Here comes the rant!

Actually, partial rant. I shouldn't start about all the cultural differences between Quebec and France, and why they affect our language, thus the games I test and the content in it.

FYI, I'm a Quebecer. A French-speaking one. Québécoise pure laine, as they'd say. "Pure wool Quebecer," female singular.

All you need to know, at this point, is that France French and Quebec French, although using the same grammar, spelling and characters, is pretty much the equivalent between British English and American English. You'll never hear "wanker" said seriously by most Americans, and if so, it might be used for a UK or Aussie mate. The same way you won't hear "criss de tabarnak" spoken by a Frenchman, unless he's in Quebec and trying to make the others laugh with his accent.

Because I have to admit, hearing Frenchmen use Quebec cusswords is funny as hell.

Well, worked with them. I used to be in a localization video game testing team. Used to, because I had to change companies, and my present company has denied me a localization job because I'm not European.

Yep, that's right. My grammar and spelling might be as good as a Frenchman, but I can't do so because I'm not European.

Let's face it, it's a bit insulting. I'm in my own country and I can't do my job. Instead, it's a guy from France who does it, because he speaks a partially different French. And I'm not kidding.

However, I'll admit two things:
1. Game localization, in French, is mostly used in France, as most Quebec gamers are bilingual and don't play much in French because...
2. ... Culture-wise, we're different than Frenchmen.

I have no problem admitting this. We're different when it comes to culture. Quebec is very Americanized for a French-speaking population. Argue all you want about immigration, English in Montreal and the Loi 101, we're still, at base, a French-speaking population. And we have our own culture too. Which differs from France. Here's a good excercice if you want to understand what we're going through when we play a game in French.

You're American? Watch Coronation Street, or a UK stand-up comedian. Yeah. You undestand it, but you wonder what makes it so popular, at a point where you actually don't understand it anymore and tune out. That's what happens for us when we play a game in French. Maybe not that bad, but it still sounds awkward and forced.

Now, the main problem is that 99% of the games available in French were translated for France. It's like you being a huge soap-opera fan, but 99% of the time you fall on Coronation Street-like soaps. You just resort to the 1% that's made for your country, or you watch in your second language, which actually offers the same things you want. It's handy like that.

In other words... it created one hell of a vicious circle. There's little market for Quebec French games because we speak English too, and there's no content available because there's no market.

This being said...

My French may not be the same as a Frenchmen, but I have no problem with asking questions about what's preferable to use there, or simply Google it up. That's what localization is - you're translating and fixing issues for a language, and make sure the target audience gets it. Which is why I'm willing to translate for France.

But, to come back to my ranting point, Company B doesn't WANT this. They don't want people from QUEBEC working in their Quebec office, nope, it has to be Europeans. I even asked the HR manager. To quote her to the best of my memory, "I had to replace a French tester for a Quebecer, for one day only. Head office asked me if the tester was European because of the last name." In other words, not even native French-speaking Quebecers can act as a REPLACEMENT for ONE DAY ONLY.

So I can't do the job I qualify for... because I'm not European. Sure the cultural differences may be awkward at times, but fuck, I have the Internet. I have French friends. I know very well that "Saint-Eustache" wouldn't be used as a probable town name, but rather "Marseille" or "Caen" or "Saint-Aix-Sur-Mer".

I came up with that last one, I have no clue if it really exists. I could Google it up, but I'm off duty.

So I'll just swallow the salary difference and play my games in English, until I make it back into Company A.