French). There are constructions like or , which means "to leave" or "to destroy", using the prefix, which is about separation. Others include or ("to not give a damn"), or ("to run away"), and . Some are even found as adverbs, such as , meaning "very" or "extremely", as in ("This is really good"). or can mean "extremely angry". In the movie '' Bon Cop, Bad Cop'', Quebec actor and stand-up comic
Patrick Huard Patrick Huard (born January 2, 1969) is a Canadian actor, writer and comedian from Quebec. Career Huard broke into the Quebec show business scene in 1989 as a comedian, actor and television personality, with success as a stand-up comedian in the ...
's character teaches
Colm Feore Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of ...
's how to swear properly. These expressions are found less commonly in literature, but rappers and other singers often use and as a rhyme. More traditional singers also use these words, such as Quebec singer Plume Latraverse. One fine example of the use of as different word classes is a dialogue by called . The phrase ("Jules, who was irritated, violently ejected Jacques, who was angry.") becomes ("That fucker, who was pissed off, kicked out that dickhead, who was fucking furious.") with each content word (noun, verb, adjective or adverb) replaced with a profane synonym. This usage of is similar to the form of Russian swearing known as .


Possible Protestant origin

The expression of ideas linked to the Protestant (
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
) faith can be considered, looking at both the initial meaning expressed by the swear words and the geographic origin of the settlers of New-France. Since the roughly twenty initial words have generated close to four-hundred euphemisms and thousands of set constructions, all equally present in all regions of Quebec, it would make more sense to have them begin their development at an earlier time than the mid-nineteenth century.


Meaning

The main Quebec swear words refer to aspects of Catholic worship and practice that Calvinists have historically rejected or objected to, including eucharistic adoration, transubstantiation, the Virgin Mary (viarge) and simony (simonaque). They are expressed in French rather than Latin. «The reformers unanimously rejected transubstantiation, … understand that words alone are not strong enough to illustrate this philosophy.» and «You have to understand the hatred they feel in the face of what they perceive as a fraud.»


Settler origin

About a third of the established settlers came from the Pays de Caux in the Northern part of Normandie «The Pays de Caux... formed a kind of triangle bounded by the port cities of Rouen, Dieppe and Le Havre. These three communities stand out as the only real points of concentration (settler provenance in Normandy)» also «The Pays de Caux housed probably the largest concentration of rural Protestants north of the Loire» and another third from the Poitou area (which includes Angoumois, Aunis, Saintonge), where lived France's greatest concentrations of Huguenots at that time. This fact has already been noted in a different context «The geographical areas where women were recruited coincide with the Protestant areas.» It appears that throughout the New-France period, settlement originated from French Protestants strongholds as the increasing pressure from the Counter-Reformation made it harder and harder for them to live in France. This would suggest that Quebec swear words were originally an expression of their religious principles.


Comparison to other languages

The use of liturgical profanity is not unique to Canadian French or Quebec. In
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, although to a lesser extent, some analogous words are in use: in particular, (
host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...
) and (more so in the past) are relatively common expressions in the northeast, which are lighter (and a little less common) than the typical blasphemies in use in Italy, such as (pig god) and (see
Italian profanity Italian profanity (, : , when referred to religious topics; , : , when not) are profanities that are Blasphemy, blasphemous or inflammatory in the Italian language. The Italian language is a language with a large set of inflammatory terms and ph ...
). Modifying the terms into euphemistic equivalents is used in Italy; for example, is commonly modified to (a type of restaurant). The word has produced the verb , which colloquially means "to use blasphemy". Other dialects in the world feature this kind of profanity, such as the expressions and in
Austro-Bavarian Bavarian (; ), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria, and South Tyrol in Italy. Prior to 1945, Bavaria ...
and in Czech. is an expletive expression in some
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
dialects. In Catalan, is used and is frequently abbreviated to . Spanish also uses ("I shit on ...") followed by "God", "the blessed chalice", "the Virgin" and other terms, religious or not. It can be shortened to just or ("Blessed chalice!"). In
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
, the profanity ("Your mother's host!") is sometimes used with "Easter", "Christ", "Cross", "Commemoration" (), "sacred oil lamp" (), "God", "Church", etc. Sheila Fischman's translation of ''La Guerre, yes Sir!'' (published under that title in French and English and meaning roughly "War, you bet!"), by
Roch Carrier Roch Carrier (born 13 May 1937) is a French Canadian novelist and author of "contes" (a very brief form of the short story). He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada. Life He was born in Sainte-Justine, Quebec, and studied a ...
, leaves many in the original Quebec French, since they have no real equivalent in English. She gives a brief explanation and history of these terms in her introduction, including a few not listed here. At a crucial point in the story, a boy swears in the presence of his father. For the first time, instead of beating or punishing his son, the father swears back. This represents the boy's passage into manhood. Irish Catholics of old employed a similar practice, whereby "
ejaculation Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the penis through the urethra. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. ...
s" were used to express frustration without cursing or profaning (taking the Lord's name in vain). This typically involved the recitation of a rhyming couplet, where a shocked person might say, "Jesus who, for love of me / Died on the Cross at Calvary" instead of "Jesus!" This is often abbreviated simply to "Jesus-hoo-fer-luv-a-me", an expression still heard among elderly Irish people. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" is used in Quebec French: Hungarians, primarily Catholics, follow the same suit: instead of (God) or as a curse, (the God of it!), they often use another word which also begins with : (the school of it!) or (the stable of it!).


See also

*
Joual ''Joual'' () is an accepted name for the linguistic features of Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for some. ''Joual'' has historically been stigma ...
*
Sacred-profane dichotomy Profane, or profanity in religious use may refer to a lack of respect for things that are held to be sacred, which implies anything inspiring or deserving of reverence, as well as behaviour showing similar disrespect or causing religious offens ...


References

* * * *


External links


Swearing in Quebec: If you profane something no one holds sacred, does it make a swear?
— ''The Economist''
The history of Tabernak
- QuebecCity101.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Quebec French Profanity French Quebec Culture of Quebec
Profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...