The Different Accents Between Regions in France
How come that guy at the Sunday market doesn’t talk like your French teacher? Find out everything there is to know about French regional accents
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1. A brief history of French regional accents2. How to recognize French regional accents?ConclusionHere are some FAQs about French Regional AccentsIf you have ever traveled in France outside of Paris or watched a movie set in the provinces, you might have noticed that a lot of French speakers do not quite sound like what you are used to.
France is home to dozens of different regional accents, each linked to the culture and history of the area they originate from.
Here is everything you have ever wanted to know about French regional accents!
Today we will learn about the different French accents!
1. A brief history of French regional accents
A. A crash course in French linguistics
France might be proud of its unity now, but it has not always been the case.
Like many other European countries, France was once made up of different smaller regional entities, governed by powerful lords, with their own history and culture.
The kingdom of France in the north of the country felt very far away in a time where the average person would likely not go much further beyond the borders of his or her village during his or her lifetime.
Each region had its own language.
Two large Romance-language groups were named after their word for “yes”: the Oc and Oïl languages.
The “Oc” languages were spoken in the south of the country, under a line going roughly from Bordeaux to Grenoble.
Although those provinces were governed by different rulers, the area was relatively unified on a linguistic level thanks to the medieval traveling troubadours, most of them using Oc languages.
By transporting arts and songs while roaming the south of the country as they were lavishly received from one court to the next, they promoted a common culture as well as a common language.
The “Oïl” languages were spoken in the north. French developed from one of these varieties. As Paris (an Oïl city) slowly established itself as the cultural as well as political capital of the country, French as we know it spread through the rest of the nation, starting with the elites.
However, France also has languages outside these two groups. Some, such as its Germanic varieties, reflect longstanding contacts across areas where the borders shifted back and forth:
- Some regional languages in the northeast, including Alsatian and Francique, have Germanic roots.
- The Franco-Provençal language spoken in the southeast and east belongs to neither the Oïl nor the Oc group.
Other languages reflect the different ethnic origins of their speakers:
- Breton, spoken in Brittany in the northwest of France, is a Celtic language.
- Basque, which is spoken in the southwest of France and the north of Spain, is a linguistic oddity and a bit of a mystery.
B. How France started to speak French
French did not become the dominant one overnight.
French developed and became standardized over several centuries. In 1539, the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts required French instead of Latin in legal acts of the kingdom’s administration and courts.
As education became more accessible, more and more people started to speak French in addition to their native regional dialect.
It was in the 1880s that the government really started to impose French as the one and only language on its territory.
Primary education became compulsory, with French as the language of instruction. Regional languages were often discouraged or punished at school. Over time, many rural families shifted from a regional language to French.
The movement accelerated with the first World War as young men found it to be the one common language with fellow soldiers from different regions.
By the 1950s, regional languages had lost ground, but they had not disappeared. Many continued to be spoken, while regional accents in French remained strong.
C. Regional languages and accents today
In more recent years, regional languages have made a comeback.
Many high schools offer classes in the regional dialect, you can find publications and radio shows promoting them, and they are recognized as culturally significant.
By extension, many people take pride in their regional accent and how it marks them to outsiders as associated with one French region or another, its culture and its history.
However, other people’s perception of regional accents is a more complicated matter. For some, it is seen as exotic and sexy (Southern accents are particularly popular).
But regional accents are often mocked, imitated and generally discarded as uneducated and small-townish.
Linguistic discrimination is alive and well: in October 2018, politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon was called out on national television for belittling a journalist with a southern accent.
Standard French has been normalized in the media and on television for the most part (sports commentary, especially rugby, are the exception) and most public speakers, such as teachers or politicians often work on erasing any leftovers from their native regional accents.
However, you will still encounter them frequently if you travel around France.
2. How to recognize French regional accents?
There are dozens of regional accents, each with their own particularities.
For this introduction, we will look at six broad regional groups; this is not an exhaustive classification of French accents.
Check out this video for starters:
These external videos are examples of the accents discussed below. Some original uploads may be unavailable or require YouTube sign-in; the written explanations remain available here.
