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{{short description|Sociolect of Québécois French originating amongst the working class}}
{{Title language|fr}}
{{IPA notice}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Joual
| nativename       = {{lang|fr|joual}}
| states           = [[Canada]]
| region           = [[Montreal]]
| speakers         = 
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3             = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]]
| fam4             = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
| fam5             = [[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]]
| fam6             = [[Western Romance languages|Western Romance]]
| fam7             = [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance]]                                                                                                                                 | fam8             = [[Langues d'oïl|Oïl]]
| fam9             = [[French language|French]]
| fam10            = [[Canadian French]]
| fam11            = [[Quebec French]]
| isoexception     = dialect
| lingua           = 51-AAA-hqb
| glotto           = none
}}
'''''Joual''''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒwal}}) 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 [[social stigma|stigmatized]] by some, and celebrated by others.<ref name="thecanadianencyclopedia.ca">{{Cite web |title=Joual {{!}} l'Encyclopédie Canadienne |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/le-joual |access-date=2023-02-01 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> While ''Joual'' is often considered a [[sociolect]] of the Québécois working class,<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'essentiel à connaître sur le Joual |url=https://www.1min30.com/dictionnaire-du-web/joual |access-date=2023-02-01 |language=fr-FR}}</ref> many feel that perception is outdated, with ''Joual'' becoming increasingly present in the arts.<ref name="thecanadianencyclopedia.ca"/>

Speakers of Quebec French from outside Montreal usually have other names to identify their speech, such as [[Magoua]] in [[Trois-Rivières]], and [[Chaouin]] south of Trois-Rivières. Linguists tend to eschew this term, but historically some have reserved the term ''Joual'' for the variant of Quebec French spoken in Montreal.<ref>Gilles Lefebvre, «Faut-il miser sur le joual?» ''Le Devoir'' 1965, 30 octobre; «L'étude de la culture: la linguistique.» ''Recherche sociographiques'' 3:1–2.233–249, 1962; Henri Wittmann, 1973. «Le joual, c'est-tu un créole?» La Linguistique 1973, 9:2.83–93.[http://www.nou-la.org/ling/1973a-joual.pdf]</ref>

Both the upward socio-economic mobility among the Québécois, and a cultural renaissance around ''Joual'' connected to the [[Quiet Revolution]] in the Montreal East-End have resulted in ''Joual'' being spoken by people across the educational and economic spectrum.  <!--At the beginning of the 20th century, ''joual'' was at best a kind of [[Creole language|Creole]] that also fitted the description of a [[Register (sociolinguistics)#Diatype|diatype]] more than any other categorization. (At best? what does that mean?)-->Today, many [[Québécois people|Québécois]] who were raised in Quebec during the 20th century (command of English notwithstanding) can understand and speak at least some ''Joual. Joual'' is also commonly spoken in a few Francophone communities in Ontario, such as [[Hearst, Ontario|Hearst]].

== History ==
{{further|History of Quebec French}}
The creation of ''Joual'' can be traced back to the "era of silence", the period from the 1840s to the 1960s and the start of the [[Quiet Revolution]].<ref name="Prins">{{Cite thesis |last=Prins |first=M. |title=The ''Joual'' Effect: A Reflection of Quebec's Urban Working-Class in Michel Tremblay's ''Les Belles-soeurs'' and ''Hosanna'' |date=2012 |degree=MA |publisher=Arizona State University |hdl=2286/R.I.14644 |hdl-access=free |id={{ProQuest|1010987064}}}}</ref> The "era of silence" was marked with stark stigmatization of the common working man. Written documents were not shared with the typical working class man, and the very strict form of French that was used by elites excluded a majority of the population.<ref name="Prins" /> The Quiet Revolution during the 1960s was a time of awakening, in which the Quebec working class demanded more respect in society, including wider use of [[Québécois French|Québécois]] in literature and the performing arts. [[Michel Tremblay]] is an example of a writer who deliberately used ''Joual'' and Québécois to represent the working class populations of Quebec.<ref name="Dargnat">{{Cite book |last=Dargnat |first=Mathilde |title=Michel Tremblay: le "joual" dans Les belles-sœurs |date=2002 |publisher=L'Harmattan |language=fr}}</ref> ''Joual'', a language of the working class, quickly became associated with slang and vulgar language.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} Despite its continued use in Canada, there are still ideologies present which place a negative connotation on the use of ''Joual''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}

