Le Boss des Bécosses
Canadian French is such a lovely, lively language, free from the stuffiness of Continental French, and attached at the hip with Canadian English, itself also a work in progress. And there is no better example of the creativity of the language than boss des bécosses.
Bécosse in Canadian French is literally a backhouse, or outhouse, the privy found at some distance behind rural homes “back in the day”, and still found at a few cottages, campgrounds, construction sites, summer festivals and outdoor rock concerts. In everyday speech, bécosse can simply mean “the john” or washroom.
As so often happens in Canadian French, an English word is picked up, given a French pronunciation and spelling, and introduced into the family. In this example, the common North American word backhouse became bécosse, pronounced more or less midway between bay-KOSS and bay-KUSS.
The word boss is also a perfectly good Canadian French word, again pronounced midway between BOSS and BUSS. It means boss (le patron) but with an edge, an edge from the day when most bosses were from a condescending English elite who expected deference from their francophone workers, “and don’t you forget it”. Boss can be an edgy word.
So while boss des bécosses literally means “the boss of the toilets”, there is a sneering, snickering tone, something like “The Shithouse King”. It’s such a slam that its use has been banned in the Quebec National Assembly.
Languages never stand still. They shift, they adapt, they primp and they transform themselves. It’s not just the words, it’s the story behind the words. And for communicators, knowing the story is half the fun.