What is the right French Canadian accent for your voice-over project?
- Élise Deschênes
- 13 mars
- 3 min de lecture
Dernière mise à jour : 19 mars
What are we talking about when we talk about Canadian French?
Francophone Canada is rich in linguistic diversity, with several regional accents that reflect the history and culture of French‑speaking communities across the country. The two main and most widespread varieties of French are Quebec French (also known as Laurentian French) and Acadian French.
Quebec French is spoken in Quebec, but also in other provinces, notably in Ontario and in French‑speaking communities in Western Canada. However, we can distinguish the Franco‑Ontarian accent, the Franco‑Manitoban accent and the Franco‑Albertan accent. Moreover, even within Quebec itself, we can hear different (and very lovely!) regional accents. In Gaspésie, for example, certain words are not pronounced the same way as in Montreal or Saguenay.
Acadian French is distinct from Quebec French and is spoken throughout the Maritime provinces, but especially in New Brunswick.
I really love all these different accents, but I wouldn’t want to confuse you too much!
Keep in mind that in the voice-over industry, if your client asks for a VO in Canadian French without giving more details, they are most likely expecting a narration with the standard Quebec accent.
When is it most important to identify the language register and the accent required for the narration?
As a narrator, I would say that most of the time, the nature of the project, the way the text is written and its content already provide good clues about the desired style and accent.
Identifying the language register and accent with more precision becomes crucial when:
You are addressing a very specific audience. To remain authentic and connect effectively with your audience, choose a narrator who has the accent of that region (for example, the Acadian accent in New Brunswick).
You need to ensure accent consistency because several artists are working on the same project. Imagine a three‑voice dialogue where each person speaks with a different accent or register! The ideal approach is to give precise instructions, ideally with an audio example, or to allow the artists to listen to the work of the other voices involved to ensure coherence, unless your concept is intentionally based on accent diversity. (As a small anecdote, I once worked on a dubbing project where I was asked to speak in Quebec French, only to be asked a few days later to do it in normative French instead! Let’s just say the result would have been rather mediocre if some actors had been dubbed in normative French and others in Quebec French. In fact, I hear this quite often in AI‑generated video dubbing, but that’s another story...)
You want to build a connection with your audience and represent your product appropriately. In general, you wouldn’t use very familiar Quebec French to convey medical or legal information, for example, nor very formal French to sell an everyday product (unless it is part of a specific advertising concept that requires it).
Summary of the main varieties of French used in narration in Quebec
Standard Quebec French: This is the French most commonly heard in Quebec media. Subtle variations are possible, and the accent can be more pronounced or slightly relaxed. It is the register generally used in advertising, corporate videos, online training and voicemail messages. (As a French Canadian voice artist, this is the type of French I use most often at work, and the one you’ll hear in most of my demos.)
Familiar Quebec French: This is everyday French, more relaxed, natural and conversational. It is used in informal contexts and can even lean toward joual. The text is adapted for spoken language, simplified and includes contractions. In narration, it is mostly heard in dialogue contexts and sometimes in advertising.
Normative or international French: This French aims to avoid regional accents in order to be neutral, clear and accessible to a wide French‑speaking audience. It is often heard in films (Quebec dubbing is done in normative French) and in documentaries.
If you are interested in the history of evolution of French in Canada and its phonetic specificities, here are some resources (in French):
