Well, it should be made clear that the
swear words you learn in
Paris will not help you in
Québec, with the
Acadians or with the
Cajuns. The
French tend to use swear words dealing with
bodily functions or that have
sexual connotations. Here is a list of some of the most common:
- salope (=slut)
- putain (=whore)
- merde (=shit)
- chier (=to shit, verb)
So, a
Frenchman (or woman, for that matter) may indeed swear at you in the following manner:
"Toi, ma putain de salope, tu me fait chier avec tes trucs de merde!
"
Now, the québecois, on the other than, rely mostly on religious material for their swear words, due the early and pervasive influence of the Catholic church. Here is a list of the some of the most common swear words used in Québec:
- tabarnac (=tabarnacle)
- calisse (=chalice)
- hostie (=the host)
- ciboire (=another cup)
- christ (=Christ)
So, a
Quebecker might swear at you in the following manner:
"Hostie! Toi (pronounced 'tway'), mon tabarnac de ciboire de St. Sulpice, tu me fais chier en christ!
"
Finally, the Acadians swear like the Quebecois, but with healthy and regular doses of English thrown in. For example:
"Toi, mon christ, t'est completement fucked up!
"
I regret to say that I can't pronounce myself with any authority on the swearing mores of the Cajuns since I haven't been able to piss one off enough to elicit such an outburst. Or, perhaps I have and I wasn't able to understand what the hell they were saying....