Francophone Maine

[Last1Standing]

Originally Posted by Acajack

These are all words we might use, though not in that specific phrasing!

"Tabernouche de tabourouette de c'est pas les patates"---Sorry, I corrected one error. :-) But yes, this is all one expression. You would use it if you looked out your window and saw a spaceship landing in your yard. Or if you hit your thumb with a hammer.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Last1Standing

"Tabernouche de tabourouette de c'est pas les patates"---Sorry, I corrected one error. :-) But yes, this is all one expression. You would use it if you looked out your window and saw a spaceship landing in your yard. Or if you hit your thumb with a hammer.

As I said, I know "tabarnouche de tabarouette" and a bunch of expressions with "les patates", but this specific formulation means nothing to me.

Perhaps it's extremely old, though I have 50+ years of life experience and exposure in francophone Canada, both living myself and lots of relatives who are Acadien, Québécois and Franco-Ontarien.

[Last1Standing]

Originally Posted by Acajack

As I said, I know "tabarnouche de tabarouette" and a bunch of expressions with "les patates", but this specific formulation means nothing to me.

Perhaps it's extremely old, though I have 50+ years of life experience and exposure in francophone Canada, both living myself and lots of relatives who are Acadien, Québécois and Franco-Ontarien.

I learned this expression from a woman from somewhere around St-Georges, I believe. She was from an old Quebec farming family. She is about 70.


Some fun videos about Quebec French (accents, history)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klV1xvbUCtw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyf8tz_IoyQ


Celine Dion in 1998: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l6uXXMVnQU
She is from Charlemagne, which is a few miles north of the island of Montreal.



Here Celine changes her accent a bit for an interview in France: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x6ezHzWPDU

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Last1Standing

I learned this expression from a woman from somewhere around St-Georges, I believe. She was from an old Quebec farming family. She is about 70.

]

It could be something like "tabarnouche de tabarouette, t'es dans les patates", which loosely translated would mean "gee-willikers, you're cluless" or "gosh darn-it, you're out to lunch".

[Suesbal]

I guess about the only place in the US where French-speaking people can be correctly assumed to be from Quebec is south Florida.

[countrylv22]

Originally Posted by Last1Standing

I learned this expression from a woman from somewhere around St-Georges, I believe. She was from an old Quebec farming family. She is about 70.


Some fun videos about Quebec French (accents, history)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klV1xvbUCtw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyf8tz_IoyQ


Celine Dion in 1998:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l6uXXMVnQU
She is from Charlemagne, which is a few miles north of the island of Montreal.



Here Celine changes her accent a bit for an interview in France:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x6ezHzWPDU

Thanks for the links, videos! I appreciate it!

Whenever I have stayed, driven through different parts of Maine, I have heard people speaking French (coffee shops, restaurants, gas stations, stores, etc.) It was quite normal.
Pretty cool!