The Québécois accents threw this Mexican immigrant for a loop, so he went back to language school

Eduardo Márquez knew if he was going to come to Montreal for school and eventually call it home, he'd need to dive into language classes.

For years before making the move from Mexico City, he spent time learning English and French. Despite that, it wasn't initially easy to integrate with the language here.

"As anybody who immigrates here will tell you, nothing really prepares you for the Québécois accent," Márquez said.

"Most of us study continental French and we get used to that pronunciation."

So, he went back to language school and combined it with work at a pharmacy.

"It allowed me to get used to the accents, the phrases, the bad words as well, which are pretty funny."

Márquez also notes, it helps his mother tongue is Spanish, which made learning French a bit easier. The languages share the same structures, as Romance languages.

WATCH | CBC's Sarah Leavitt meets Eduardo Márquez to talk language:

This multilingual Mexican dove into language classes and work to improve his French

2 years ago

Duration 1:19

Eduardo Márquez moved to Montreal in 2014, with years of French and English lessons under his belt. He wasn't prepared for the Québécois accent though, so he buckled in for more learning.