Canadian French

Canadian French is an umbrella term for the varieties of the French language used in Canada. French is the mother tongue of about seven million Canadians (22% of the national population) and is one of the country's two official languages, along with English.

Major varieties

Quebec French is spoken in Quebec. Closely related varieties are spoken by francophone communities in Ontario, Western Canada, Labrador and in the New England region of the United States, and differ primarily by their greater conservatism. The term Laurentian French has limited application as a collective label for these varieties, and Quebec French, somewhat confusingly, is also used. The overwhelming majority of francophone Canadians speak this dialect, as most of them live in Quebec.
Acadian French is spoken by over 300,000 Acadians in parts of the Canadian Maritimes and New England. It is closely related to Cajun French, spoken in parts of the Southern United States.

Other varieties

Métis French is occasionally spoken in Manitoba, North Dakota and adjacent areas, alongside with a related, but distinct, mixed language of Michif.
Brayon French, spoken by Brayons in the Bonaventure and Beauce-Appalaches regions of Quebec and the Madawaska region of New Brunswick and Maine, seems phonologically close to Acadian French but is morphosyntactically identical with Quebec and Métis French.
Newfoundland French is spoken by a limited population in Newfoundland. It is an endangered dialect — both Quebec French and Acadian French are now more widely spoken among francophones in Newfoundland and Labrador than the distinctively Newfoundland dialect is.

The term Canadian French was formerly used to refer specifically to Quebec French and the closely related varieties of Ontario and Western Canada descended from it. This is presumably because Canada and Acadia were distinct parts of New France, and also of British North America, until 1867. However, today the term Canadian French is not usually deemed to exclude Acadian French.

Phylogenetically, Quebec French, Métis French and Brayon French are representatives of koiné French in the Americas whereas Acadian French, Cajun French, and Newfoundland French are derivatives of non-koinesized local languages in France.

Translation

The phrase "Canadian French" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Simple English.

Translation(s) in other languages: Afrikaans: Kanadese Frans, Corsican: Francese canadianu, German: Französisch in Kanada, Indonesian: Bahasa Perancis Kanada, Italian: Francese canadese, Chinese: 加拿大法語.