And the French spoken at uOttawa perfectly illustrates this phenomenon. Our campus is a miniature version of the international Francophonie. Some 15,000 students attend uOttawa to study in French, and our teaching and support staff members hail from every corner of the world, so the French words and expressions heard on campus are as evocative as they are varied.
It’s this multifaceted Francophonie that we want to celebrate by sharing with you, every day, an expression that highlights a region or country.
During the Mois de la Francophonie, discover this fascinating mosaic through a wealth of vibrant, expressive, colourful and sometimes surprising expressions. From the busy streets of Cotonou, Yaoundé and Kinshasa to the picturesque quarters of Paris and Brussels, from the bustling markets of Dakar and Marrakesh to the sunny beaches of Haiti, the Réunion and Mauritius, from Ontario’s quiet lakes and Quebec’s snowy peaks to the maritime shores of Acadia: each area of the Francophonie represented at the University of Ottawa provides a different linguistic palette to inspire creativity and energy in its speakers.
These expressions, full of poetry, humour and popular wisdom, perfectly illustrate the vitality of the French language and the cultural diversity that characterizes the Francophonie.
The first featured expression, "Manger d'la poule", meaning "to eat chicken", comes from the Ontario's Francophone community, to which Yves Y. Pelletier, Associate Vice-President, Francophonie belongs.
Follow the Office of the Vice-President, International and Francophonie's social media channels: X, LinkedIn, and Instagram, where we'll bring you a new expression every day!