Parisian French · Standard French
The Paris-area standard of European French. Carried nationally by education and broadcasting; the reference point for most French taught abroad.
Franco-Ontarian
Also known as: Ontario French, Français ontarien
The French of the historic Francophone communities of Ontario, especially around Sudbury, Ottawa, and the Northern shore. Closely related to Quebec French but with stronger English contact features.
Shareable facts
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Franco-Ontarian?
Franco-Ontarian is a dialect of the French language.
Where is Franco-Ontarian spoken?
Franco-Ontarian is primarily spoken in Canada.
Which region is Franco-Ontarian associated with?
Franco-Ontarian is part of the North America region on DialectAtlas.
Is Franco-Ontarian known by other names?
Yes — Franco-Ontarian is also referred to as Ontario French, Français ontarien.
What are the other dialects of French?
French also includes Metropolitan French, Meridional French, Belgian French, Swiss French, Quebec French, Acadian French, Maghrebi French, West African French, Cajun French, Métis French. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other French dialects
See on the atlas →Southern French · Français méridional
The southern French of Marseille, Toulouse, and the broader Occitan-speaking belt. Marked by realisation of mute vowels and a distinct intonation contour.
Français de Belgique
The French of Wallonia and Brussels. Maintains a number of vocabulary and number forms (septante, nonante) that the Paris standard has dropped.
Romand French · Suisse romand
The French of western Switzerland. Like Belgian French, retains older numerals (septante, huitante, nonante) and shows long contact with German-Swiss varieties.
Québécois · Joual
The dominant French variety of Canada. Strongly distinct from European French in vowel realisation, lexicon, and the colloquial Joual register.
The French of the Maritime provinces, especially New Brunswick. Preserves several 17th-century features lost in both Quebec and Metropolitan French.
The French of North Africa, used as a second language across Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. Marked by code-switching with Maghrebi Arabic and Berber.
The French of Francophone West Africa — used in administration, education, and media. Strong contact features from Wolof, Bambara, and other regional languages.
Louisiana French · Français cadien
The French of the Cajun communities of southern Louisiana, descended from 18th-century Acadian settlers expelled from the Maritimes. Endangered, with active revitalisation through CODOFIL and the Louisiana French immersion programme.
Mitchif Français · Prairie French
The French variety of the Métis Nation of the Canadian Prairies. Distinct from Quebec and Acadian French; not to be confused with Michif, the mixed Cree-French language of the same communities.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →126 km away
The Ojibwe variety of Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsula. Distinguished from Central Ojibwe by extensive vowel syncope and a distinct pronoun system.
256 km away
The largest Ojibwe variety, spoken across Ontario, Manitoba, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. An Algonquian language with a continuous oral tradition and recent literary growth.
340 km away
The English of English-speaking Canada. Closer to General American than to British English in most features, but with its own vocabulary and the well-known Canadian raising.
442 km away
An Eastern Algonquian language of the Lenape (Delaware), originally spoken around the lower Hudson, including present-day New York City. The last native-speaker community is the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown in south-western Ontario, where a single elderly first-language speaker was reported in the 2020s alongside a growing circle of second-language learners.
491 km away
A widespread English variety with a coherent grammatical system, including aspectual habitual "be" and the zero copula. Spoken across the African American community throughout the United States.
683 km away
The Cree varieties of Quebec and Labrador, including the James Bay and Atikamekw communities. The Cree dialect cluster with the most active language-revitalisation infrastructure.