3 syllables: Que, bec, ois. Stress on Que.
KWEB-uh-swah
/ˈkwɛbəˌswɑ/
Quebecois is pronounced KWEB-uh-swah (/ˈkwɛbəˌswɑ/). It has three syllables (Que-bec-ois), with the stress on "Que". Quebecois refers to a person of Quebec, especially a French-Canadian, or to the French-speaking culture and dialect of Quebec. It can describe people, language, or things associated with Quebec’s French-speaking community. The term is commonly used in discussions of Quebec culture, identity, and regional linguistic varieties.
nounQuebecois refers to a person of Quebec, especially a French-Canadian, or to the French-speaking culture and dialect of Quebec. It can describe people, language, or things associated with Quebec’s French-speaking community. The term is commonly used in discussions of Quebec culture, identity, and regional linguistic varieties.
"The Quebecois community celebrated its winter carnival with music and traditional foods."
"She studied Quebecois history and language to better understand regional publications."
"A Quebecois filmmaker won the international prize for a documentary about Montreal’s neighborhoods."
Pronounce as /kɪˈbɛk-wwɑ/ (approx. US) or /ˌkeɪˈbɛkwwɑ/ in some anglicized references; standard French-influenced pronunciation is /kebɛkwaː/. Stress typically falls on the second syllable: ke-BEC-wah. The final -ois is pronounced roughly as [wa] with a lingering vowel quality. Start with ‘keh’ plus ‘bek’ then glide to a rounded ‘wah.’ For reference, listen to reputable pronunciation resources and note the Canadian French nuance.
Common errors: treating -ois as silent or as /ɔɪs/ as in English ‘ois’; misplacing stress on the first syllable; not rounding the lips for the final /wa/ glide. Correction: emphasize ke-BEC- WA with the final /wa/ lip rounding, and ensure the middle /bɛ/ has a clear short e as in 'bet.' Practice by isolating syllables: ke - be - kwa; then blend smoothly.
US: tends toward /kɪˈbɛk-wɔs/ with slightly flatter vowels; UK: may show more French influence in /ɛ/ vs /æ/ and less rhotacization; AU: can be more anglicized, with reduced vowel duration and stronger diphthongs in the final syllable. In all, the final -ois often becomes /wa/ or /wɔ/ depending on speaker and exposure to French; the accent mirrors how francophone or bilingual the speaker is.
Difficulties include the French-derived vowel /ɛ/ in the second syllable and the French-like final -ois producing a /wa/ glide; the consonant cluster /b/ + /ɛ/ with short, clipped vowel; and the rapid transition between syllables. Avoid English-like /ɔɪ/ or /oɪ/ in -ois; keep lips rounded for the /wa/ glide and maintain a steady, even rhythm to avoid truncating the final syllable.
Is the final '-ois' consistently pronounced as a rounded 'wah' in casual speech, or do some speakers reduce it to a simple 'wo' or 'o' sound? In careful speech, it tends toward /wa/ with rounding; in casual Quebecois usage influenced by English, you may hear reduced, shorter vowels or even a slight /ɔ/ sound. Aim for /wa/ for accuracy in formal and semi-formal contexts.
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Quebecois derives from Quebec, the Canadian province, with the French feminine -oise/ois suffix forming an ethnonym or demonym (similar to English -ese or -an with a gendered variant in French). The root term Quebec itself comes from the Algonquian word kepek or quepec, meaning ‘a narrowing of the river’ or ‘where the river narrows,’ reflecting early Indigenous geography. The adjectival and noun forms developed in the French-speaking setting of New France and persisted through colonial times. In the 20th century, the term gained prominence as a self-identifier among French Canadians and, later, to denote the specific Quebec French dialect. In contemporary usage, Quebecois (masculine) and Quebecoise (feminine) reference people from Quebec or their distinctive cultural/linguistic attributes, sometimes with a socio-political nuance depending on context.
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Words that rhyme with "Quebecois"
-our sounds
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