Whenever we are in parts of Quebec with a good mix of francophones and anglophones, we like to play a game that we have dubbed Ontario ou Quebec, though in reality it is more just us distinguishing francophones from anglophones, as there are plenty of Quebecois anglophones, as well as anglophones like us who are from other provinces.
The game goes like this:
Step One: Look at a group of people who are travelling towards you.
Step Two: Predict whether they are francophone or anglophone.
Step Three: Wait until you can hear what language they are speaking.
Step Four: Give yourself a pat on the back because it's a game with a pretty low failure rate.
At any rate, Sarah and I were lounging on a pair of deck chairs, not actively playing the game, when she whispered to me, "American."
I turned around to view a large blonde man, speaking rather loudly in English. Since the game is not won until the identity of the person in question is completely confirmed, we pricked our ears to hear any mention of his home.
For about two minutes we waited in vain as he continued to speak loudly in English about nothing in particular. Then, we heard this jewel:
"This is our third time at Mont Tremblant."
The way he said Mont Tremblant rhymed with Want Gem Plant.
Sarah and I high-fived.
After that, it only took him about fifteen seconds to say where in the States he was from. We stayed by the pool all afternoon, so Matt and Sam had plenty of time to talk to him and his children.
When we asked Matt what they talked about, he said, "Oh, nothing much. He was speaking really slowly to me, and then he said, 'You know, you speak really good English.'"
Matt is a monolingual anglophone, so we all thought this was pretty hilarious.
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