Québécois
From Freepedia
- This article is about the use of the term Québécois in the English language. For the newspaper, see Le Québécois.
In Canadian English, a Québécois (IPA: /keɪbɛkˈwɑ/) is a native or resident of the province of Quebec, Canada, although the term is used most usually to indicate those from the francophone population.
The term may also refer more generally to Quebecers of French-Canadian descent or to Quebec French, a variant of the French language spoken by over 80 percent of Quebec's population. As an adjective, the word refers to Quebec's francophone culture or population.
In French, the word Québécois refers to a native or resident of Quebec or of Quebec City. Its English equivalent is Quebecer or Quebecker (pronounced [kwəˈbɛkɚ] or [kəˈbɛkɚ]), although these terms are used most usually to refer to anglophone or allophone natives or residents of Quebec.
The word can be politically charged, and may mean different things to different speakers. Controversy often results over the word's definition. For example, a person of Haitian ancestry living in Montreal may be considered Québécois because they reside in Quebec, or not Québécois because their ancestry cannot be traced back to New France. Anglo-Quebecers also rarely, if ever, self-identify as Québécois.
The word is featured in the Parti Québécois and Bloc Québécois political party names.
See also
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