French or English, It’s All Greek to Quebec

Souvlaki is souvlaki-in French, English of Greek, Quebec’s language board has ruled. The popular Greek dish got the green light from the Office de la Langue Francaise because it falls under a category of words borrowed from other cultures. But the word hamburger remains a no-no. Hambourgeois- a term coined by the office in the late 1970’s and still not found in standard French dictionaries-is the preferred term.

“The basic reason is that there were 10, even 15 varieties of hamburger appearing on menus, from hot hamburger to cheeseburger and chiliburger,” said Pierre Auger.

To guide Quebeccers, the office has published a glossary of 122 words with its recommendations on which are acceptable and which are not. Brunch and joggeur, for instance, are correct.