== Origin of the name ==
Although coinage of the name ''joual'' is often attributed to [[French Canadian|French-Canadian]] journalist [[André Laurendeau]], who in October 1959 wrote an article in ''[[Le Devoir]]'' criticizing the quality of the French language spoken by French Canadian students, the usage of this term throughout French-speaking Canada likely predates this text.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laurendeau |first=Paul |date=1987 |title=Trésor de la langue française au Québec (XXII) |url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/qf/1987-n67-qf1219140/45320ac/ |journal=Québec français |language=fr |issue=67 |pages=40–41 |issn=0316-2052}}</ref>

The actual word ''Joual'' is the representation of how the word ''cheval'' ([[Standard French]]: {{IPA|fr|ʃəval|}}, {{gloss|horse}}) is pronounced by those who speak ''Joual''. ("Horse" is used in a variation of the phrase {{lang|fr|parler français comme une vache}} {{gloss|to speak French like a cow}}, i.e. to speak French terribly; hence, a put-down of the Québécois dialect.) <!--''Cheval'' is usually pronounced as one syllable, {{IPA|[ʃval]}}, by all francophones in the [[Francophonie]].--> The weak [[schwa]] vowel {{IPA|[ə]}} disappeared. Then the [[Voiceless postalveolar fricative|voiceless]] {{IPA|[ʃ]}} was [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] to {{IPAblink|ʒ}}, thereby creating {{IPA|[ʒval]}}. Next, the {{IPA|[v]}} at the beginning of a syllable in some regional dialects of French or even in very rapid speech in general weakened to become the [[semi-vowel]] {{IPA|[w]}} written {{angbr|ou}}. The end result is the word {{IPA|[ʒwal]}} transcribed as ''Joual''.{{Citation needed|reason=there is no evidence of this|date=April 2013}}

==Most notable or stereotypical linguistic features==
[[Diphthongs]] are normally present where [[long vowels]] would be present in standard French. There is also the usage of ''sontaient, sonté'' (''ils étaient, ils ont été'').

Although ''moé'' and ''toé''  are today considered substandard slang pronunciations of ''moi'' and ''toi'', these were the original pronunciations of ''[[ancien régime]]'' French used in all provinces of Northern France, by the royalty, aristocracy, and common people.  After the 1789 [[French Revolution]], the standard pronunciation in France changed to that of a previously-stigmatized form in the speech of Paris, but Quebec French continued to evolve from the historically older dialects, having become isolated from France following the 1760 [[Quebec#New France (1608–1763)|British conquest of New France]].<ref>Marc Picard, "La diphtongue /wa/ et ses équivalents en français du Canada." ''Cahiers de linguistique de l'Université du Québec'' 1974, 4.147–164.</ref>

''Joual'' shares many features with modern [[Oïl languages]], such as [[Norman language|Norman]], [[Gallo language|Gallo]], [[Picard language|Picard]], [[Poitevin (language)|Poitevin]] and [[Saintongeais]] though its affinities are greatest with the 17th century [[Koiné language|koiné]] of [[Paris]].<ref>Henri Wittmann, "Le français de Paris dans le français des Amériques." ''Proceedings of the International Congress of Linguists'' 16.0416 (Paris, 20–25 juillet 1997). Oxford: Pergamon (CD edition). [http://www.nou-la.org/ling/1998a-fpparis.pdf]</ref> Speakers of these [[languages of France]] predominated among settlers to [[New France]].
 
It could be argued that at least some aspects of more modern ''Joual'' are further [[Contraction (grammar)|linguistic contraction]]s of standard French. ''D'la'' (''de la'') is an example where the word ''de'' has nearly fallen out of usage over time and has become contracted. This argument does apply to other words, and this phenomenon has become widespread throughout contemporary French language.