A. The Southern accent
The Southern French accent can be heard in the south of France, in areas where Occitan varieties, including Provençal, have been spoken and are still used.
Marseille, in particular, is known to have a recognizable regional accent.
It became extremely popular in France due to the movies directed by Marcel Pagnol and has since been used extensively on television, often in a caricatural context like reality-tv shows.
Main differences between Southern French accent and standardized French:
- The “e” that is often silent in other accents is pronounced more frequently, including at the end of words. This varies by speaker and context; it does not mean every written letter is sounded out.
- The pronunciation of “ai”, “é” and “è” often depends on syllable structure: an open syllable tends to have an “é” sound, while a closed syllable tends to have an “è” sound. Nasal vowels such as “an”, “in” and “on” may end with a nasal consonant, often an “ng”-like sound, rather than an ordinary “g”.
- People with a southern accent tend to use a large number of interjections, many of them derived from Provençal: “Té!”, “Oh fan!”, “Qué”…
This iconic scene from Marcel Pagnol’s movie Marius introduces three characters with a strong Southern French accent and one (turning his back to the camera) with a Parisian accent:
In the video clip below, you can hear some speakers with a Southern French accent nowadays.
B. The Southwestern accent
The Southwestern accent, which developed under the influence of Occitan varieties around Toulouse, is popular in France and is often described as attractive.
It is often described as “singing”. It shares features with other Southern accents; some traditional features, such as a rolled “r”, may remind listeners of Spanish or Catalan.
Main differences between Southwestern French accent and standardized French:
- As with other Southern accents, the usually silent “e” is pronounced more often. Its presence still varies with the speaker and the surrounding sounds.
- Some Southwestern speakers, especially in older or traditional varieties, use a rolled “r” similar to the Spanish sound. Many others use the back-of-the-mouth “r” heard in reference French, and rolled “r” also occurs outside the Southwest.
- The main local interjection is “boudu” which can loosely be translated as “Good God!” and comes from Occitan.
Older generations usually have stronger accents than younger ones, often due to the fact that they grew up in a bilingual environment where regional languages were spoken daily. You can clearly hear the “r” sound in the video clip below.
Although his accent is not quite as strong, Jean-Michel Aphatie was one of the few journalists on national television with a regional accent. Listen to him below.
C. The Parisian accent
Parisians might tell you that they do not have an accent.
Everyone has an accent. Parisian speech may sound familiar because it has helped shape the prestige pronunciation associated with reference French, but Parisians do not all speak alike. You can still sometimes hear a Parisian “Titi” accent, especially among older generations who grew up in working-class neighborhoods.
Main differences between Parisian accent and standardized French:
- In casual Parisian speech, speakers often omit the usually silent “e” and sometimes “l”, as in a shortened “il”. These reductions also occur outside Paris.
- The traditional Parisian “Titi” accent is associated with marked nasal vowels and expressive lengthening. In reference French, the main stress generally falls on the last pronounced syllable of a rhythmic group, rather than every individual word.
This famous scene from Hôtel du Nord with celebrated actress Arletty is typical of the Parisian gouaille associated with old-school Parisian accents.
The original upload of this scene may be unavailable.
However, you can still hear it sometimes in Paris nowadays.
D. The Northern accent
The Northern accent (or the ch’ti accent, as it is known in France), became popular in France after the huge success from the 2008 movie Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis. The Picard accent used in the movie is typical of the regional accents issued from the oïl languages in Northern France.
Main differences between Northern French accent and standardized French:
- Some Picard words have “ch” /ʃ/ where French has “s” /s/, as in “ichi” for “ici”. Others have “qu” /k/ where French has “ch”, as in “cat” for “chat”. In some local varieties, a final voiced sound such as “j” /ʒ/ can become voiceless “ch” /ʃ/. These are word- or context-dependent features, not a rule for replacing every French “ch” or “j”.
- As in other casual French varieties, sounds can disappear, including the consonant “l” in some contexts. A consonant is not itself a syllable.
