Help finding the meaning of Quebecian slang word!!!! Thread poster: needhelp
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Hi, my teacher always says a couple of words when he is angry. He speaks english, however whenever he gets angry he says 2 or 3 words that are not pure quebecian but slang quebecian. So i asked him what they meant. he told me if i found out what they meant he would give me a bonus mark. However, he refused to repeat what he said out loud.This was all i managed to hear: steekka (other word unknown) = what does that mean in english???? thanks for help | | |
A wild guess... | Nov 19, 2009 |
...He might have been saying "hostie de calice", which pronounced really fast would probably sound as "steka"; the fragment "lice" woth be missing in the part you heard, though. What is interesting to know is that most Quebec curse words are related to the Catholic religion. It is like a kind of backlash. Quebec society was extremely religious until the "Revolution Tranquile" of the 60s. Then, the words that used to be sacred, such as the eucaristic wafer (hostie), the chalice (ca... See more ...He might have been saying "hostie de calice", which pronounced really fast would probably sound as "steka"; the fragment "lice" woth be missing in the part you heard, though. What is interesting to know is that most Quebec curse words are related to the Catholic religion. It is like a kind of backlash. Quebec society was extremely religious until the "Revolution Tranquile" of the 60s. Then, the words that used to be sacred, such as the eucaristic wafer (hostie), the chalice (calice), the place where the wafers are kept (ciboire), and other religious symbols like the tabernacle ("tabarnac"), and the sacraments ("sacrement") started to be used as curses as a way, I suppose, for them to reject the religion that had been so oppressive to them for so many years. Sometimes, the words are twisted so as to avoid pronouncing the full word. I had friends who used to say "sacre bleu" (which also comes from a character in a French comic stripe, Tintin) or "sac a papier" instead of "sacrement". This is surprising to a certain extent for people who are not familiar with the Quebec culture, but after thinking of it for a while, it is no different from other societies. For instance, in Mexico, the worst curse words are always related to the mother of the person who is being insulted, and this must be because the figure of the mother is so revered in the Mexican culture. Now you have something to tell your teacher, see if he gives you the bonus mark, and let us know!
[Edited at 2009-11-19 13:20 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | |
Aguas, your answer really impresses me and made me laugh out loud!! I would also got with "ostie de câlice". I use a couple a those words sometimes, including when I see a translation offer at 0,02 $))) | | |
Thank you, Josée | Nov 19, 2009 |
I wonder what was the part that impressed you, and what was the part that made you laugh | |
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For someone who lives in Bresil, you have a pretty good knowledge of the Quebec culture. Plus, I liked your guess, It was not obvious)))
[Modifié le 2009-11-19 13:54 GMT] | | |
NancyLynn Canada Local time: 09:22 Member (2002) French to English + ... Moderator of this forum
My first thought was "en tous cas", "in any case", "anyway". But if he's angry... it's probably those religious swear words referred to above. Quebeckers often chain these words together, depending on the extent of their anger! And the language is known as Quebecois (not Quebecian, which is not a word.) Hope you get your bonus points! | | |
avsie (X) Local time: 14:22 English to French + ...
Pronounced very quickly: 'stie d'câliss' Could very well be what he said! | | |
I agree on the "ostie de câlice"... my boss used to say it all the time, especially when slamming the phone down | |
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Were we correct? Did you surprise your teacher? Did you get the bonus mark? | | |
trado1999 Local time: 09:22 English to French
Aguas de Marco wrote: Hostic is a deformation of Hostie, which is a sacred word. And « là » puts emphasis on the fact that your teacher is probably fed up with something... Were we correct? Did you surprise your teacher? Did you get the bonus mark?
[Edited at 2010-02-06 05:33 GMT] | | |