Canadian French vs French - Bonne Journée I've been to France many times and I would say that in most places such as supermarchés, magasins, and restaurants the employees will say ou . I've recently visited ville de Québec in Canada and I think I was the only person who said this. Do French Canadians not say bonne journée in restaurants or stores? I also came across the word (I think I spelled it right) while in Québec. In my French studies and while in France I don't think I ever came across this word. I've only ever seen les boissons. Is French or French Canadian?

Question

Canadian French vs French - Bonne Journée I've been to France many times and I would say that in most places such as supermarchés, magasins, and restaurants the employees will say <> ou <> . I've recently visited ville de Québec in Canada and I think I was the only person who said this. Do French Canadians not say bonne journée in restaurants or stores? I also came across the word <> (I think I spelled it right) while in Québec. In my French studies and while in France I don't think I ever came across this word. I've only ever seen les boissons. Is <> French or French Canadian?

Answer

Hi,

If French Canadians don't say "bonne journée" then maybe they simply say "bonjour".

"Boisson" is the most commonly used word for beverage/drink in France. The term "breuvage" exists in French although I never use it. To me, it's a drink prepared for specific purposes (magical potion, etc..), it's quite literary or emphatic. In Canada, a "breuvage" is a soft drink.

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Un Loup survient à jeun qui cherchait aventure,
Et que la faim en ces lieux attirait.
Qui te rend si hardi de troubler mon breuvage ?
Dit cet animal plein de rage.

Ce mot n'est pas nouveau, et comme tu peux le constater dans la fable de La Fontaine c'est bien du français.
En l'occurrence en France, on utilise plus volontiers ce mot sous sa forme littéraire, mais ce n'est pas un mot rare pour autant. On retrouve la même racine dans s'abreuver, abreuvoir.
Note que le mot anglais beverage est formé aussi sur cette racine.

Lors de la vague d'immigration canadienne le vocabulaire était le même, mais quelques siècles plus tard ça avait divergé entre France et Canada, et en particulier on trouve dans le québécois plus de mots d'ancien français qui sont aujourd'hui inusités en français courant.

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@Fabian Oh no! I didn't mean it that way. I suppose I wrote my question in a very straight forward way. I've been to Montreal and Québec and I must say that I found everyone to be very nice and polite. In the restaurants I noticed that the waiters/waitresses were incredibly polite even when dealing with nasty tourists. If it wasn't for the weather I probably would have moved to Canada already!

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Does that mean that Canadians are rude? haha :-D