ABSTRACT
The difference between Parisian French and the French of the former French African colonies is not so marked; the difference between Parisian French and the French of Quebec is quite another question: accent, vocabulary, figurative expression and syntax are sometimes profoundly different. The defeat of the French at the Battle of the Heights of Abraham in 1759 had the effect of inferiorizing the French-speaking population; there was a social stigma attached to speaking the language of a defeated people. Today the 70,000 native inhabitants constitute ten nations, with different histories, languages and cultures; they fall into two great families: the Algonquiens and the Iriquoiens, the latter being composed of the Hurons-Wendat and the Mohawks. The flag of Quebec bears four fleurs de lys (reminder of the Bourbon monarchy in France) and the white cross on a blue background, which is a reminder of the Catholicism of the Belle Province.