A defining characteristic of the sociolect is the deliberate use of the pronoun ''tu'' to indicate a question. The pronoun maintains its traditional usage, that of representing the [[grammatical person|second person]] singular, but is also used in conjunction with a verb, to indicate a question.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tu - Definition |url=https://www.je-parle-quebecois.com/lexique/definition/tu.html |website=Je Parle Quebecois |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> ''Tu'' is used, for this purpose, regardless of the technically relevant grammatical person. This is because ''tu'', in this [[Grammatical case|use-case]], is a contraction of the antiquated ''t-il'' [[grammatical particle|particle]] originating from 13th century France,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tanguay |first1=Felix |title=D'où vient le "-tu" interrogatif, et "c'est-tu" pertinent de l'enseigner? |url=https://correspo.ccdmd.qc.ca/document/dou-vient-le-tu-interrogatif-et-cest-tu-pertinent-de-lenseigner/ |website=Correspondance |publisher=Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> which was used to indicate a question.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nadeau |first1=Jean-Benoit |title=Est-ce français de dire " tu veux-tu " ? |url=https://lactualite.com/societe/est-ce-francais-de-dire-tu-veux-tu/ |website=L'actualité |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> For example, in metropolitan french, a question may be asked as simply ''"Veut-il manger?"'' whereas in Joual, it may be asked as ''"Il veux-tu manger?"''

Another significant characteristic of ''Joual'' is the liberal use of profanities called ''[[Quebec French profanity|sacre]]'' in everyday speech.<ref>Gilles Charest, ''Le livre des sacres et blasphèmes québécois.'' Montréal: L"Aurore, 1974; Jean-Pierre Pichette, ''Le guide raisonné des jurons.'' Montréal: Les Quinze, 1980; Diane Vincent, ''Pressions et impressions sur les sacres au Québec.'' Québec: Office de la langue française, 1982.</ref>

