The Joual: History and Significance

Introduction

• Discussion about the term "joual"
• The term evokes a typical way of speaking in Quebec
• Origin of the word: phonetic derivation of the word "cheval"

The Origin of Joual

• Difficulty in precisely dating the appearance of linguistic variants like joual
• Often, the dates seen in dictionaries are attestation dates (first written appearance)
• Joual is more complex to date because it is a linguistic variant
• Importance of the conquest and anglicisms

Perception and Naming of Joual

• First use of the term by André Laurendeau in 1959
• Initially perceived negatively
• Comparison with popular language and socio-economic classes

Education Reform in Quebec

• Significant reform in the 60s, before and after the Quiet Revolution
• The Parent Report changed the education system, making education more accessible
• Diastatic variation (socio-economic class) becomes less marked

Joual in Literature

• Joualizing movement introduced by Michel Tremblay
• Use of joual in literary works to represent the working class of Montreal
• Example: "Les Belles-Sœurs", revolutionary for being performed in a classical theater
• Joual represents the voice of the underprivileged classes

Contemporary Joual

• Today, joual refers to familiar Quebec French
• The relationship between joual and socio-economic classes has changed
• Joual is now a language register rather than a diastatic variant

Conclusion

• Importance of recognizing Quebec French as a legitimate variety of language
• Issue with the use of the term joual to refer to familiar Quebec French
• Risk of incomplete and biased perception of the language

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Anne-Marie Beaudoin-Bégin for her presentation
• Encouragement to follow her works and her page "Les Insolences d'un Linguistique"