Parlez vous francais?
On the phone this morning, I was confronted with a language problem. I'm doing research for work and needed to contact a society based in France. Well, I didn't quite know that it was based in France until I was transfered, and the lady on the other end of the line answered with "Bonjour." Then, I panicked.
Having taken two years of French, having parents who insisted on having their children listen and learn French songs, having been to Paris, one would think I could spout a few words such as, "Bonjour, parlez vous anglais?" or at least "Bonjour."
No, no, instead I panic and ask in my perfect American accent, "uh, do you speak English?" Which she did.
I was appalled that I couldn't even say "thank-you," or "goodbye" in French.
So instead I thanked her profusely in my native tongue and hung up.
Many people around the world berate Americans for our lack of foreign language. They claim we are lazy, or stupid, or both. But I would put forth another theory. We are in a very, very large country. Yes, there is Spanish to the south, and French to the north, but unless you live on the border to one of those countries, you really have no exposure to any other language outside of the classroom. Even western Canada only has signs in French, but having been there quite a bit, I never once encountered anyone who really knew much more than me in the way of French.
So I would say, we are not lazy, or stupid. We do speak other languages, albeit, not too well. We don't ever exercise the use of those languages, however. And when put on the spot? We panic and revert to English.
And I'm a terrible speller, so I appologize for my poorly spelt French. I couldn't find a spell checker in French, so I panicked and reverted to English.....
Having taken two years of French, having parents who insisted on having their children listen and learn French songs, having been to Paris, one would think I could spout a few words such as, "Bonjour, parlez vous anglais?" or at least "Bonjour."
No, no, instead I panic and ask in my perfect American accent, "uh, do you speak English?" Which she did.
I was appalled that I couldn't even say "thank-you," or "goodbye" in French.
So instead I thanked her profusely in my native tongue and hung up.
Many people around the world berate Americans for our lack of foreign language. They claim we are lazy, or stupid, or both. But I would put forth another theory. We are in a very, very large country. Yes, there is Spanish to the south, and French to the north, but unless you live on the border to one of those countries, you really have no exposure to any other language outside of the classroom. Even western Canada only has signs in French, but having been there quite a bit, I never once encountered anyone who really knew much more than me in the way of French.
So I would say, we are not lazy, or stupid. We do speak other languages, albeit, not too well. We don't ever exercise the use of those languages, however. And when put on the spot? We panic and revert to English.
And I'm a terrible speller, so I appologize for my poorly spelt French. I couldn't find a spell checker in French, so I panicked and reverted to English.....
posted by ldbug at Monday, October 30, 2006
23 Comments:
I took french in school for about 7 years. I CAN say thank you - merci...umm...yeah. I was going to say goodbye and I just forgot how..
I have never in my adult life needed to speak French. Maybe German, or Spanish, or Hungarian, but never French. It's too bad that I have forgotten all of my Francais..All of those of cheating off of Jeff Stapleton for nothing....
I know, it's sad isn't it? If you don't use it, then it just kind-of fades away...
In France, I really did pretty well speaking to people. I think that was mostly due to the fact that I learned two key phrases "Un vin de rouse, si-vous-plais." and "Le addition, si-vous-plais." (A glass of red wine, please, and the bill please;-)
oh i know. i have lived in areas where speaking spanish, which i took 2 years of in High School, and 2 semesters in college, would have been SOOO beneficial.
I have a bad enough time with vocabulary in English, much less any other language. And speaking it on a regular basis would surely help.
i took french in school and did very well...never had an opportunity to use it since...i am sure i wouldn't understand a thing, now...
Thankfully, I was blessed with parents who taught me German (they were from Germany). I just wish I had more of an opportunity to speak German.
Mel- Yeah, sometimes I think Spanish would've been more beneficial...but still would only have the oportunity to use it maybe a couple times a year.
Dil- I did OK in school, and in Paris, the drunker I got, the better the conversations got, but sober? out of school? no money to travel? yeah, I'm losing it too..
Los- Oo, German, that's cool. I only had one oportunity to experience the lang. in the Munich airport!
I grew up speaking francais, Jason grew up speaking anglais, I teach him words, but he tends to panic also when confronted with it in public.
i have enough trouble just speaking english! when i go on holiday abroad everyone seems to have learnt english, i think schools should teach languages from an early age but only spoken languages its the fact that they teach you how to write it etc that makes it complicated
I dunno, I think unless you have a class/situation where you speak the foreign language every single day, though, it's still a matter of getting out-of-practice.
I agree with you, though, my grasp on THIS language is tenuous enough as it is!! ;-)
Oh, Jay, didn't see you there!! You probably laughed at this post since you speak French!! :-)
Notice, Jay, how I changed the spelling after you commented...;-)
lol, yeah? Well, put a rap song on. We can translate that shit just fine, they can't do that in French.
Oh, I just think it's cute. Jason has this terrible little accent that makes my ears bleed, and I even think that's cute. Plus, spelling in french IS hard, even with a dictionary! Of course, I still make mistakes in english - I misspelled medicine up until 2 years ago, always the french way. Don't tell :)
Ah but the French you learn at school has no relationship whatsoever with real French.
Firstly you must sound bored yet speak at 4 times your normal speed. And it helps if try to clear phlegm from your throat whilst doing so. Thats what I do, and it works for me.
Kim - you are tallented, definately tallented, I still struggle with Rap!! ;-)
Jay - Aw, you're soo sweet! (and I won't tell..shhhhhhh)
Ranter - Ah, good lesson, *ahem*, I'll give that a go..*gurgle* *ahem*
Yeah, dude, I think you're right. Unless you live near the border of a foriegn country, you really have no need for a second language. Of course, I live like an hour or two away from Mexico, and I still dont know the language other than the words, "tortilla" and "salsa." So I bet you can imagine how a conversation with my Mexican grandmother goes...
heh, yeah, I can imagine! Although I'm sure you fare better than me on the phone overseas!!:-)
It really is hard to maintain proficiency of a foreign language without practice, I have to agree! I used to speak German fluently but with no one to practice with I usually can only curse with flair in German :-)
Well, now that is a talent though!!! I've always wanted to be able to swear profusely in another language. I only know 'merde' though and it just doesn't have that harshness of German swearing...
I grew up in Western Canada, studied french from the age of 6 to my second year in University. I can read it without too much problems, write it if I have a dictionary, but speak it? Not a chance. You have to live somewhere and speak the language every day to have a chance.
Yeah, there's definitely a difference in book-learning vs real life! (especially when you're easily startled like I am!)
bonjour. I know some French such as Comment se vas? - means how are you. Tres bien, means very well and oureva- ok I just spelled that the way it sounded but that is good bye. Woot! I remembered some French. But you are definately right, we don't use it so why would we remember how to speak it.
I think the worst is when you're shocked by it! Like, if you go to a place prepared to hear and speak French, it's better, but with little to no practice and the shock of being presented with it...eeek! :-)
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