Living in Montreal involves communicating in a mix of both French and English, affectionately known as ‘franglais.’ Most residents understand a smattering of both languages, at least at the daily conversation level. But I suspect it’s more than a convenience. Some words simply feel juicier in their native tongue, so we sprinkle them in like a condiment:

• “Check ça” (“Check this out” usually said with pride)
  
• “Gotta run to the dep” (dep = dépanneur = neighbourhood convenience store)
• “Put it là” (there)
• “En tout cas, we need a plan” (In any case, we need a plan)
• “Elle est en burn-out” (She’s on extended exhaustion leave from work)
• “C’est scrappé” (“It’s scrapped” often used to describe a machine that has just died)

Taxi drivers are fantastic sources for these gems: “Oh, come on! Colisse the traffic, c’est focké today!”

Dinner with my Québecois relatives provides more of the same. My brother in law will be rattling along in French, relaying the story of a near altercation between him and another guy, and while I don’t catch every word, it’s clear that tension is escalating.  Then suddenly he’ll burst out with, “Eh woah, c’était too much! Pis j’ai dit dat‘s it, man!” (“Hey, woah, that was too much, so I said that’s it, man!”)

The kids are even better. They have a way of twisting things beyond redemption.

• “Check moi ben aller!” (“Watch me go!”) Usually yelled two seconds before delivering a spectacular dive-bomb into a pool.
•  “Stoole moi pas!” (“Don’t rat on me!” Stooler is a franglais verb, wildly extrapolated from the English “stool pigeon” You can thank Hollywood for that one).

And of course, everyone swears in their non-native tongue: somehow it sounds less offensive to the elders, yet still gets the point across.

Plus, it just sounds cooler.