- Picard has feminine subject pronouns, such as “alle” for “she”. Some articles and object pronouns use the same form for both genders. These features of Picard grammar should not be confused with an accent in spoken French.
This example was chosen to illustrate a strong Northern accent mixed with some Picard language. The original upload may be unavailable.
Do you think you can understand this traditional song?
E. The Northeastern accent
Due to its proximity to Germany and the frequent border changes in the area in the past 500 years, the accent of the Northeast of France, and the Alsace region, in particular, has some strong Germanic influences.
Main differences between Northeastern French accent and standardized French:
- Some traditional Alsatian accents devoice consonants: for example, “j” /ʒ/ may sound like “ch” /ʃ/, and “b” /b/ like “p” /p/. This changes voicing, not volume, and varies by speaker and context.
- Some speakers with a traditional Alsatian accent stress the first syllable of a word. In reference French, the main stress generally falls on the last pronounced syllable of a rhythmic group, not necessarily the last syllable of every word.
- Many words are borrowed from the local dialect, like interjections such as “hopla” or “jo!”
In this video clip, French politician Bruno Studer uses an Alsatian accent to fight against glottophobia (linguistic discrimination):
On a lighter note, this humoristic video includes two speakers with an Alsatian accent.
F. The West-Indies accent
Although the West Indies (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, and Saint-Barthélemy) are not part of the French metropole, they are part of the French territory.
Their unique history is influenced by colonization and slavery. French-based Creole languages, such as those of Martinique and Guadeloupe, developed in colonial contact settings, using much vocabulary of French origin and developing their own grammar. Creole and French influence each other in local speech; the islands do not all share one language or accent.
Main differences between West-Indies French accent and standardized French:
- In some Antillean varieties, “r” can weaken toward a “w”-like sound or disappear, especially at the end of a syllable. Its pronunciation depends on context and speaker.
- Some Creole-first-language speakers may pronounce the oral vowel in “deux” more like “dé”. Pronunciation varies with the speaker and their language background; this is not a rule that turns every nasal “in” into “é”.
To better understand the West Indies regional accent, this video explains some common creole expressions from Martinique.
This speaker from Guadeloupe discusses the cultural identity of regional accents. YouTube may require you to sign in to view this video.
Conclusion
Regional accents are a large part of local French identity despite the widespread standardized French.
Lots of French speakers can easily conceal their native accents in some situations, but if you listen to French natives, you might be able to identify where they come from.
It’s so interesting to learn about the different French accents right?
Here are some FAQs about French Regional Accents
How many regional accents does France have?
There are dozens of regional accents in France. This guide introduces six broad regional groups, rather than an exhaustive linguistic classification.
What is the most commonly spoken accent in France?
Reference French is widely taught and used in public contexts, but it is not identical to every Parisian accent. This guide does not establish which regional accent has the most speakers.
What is a Southern French accent?
Southern French accents are heard in the south of France, where Occitan varieties such as Provençal have influenced local French. The usually silent “e” is pronounced more often than in many northern accents, but its presence varies by speaker and context; not every letter or syllable is always pronounced.
In many Southern accents, “ai”, “é” and “è” follow the syllable structure: an open syllable tends to have an “é” sound and a closed syllable an “è” sound. They are not all pronounced identically in every word.
Many Southern French speakers pronounce nasal vowels with a final nasal consonant, often an “ng”-like sound. This is not simply an ordinary “g” added to every word ending in “an”, “in” or “on”.
A lot of Provençal interjections survived in the accent, including “Té!”, “Oh fan!”, and “Qué.”
What is a Parisian accent?
Parisian French refers to speech in Paris; Metropolitan French refers to French in mainland European France, including many regional varieties. Everyone has an accent, and Parisian pronunciation varies. In casual speech in Paris and elsewhere, sounds and words can be omitted. For those learning French, the negative “ne” is often absent, so listen for “pas”!
Traditional Parisian “Titi” speech can have marked nasal vowels and expressive lengthening. Other Parisian speakers sound different. The vowels “é” /e/ and “è” /ɛ/ also vary according to the word, speaker and context; a spelling such as “-ais” does not define a unique Parisian pronunciation.