===Words of English origin===
{{main|List of French words of English origin}}
There are a number of English [[loanword]]s in ''Joual'', although they have been stigmatized since the 1960s,<ref>The standard reference to this subject is Gilles Colpron, ''Les anglicismes au Québec: Répertoire classifié. Montréal: Beauchemin''.</ref> instead favoring alternative terms promoted by the ''[[Office québécois de la langue française]]''. The commonality of English loanwords in ''Joual'' is attributed to the unilingually anglophone nature of the factory owners, business higher-ups, and industrial supervisors which employed the majority of French-speaking blue-collar workers throughout 20th century.<ref>Alexandre Lafrenière, ''Le Joual et les mutations du Québec. La question de la langue dans la définition de l’identité québécoise'',mémoire de maîtrise (sociologie), Université Laval, 2008.</ref> This need to use English in workplace environments, when referring to technical elements of the worker's labour, caused the gradual integration of English loanwords into French.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joual {{!}} l'Encyclopédie Canadienne |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/le-joual |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> These words would eventually come to be conjugated and integrated as though they were traditionally French words (such as "Check" becoming the verb "Chequer"). The usage of [[deprecation|deprecated]] anglicisms varies both regionally and historically. In the table below are a few common ''Joual'' words of English origin. 
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Joual word
!Pronunciation (approximation)
!Standard French word (approximation)
!English meaning 
!Example
|-
|Bécosse (f)
|{{IPA|[bekɔs]}}
|toilette extérieure (f)
|outdoor toilet (from "back house")
|''le boss des bécosses'' (someone who behaves as though they are the boss)
|-
|Bécik (m)
|{{IPA|[besɪk]}} or {{IPA|[bɛsɪk]}}
|bicyclette (f), vélo (m)
|bicycle
|
|-
|Bike (m)
|{{IPA|[bɑik]}}
|motocyclette (f)
|motorbike
|
|-
|Bines (f)
|{{IPA|[bɪn]}}
|fèves (f)
|beans
|
|-
|Braker
|[[Help:IPA|[bʁeike]]] 
|freiner
|to brake (verb)
|
|-
|Breakeur (m)
|[[Help:IPA|[bʁeikɚ]]] 
|disjoncteur (m)
|circuit breaker
|
|-
|Bum (m)
|[bʌm]
|clochard (m)
|bum, vagrant
|
|-
|Chequer
|{{IPA|[tʃɛke]}}
|vérifier 
|to check something out (verb)
|''check ben ça'' ("check this out")
|-
|Chum (m, sometimes f)
|[[Help:IPA|[tʃɔm]]]
|copain (m), ami (m), amie (f)
|boyfriend or male friend, occasionally female friend
|
|-
|Domper
|[[Help:IPA|[dõpe]]]
|jeter, rompre avec
|to throw out (rubbish) or to break up with someone (verb)
|''domper la puck'' (in hockey-"dumping the puck")
|-
|Flat (m)
|[flat] 
|crevaison (f), plongeon sur le ventre (m)
|flat tyre or belly flop (in the pool)
|
|-
|Frencher
|[[Help:IPA|[fʁɛntʃe]]]
|embrasser (avec langue)
|to French kiss (verb)
|
|-
|Froque (f)
|{{IPA|[fʁʌk]}}
|manteau (m)
|jacket
|
|-
|Hood (m)
|like in English or {{IPA|[ʊd]}}
|capot (m)
|hood of a car
|
|-
|Lift (m)
|[lɪft] 
|
|lift (as in giving someone a lift in a vehicle)
|
|-
|Pinotte (f)
|like in English, but with a shorter i
|arachide (f)
|peanut, also street slang for "amphetamines"
|
|-
|States (les)
|{{IPA|[steːts]}}
|États-Unis (les)
|the United States
|
|-
|Tank (m)
|[[Help:IPA|[tẽːk]]]
|réservoir (m)
|container, ''tank à gaz'': "fuel tank"
|
|-
|Toaster (m)
|[[Help:IPA|[tostɚ]]]
|grille-pain (m)
|toaster
|
|-
|Tough
|[[Help:IPA|[tɔf]]]
|dur, difficile
|tough
|
|-
|Truck (m)
|[[Help:IPA|[tʁɔk]]]
|camion (m)
|truck
|
|-
|Skidoo (m)
|{{IPA|[skidu]}}
|motoneige (f)
|snowmobile (from [[Bombardier Recreational Products|Bombardier]]'s "[[Ski-Doo]]")
|
|-
|Screen (m)
|{{IPA|[skɻiːŋ]}}
|moustiquaire (f)
|screen of a window
|
|-
|Windshield
|{{IPA|[wɪnʃiːl]}}
|pare-brise (m) 
|windshield
|
|}
Some words were also previously thought to be of English origin, although modern research has shown them to be from regional French dialects:
* Pitoune (log, cute girl, loose girl): previously thought to come from "happy town" although the word ''pitchoune'' exists in dialects from southern France (possibly coming from the [[Occitan language|Occitan]] word ''pichona'', "little girl"), now used to mean "cute girl".<ref>{{Citation |title=pitoune |date=2022-12-06 |url=https://fr.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=pitoune&oldid=31069702 |work=Wiktionnaire |language=fr |access-date=2023-02-01}}</ref>
* [[Poutine]]: was thought to come from "pudding", but some have drawn a parallel with the Occitan language (also called Provençal or Languedoc) term ''podinga'', a stew made of scraps, which was the previous use of the term in Montreal.<ref>{{Citation |title=poutine |date=2022-12-06 |url=https://fr.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=poutine&oldid=31068145 |work=Wiktionnaire |language=fr |access-date=2023-02-01}}</ref>

