I don't understand erlampo's answer. In fact, it seems contradictory.
The ways of language are mysterious and not subject to logic, often enough.
According to my dictionary "Québecois" is also possible, but it prefers the two acute accented version. If one tries to pronounce Québecois, the end sounds to my ear less pleasing and musical, but that's wholly subjective. If the last syllable of Québecois is accented, as it is in French, the force falls on "cois," which might sound like "quoi" and therefore by mildly self-parodic: Québec--quoi?
Il ne fait aucun doute qu'il est d'origine algonquine. Premières orthographes : Quebecq (Levasseur, 1601); Kébec (Lescarbot, 1609), Quebec (Champlain, 1613). En 1632, Champlain décrivait l'endroit comme suit dans ses notes : »... un détroit dans le fleuve, comme le disent les Indiens». Il faisait référence au mot algonquin signifiant »passage étroit» ou »détroit», employé pour désigner le resserrement du fleuve à la hauteur du cap Diamant. Le terme est commun à l'algonquin, au cri et au micmac et a la même signification dans les trois dialectes.
québecois, québécois is an adjective derived from the word “Québec” and preserves the french spelling rules (especially the second - québécois)
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I don't understand erlampo's answer. In fact, it seems contradictory.
The ways of language are mysterious and not subject to logic, often enough.
According to my dictionary "Québecois" is also possible, but it prefers the two acute accented version. If one tries to pronounce Québecois, the end sounds to my ear less pleasing and musical, but that's wholly subjective. If the last syllable of Québecois is accented, as it is in French, the force falls on "cois," which might sound like "quoi" and therefore by mildly self-parodic: Québec--quoi?
But I really don't know.
My guess: It is because the origin of the word.
Québec is an algonquin word
Il ne fait aucun doute qu'il est d'origine algonquine. Premières orthographes : Quebecq (Levasseur, 1601); Kébec (Lescarbot, 1609), Quebec (Champlain, 1613). En 1632, Champlain décrivait l'endroit comme suit dans ses notes : »... un détroit dans le fleuve, comme le disent les Indiens». Il faisait référence au mot algonquin signifiant »passage étroit» ou »détroit», employé pour désigner le resserrement du fleuve à la hauteur du cap Diamant. Le terme est commun à l'algonquin, au cri et au micmac et a la même signification dans les trois dialectes.
québecois, québécois is an adjective derived from the word “Québec” and preserves the french spelling rules (especially the second - québécois)
Because, obviously, Québécois has another syllable and does not require it: Québec.
Because the c is soft...I think...