Ahhh, Les Chtimi…No, I don’t have a cold and Yes, that IS French, believe it or not. The Chtimi (cutely pronounced shtee’mee) is a moniker for the northern French (the people in the very, very north of France surrounding the city of Lille) and they have a special patois that is so incredibly adorable and weird, oftentimes, I have to admit, that I have no idea what they’re saying. I’m writing this just after having returned from spending lunch with a neighbor and his visiting Chtimi inlaws.

I will have to do a little bit of linguistic and historical research about its origins (when i have some time) because it’s an interesting subject. I wonder if it has something to do with their proximity to the Belgian border, so some Flemish influence plays into this mix. Or perhaps it’s from the large communities of Polish and Italian immigrants who came to the north of France to work in the mines. (the mining industry lasted 270 years and finally ended by 1990 there.)

Back to the Chtimi language. There IS a lot of the SH sound, for example, if someone says, “ça” it sounds like “sha” or more strange is the adding of the sh sound to pere, which transforms into chpere (pronounced shpehr). Other examples would be the word “beau” which turns to “bieau” (bee-oh); An alambic = cafetiere, a cayelle = chaise, tchiot (pronounced CHO) = petit, bistouille = alcool avec le café, acater (akahtay) = acheter. It’s unusual.

There’s a saying in France about the northern French that I find very sweet and based on my own experiences, very true: Les gens du nord ont le soleil dans le coeur. (The people in the north have the sun in their hearts). That goes with the fact that it rains a lot in the north, nevertheless, are a very warm hearted people. There’s even a song about Les gens du Nord

The most famous Chtimi I could find doing an online search, is the entertainer, Dany Boon (pictured above). If anyone knows of more, please let me know.