===Glossary===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Joual
! French
! English
|-
| {{lang|fr-x-quebec|toé}}
| {{lang|fr|toi}} (from classic French pronunciation of toi)
| you ([[grammatical number|singular]], [[oblique case|oblique]])
|-
| {{lang|fr-x-quebec|moé}}
| {{lang|fr|moi}} (from classic French pronunciation of moi)
| me
|-
| pis, pis quoi
| et puis, puis quoi
| and, So what 
|-
| moé j'vo [ʒvɔ] or j'va [[Help:IPA|[ʒvʌ]]]
| moi je vais au/a la
| I will, I am going 
|-
| Çé
| c'est
| It is
|-
| Lé
| Les
| The (plural)
|-
|Ço [sɔ]
|Ça
|That
|-
| Po [pɔ]
| Pas
| Not
|-
| Lo [ʟɔ]
| Là
| There
|-
| j'fa, j'fasse, je fasse
| je fais
| I am doing
|-
| D'la
| De la
| Of the (feminine), from the (feminine), some (feminine), a quantity of (feminine)
|-
| té, t'es
| tu es
| you are
|-
| Yé
| Il est
| He is, it is
|-
| tsé (tsé là), t'sais
| tu sais
| you know
|-
| je s'ré
| je serai
| I will be
|-
| j'cres, j'cré
| je crois
| I believe
|-
| pantoute
| pas du tout (de ''pas en tout'')
| not at all
|-
| y
| il
| he
|-
| a, a'l'o
| elle, elle a
| she, she has
|-
| ouais or ouin
| oui
| yeah, yep
|-
| y'o [jɔ]
| il y a, il a
| there is, he has
|-
| toul', tou'l'
| tout le
| all of the
|-
| icitte
| ici
| here
|-
| ben
| bien
| well / very / many (contextual)
|-
| tu d'ben
| peut-être
| maybe
|-
| bengadon, ben r'gardon, ben gardon
| bien regarde-donc
| well look at 
|-
| Ga don ço, gadon ço, r'gardon ço
| Regarde donc ça
| Look at that
|-
| su, d'su, de su
| sur, dessus
| on, over top of
|-
| su la, s'a
| sur la
| on the (feminine)
|-
| su'l
| sur le
| on the (masculine)
|-
| anyway, en tout co [ã tu̥ kɔ], entouco, entéco, ent'lé co, entouka
| en tout cas, en tous les cas
| in any case, however, anyway (from English "anyway" addition of this word is non-ubiquitous, but en tout co has broad usage) 
|-
| Aweille!, Enweille! 
| Envoye! Bouge! Allez!
| Send! Move! Go on! (contextual)
|-
| enweille don, àweille don
| envoie donc, allez
| come on 
|-
| faite, fette
| saoul
| drunk
|-
| fette, faite, té faite
| fini, tu es fini
| finished, you are finished
|-
| nuitte
| nuit
| night
|-
| ti / 'tite, p'tite / p'tit
| petit / petite
| small (masculine / feminine)
|-
| déhor, d'wor, dewor, dowor
| dehors
| outside, get out (contextual)
|-
| boutte (masculine)
| bout
| end, tip, bit (un ti boutte = un petit bout = a little bit or a little while)
|-
| toutte
| tout
| everything, all, the whole
|-
| litte
| lit
| bed
|-
| tusuite, tudsuite, tud'suite, tu'd'suite, toud'suite
| tout de suite
| right now
|-
| astheure, asteur<br>(from "à cette heure")
| maintenant, couramment
| now, currently, from now on 
|-
| han?
| hein?
| eh? huh? or what?
|-
| heille
| hé
| hey
|-
| frette
| froid
| cold
|-
| fà
| fait
| make/do
|-
| s'fèque, s'fà que, sfàk
| donc (ça fait que)
| so, therefore
|-
| mèk, mainque, main que
| lorsque (from [[old French]] « mais que »)
| as soon as, upon
|-
| dins, dan lé
| dans les
| in the (plural)
|-
| cé
| c'est, ceci est
| this is
|-
| c'pos, cé po, s'po[spɔ]
| ce n'est pas
| it's not
|-
| end'ssour, end'ssou
| en dessous
| under
|-
| s'assir, s'assoère
| s'asseoir
| to sit down
|-
| ak, ac, a'ec, èk, èque
| avec
| with
