Editing Quebec French (section)

=== Perceptions ===
Sociolinguistic studies conducted in the 1960s and 1970s showed that Quebecers generally rated speakers of European French heard in recordings higher than speakers of Quebec French in many positive traits, including expected intelligence, education, ambition, friendliness and physical strength.{{sfn|Ostiguy|Tousignant|1993|page=27}} The researchers were surprised by the greater friendliness rating for Europeans,<ref name="L'attitude linguistique">[http://wwwens.uqac.ca/~flabelle/socio/attitude.htm ''L'attitude linguistique''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128132643/http://wwwens.uqac.ca/~flabelle/socio/attitude.htm |date=November 28, 2012 }}</ref> since one of the primary reasons usually advanced to explain the retention of low-status language varieties is social solidarity with members of one's linguistic group. François Labelle cites the efforts at that time by the {{Lang|fr|[[Office québécois de la langue française]]|italic=no}} "to impose a French as standard as possible"<ref name="L'attitude linguistique"/> as one of the reasons for the negative view Quebecers had of their language variety.

Since the 1970s, the official position on Québécois language has shifted dramatically. An oft-cited turning point was the 1977 declaration of the ''Association québécoise des professeurs de français'' defining thus the language to be taught in classrooms: "Standard Quebec French [''le français standard d'ici'', literally, "the Standard French of here"] is the socially favoured variety of French which the majority of Francophone Québécois tend to use in situations of formal communication."{{sfn|Martel|Cajolet-Laganière|1996|page=77}}{{refn|Original text: "''Le français standard d'ici est la variété de français socialement valorisée que la majorité des Québécois francophones tendent à utiliser dans les situations de communication formelle.''"{{sfn|Martel|Cajolet-Laganière|1996|page=77}}|group=note}} 

Ostiguy and Tousignant doubt whether Quebecers today would still have the same negative attitudes towards their own variety of French that they did in the 1970s. They argue that negative social attitudes have focused instead on a subset of the characteristics of Quebec French relative to European French, and particularly some traits of informal Quebec French.{{sfn|Ostiguy|Tousignant|1993|page=27}} Some characteristics of European French are even judged negatively when imitated by Quebecers.{{refn|See for example Ostiguy & Tousignant, p. 68, on the perception as "pedantic" of the use of the tense allophones {{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[y]}}, {{IPA|[u]}}, where {{IPA|[ɪ]}}, {{IPA|[ʏ]}}, {{IPA|[ʊ]}} would be expected in Quebec French. "''En effet, l'utilisation des voyelles tendues peut avoir allure de pédanterie à l'oreille d'une majorité de Québécois.''"{{sfn|Ostiguy|Tousignant|1993|page=68}}|group=note}}