Linguists at the University of Montreal have begun collecting hundreds of everyday conversations from residents across the city. The recordings are intended to document how spoken French is changing in Montreal.
Researchers have observed that the traditional rolled "r" is being softened or omitted, and that speakers are increasingly incorporating English verb forms. They also note a rise in the filler "du coup" in casual speech.
The project aims to capture these rapid linguistic developments as part of a broader effort to understand the evolution of the local French dialect.