|-
| boète [bwaɪ̯t]
| boîte
| box
|-
| à soère, à swère
| ce soir
| tonight
|-
| àmandonné, aman'né
| à un moment donné
| at some point, at any given time
|-
| bouette
| boue
| mud
|-
| c't'un, cé t'un, s't'un
| c'est un
| it's a
|-
| j'suis, chuis
| je suis (un)
| I am
|-
| garah, gararh
| garage
| garage (non-ubiquitous usage)
|-
| char
| voiture
| car, short for chariot
|-
| tarla, con, nono 
| stupide
| dumb
|-
| kétaine, quétaine
| de mauvais goût, ringard (France)
| tasteless, cheesy (fashion)
|-
| fif, fifi
| éfféminé
| sissy, feminine male (can also mean queer, derogatory)
|-
| tapette (une)
| pédé (un)
| queer, feminine male, male homosexual or pre sex change male (all usage is derogatory)
|-
| grand slack
| grand et mince
| tall and skinny (from English "slack")
|-
| smatte (té), smartte (té) 
| sympatique, gentil
| friendly, kind
|-
| plotte
| chatte, vagin
| cunt, whore, pussy, vagina (contextually derogatory)
|-
| graine, grène
| pénis
| Cock, penis (graine is the literal translation of the word seed, contextually derogatory) 
|-
| botare
| bâtard
| bastard 
|-
| eulle
| l' le
| the
|-
| étchoeuré
| écœuré
| tired (annoyed)
|-
| t'su, d'su
| mettre sur
| put on
|-
| vert (té)
| inexpérimenté (tu es)
| (you are) inexperienced (being new, "green", to something, vert is the literal translation of the word green)
|-
| troud'cu, trou'd'cu, trou d'cul 
| enfoiré, trou de cul
| ass hole (contextually derogatory)
|- 
| panel (un)
| camionnette, fourgon
| van (panel van, cargo van, non-ubiquitous usage)
|-
| jarret, hârret
| mollet
| calf
|-
| lulu
| mèche (deux)
| twintails (non-ubiquitous usage)
|-
| Drette lo
| Ici même (droit là)
| Right there
|-
| Ç'à d'l'air à ço, Ç'à d'l'air de'd ço 
| Ça ressemble à ça
| It looks like that
|-
| J'te dis
| Je te dis
| I tell you
|-
| J'toute fourré, j's'tout fourré, schtout fourré
| Je suis confus
| I'm so confused, I'm all fucked up
|-
| J'cogne des clous
| Je suis épuisé
| I'm so tired
|-
| Checke-moé le don, 
| Regarde le (donc) lui
| Look at him
|-
| Checke Fern, Checke checke 
| Regarde ça/lui/elle, Regarde
| Look at him/her/that or simply look (gender neutral form, contextual, non-ubiquitous usage, circa 1980s but still holds meaning)
|-
| 'Stacoze de'd, stacoze de, C't-à-cause de, 
| c'est à cause de
| it is because of
|-
| 'Stacé
| C'est assez
| That's enough
|-
| Viarge
| Putain !
| Damn !
|-
| Grouille (toé)
| Dépêche-toi
| Hurry up
|-
| ta yeul!, la yeul!, ferme ta boète!, la ferme!, la farme!
| tais-toi! ferme ta gueule!
| shut up!, shut your animal mouth! (derogatory), shut your box! (derogatory)
|- 
| Y pue d'la yeul (referring to a human male, Y means Il singular third person male whereas A (pronounced à) means Elle singular third person female) 
| Ça pue de la gueule (animal), Il a la mauvaise haleine (human male)
| He has a stinky animal mouth, He has bad breath, He stinks from the mouth (gueule directly translates to animal mouth, hence the sentence is derogatory if relating to a human male. Pue is the literal translation of a conjugation of the verb to stink)
|-
| Chus dan marde
| Je suis dans le pétrin (Je suis dans la merde)
| I'm in big trouble (I'm in shit)
|-
|}

