Quebec French profanity Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The literal translation of the French verb sacrer is "to consecrate", however in Quebec it is the proper word for the form of profanity used in Quebec French. The noun form is sacre.
Quebecois French uses a number of the same types of foul language as in standard French, dealing with sex and excrement (such as merde, "shit" - in Quebecois sometimes pronounced marde, quite like the Scots say "shite"). However, those are usually rather mild, and stronger profanity is expressed using words from Catholic religion and liturgy.
Here is a list of commonly used words, with their original meanings. Usually, when written, nonstandard spellings are used to represent the forceful pronunciation. The standard spellings are given in parentheses.
- crisse (Christ) - "Christ"
- câlisse (calice) - "chalice", the cup that is supposed to contain Christ's blood
- osti or sti (hostie) - "host", the bread that is supposed to be Christ's body
- ciboâre (ciboire) - "ciborium" or "pyx", the receptacle where hosts are stored
- tabarnak (tabernacle) - "tabernacle"
- sacrament (sacrement) - "sacrament"
- viarge (vierge) - "the Virgin Mary"
- baptême - "baptism"
Usually, more than one of these words is used in an expression. The words are simply connected with de, without any restrictions. Long strings of invective can be concatenated in this way, and the resulting expression doesn't have to have any concrete meaning; for example, Mon osti de saint-sacrament de crisse de câlisse! Non-religious terms may also be strung together in this way, as in mon criss de char est fucké (my damn car is broken/fucked up).
, featuring Jacques Chirac and his wife discussing Quebec French profanity. The title reads: On holiday in Quebec. Chirac's wife Bernadette says: Jacques, why do you always say "calice" and "tabernacle"?]]
French-speaking visitors to Quebec should note that although these usages may seem comical to those who are used to other kinds of profanity, they are strong curse words and should only be used in a very familiar atmosphere or when one actually means to offend.
Interestingly, the word fucké is much milder than "fuck" is in English, and is routinely used in, for instance, TV sitcom dialog. The same goes for shit (which in Quebecois French is used only as an interjection expressing dismay, never as the noun for excrement). Even English-language dialog containing these words can appear on Quebec French-language television without bleeping: for example, when punks rioted in Montreal because a concert by the band The Exploited had been canceled, TV news reporters solemnly read out a few lyrics and song titles from their album Fuck the System. However, the same is not true of Quebec's English-language television stations, which follow the same guidelines as any other stations in Canada or the United States.
A slang term with the preposition en means "a lot of": d'la bouffe en tabarnac (or en crisse, etc.) means "a lot of food".
Most terms in sacre have modified, milder euphemistic forms:
- tabarnak: tabarnouche, tabarslaque, simonac, tabarouette, tobor
- sacrifice or sacrament: sacramouille
- ciboire: cibolle, cibollaque
- câlisse: câline, câlif
- hostie: cristie, titi
The sacres originated in the early 19th century in a time when the social control exerted by the Catholic clergy was increasingly a source of frustration. One of the oldest sacre is sacrament which can be thought of as a Quebecois "goddamn it". It was in use as far back as the 1830s as far as we know. The word sacrer in its current meaning is believed to come from the expression Ne dites pas ça, c'est sacré (Don't say that, it is sacred/holy). Eventually, sacrer started to refer to the thing francophone Quebecers were not supposed to say. This is more than probably related to the 4th commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain", by citing terms and objects related to the church, people were attempting to express their exasperation toward religion by often breaking this commandment.
As a result of the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s, the influence of the Catholic Church in Quebec has declined. This has had no effect, however, on the use of sacre, which is as widespread as ever.
This is an Article on Quebec French profanity. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Quebec French profanity History