== In popular culture ==
The two-act play ''[[Les Belles-sœurs]]'' by Canadian writer [[Michel Tremblay]] premiered in 1968 at the [[Théâtre du Rideau Vert]] in Montreal. Many consider it to have had a profound impact on Canadian culture, as it was one of the first times ''Joual'' was seen on a national stage. The play follows a working-class woman named Germaine in Montréal. After winning a million [[trading stamp]]s, she invites her friends over to help paste them into booklets to redeem them. But Germaine is unsuspecting of her jealous friends who are envious of her winnings.<ref name="Les Belles-soeurs">{{cite web|url=http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Les%20belles-soeurs|title=Les Belles-soeurs|website=Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia|access-date=21 February 2019}}</ref> The fact that the play was originally written in ''Joual'' is very important to the socio-linguistic aspect of the women. The characters all come from the working class and for the most part, speak in ''Joual'', which at the time was not seen on the main stage. The play was cited at the time as a "radical element among Quebec critics as the dawn of a new era of liberation, both political and aesthetic".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Usmiani |first=Renate |title=Michel Tremblay |date=1982 |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |series=Studies in Canadian Literature, 15 |location=Vancouver}}</ref>

When ''Les Belles-sœurs'' premiered in Paris, France in 1973 as it was originally written, in ''Joual'', it was met with some initial criticism. One critic described it as difficult to understand as [[ancient Greek]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McEwan |first=Barbara |date=1986 |title=Au-delà de l'exotisme: le théâtre québécois devant la critique parisienne, 1955–1985 |journal=Theatre History in Canada / Histoire du théâtre Canada |language=fr |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=134–148}}</ref> Tremblay responded, "a culture should always start with speak to herself. The ancient Greeks spoke to each other".<ref name="Les Belles-soeurs"/> {{Verify quote|date=August 2021}} The popularity of the play has since caused it to be translated into multiple languages,{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} raising controversies in the translation community over retaining the authenticity of ''Les Belles-sœurs'' even when not performed in the original dialect of ''Joual''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Malone |first=Paul |date=2003-01-01 |title="Good Sisters" and "Darling Sisters": Translating and Transplanting the Joual in Micheal Tremblay's Les Belles-Soeurs |url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/TRIC/article/view/7065 |journal=Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théâtrales au Canada |language=en |issn=1913-9101}}</ref>

Writing in ''Joual'' gave Tremblay an opportunity to resist cultural and linguistic "imperialism" of France, while signifying the secularization of Québec culture.<ref name="Dunnett">{{Cite journal |last=Dunnett |first=Jane |date=2006 |title=Postcolonial Constructions in Québécois Theatre of the 1970s: The Example of ''Mistero buffo'' |journal=Romance Studies |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=117–131 |doi=10.1179/174581506x120082 |s2cid=143556398}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anglicism]]
* [[Association québécoise de linguistique]]
* [[Basilect]]
* [[Bilingualism]]
* [[Canada]]
* [[Canadian French]]
* [[Canadien (disambiguation)]]
* [[Chaouin]]
* [[Chiac]]
* [[Cockney]]
* [[Demographics of Quebec]]
* [[Franglais]]
* [[French Canadian]]
* [[French Canadians]]
* [[French language in Canada]]
* [[Language contact]]
* [[Language planning]]
* [[Languages of Canada]]
* [[Linguistic description]]
* [[Magoua]]
* [[Mixed language]]
* [[Mockney]]
* [[Post-creole continuum]]
* [[Quebec (disambiguation)]]
* [[Quebec English]]
* [[Quebec French]]
* [[Quebec French lexicon]]
* [[Quebec French phonology]]
* [[Quebec French profanity]]
* [[Quebecer (disambiguation)]]
* [[Québécois people|Québécois]]
* [[Sociolinguistics]]
* [[Standard French]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Joual Article on ''Joual'' at Canadian theatre]
* [http://www.nou-la.org/ling/1973a-joual.pdf Article on ''Joual'' in ''La Linguistique'' journal]
* [https://www.angelfire.com/pq/lexique/lejoual.html A few excerpts of texts in ''Joual'']
* http://www.yorku.ca/paull/articles/1990h.html
* http://www.yorku.ca/paull/articles/1992.html
* http://www.yorku.ca/paull/articles/2004b.html

{{French dialects by continent}}
{{Gallo-Romance languages and dialects}}

[[Category:Quebec French]]
[[Category:Culture of Quebec]]
[[Category:Languages of Canada]]
[[Category:Oïl languages]]
[[Category:Slang]]
[[Category:Sociolinguistics]]
[[Category:Language varieties and styles]]
[[Category:Working-class culture in Canada]]