Hello-
My boyfriend and I are going to Paris at the end of May. We are both very excited about our trip. We both took 4 years of French in high school and can barely remember anything besides the usual: bonjour/soir, au revoir, si%26#39;vous plait, merci and etc. We do plan to use those phrases frequently and always conduct us in a respectful, courteous manner.
His brother recently told him (his brother went to France with his Algerian girlfriend 7-9 years ago) that when attempting to communicate with locals in France/Paris, we must pronounce everything just right and practially beg/grovel if we want a response, otherwise we%26#39;d either be laughed at or completely ignored. My boyfriend also heard something similar on a radio program.
Now, am I being naive to think that as long as I try and make an effort in French, even with my bad pronounciation, will be better than not trying at all? I know what his brother experienced may be an isolated incident and everyone is different but I am interested in hearing what the %26quot;experts%26quot; of TA have to say.
Merci beaucoup!
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I think when going to any country its polite to try to speak their language instead of assuming they speak your.
I spoke my broken french in Paris and was responded to in English. Same thing happened in Germany but to me, its better than rolling in somewhere and assuming they speak my langauge.
Just try it, you%26#39;ve got nothing to lose :)
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My experience (after 9 visits) is that you have a 99% chance of being appreciated for your efforts *, and a 1% chance of being scoffed at.
* %26#39;appreciated%26#39; doesn%26#39;t necessarily mean anyone will comment or compliment you outright, but it does mean your transactions will be more pleasant and rewarding
Story: our last trip we ate dinner at a caf�� in the area by our hotel in the 14th... my husband is hopeless at French - the waiter (who spoke English also) says %26quot;use French, say eet een French!%26quot; My husband places his order in horribly fractured French, then the waiter exclaims %26quot;your French ees teeerrible!%26quot; and we all laughed. He was quite playful and hollered out as we left, %26quot;a bientot!! that%26#39;s %26quot;see you later%26quot; !!%26quot;...
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Midrorigal,
May I suggest your local Pasadena Public Library, a search on their online catalogue produced a long list of books, cds, tapes etc. it would be a good place to refresh your high school French. You have two moths to pratice and it is free.
You are not being naive and you do have the good attitude in believing that as long as you are making an effort you will be fine. Do not worry so much you will be a tourist not negociating trade agreements between U.S. of America and France
As far as your brother%26#39;s boyfriend experience it is difficult to judge, since obviously I was not there, but it is beyond me that an Algerian women could not be understud in Paris! All the Algerians I have meet speak fluent French. May I also suggest that your boyfriend start listening to a different radio station, they obvious are not informing him well.
As French speakers we are raised to not only like our language but to adored her. One of the way French people judge their politicians is how great an intellectual he is, how many books has he written etc... and by the number of mistakes they might make in the national dictation, so culturally there is a large difference. That said we always appreciate when a non-native make an effort, so do not be afraid to used the French you know. Bon voyage.
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%26quot;One of the way French people judge their politicians is how great an intellectual he is, how many books has he written etc... and by the number of mistakes they might make in the national dictation%26quot;
Oh boy, are we in trouble here (tongue in cheek). But seriously, I have learned here in Miami when I was starting to use my high school Spanish 20 years ago, that attempting to use another%26#39;s language in order to communicate is very polite and always appreciated, no matter how much I butchered the language.
I have bought the Michel Thomas CD%26#39;s suggested by someone on this board, and they are excellent. I%26#39;m really learning the basics of communication, but my accent?.. tres tragique :(
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My experiences are like the ones travelnutty outlined above.
You do get credit for making the attempt and sometimes a playful waiter may, good-naturedly, comment on your dreadful french. I was at a brassiere on rue des ecoles, known for its colorful wait staff, and tried ordering in French. I must have really butchered it. The waiter shut his eyes, shook his head, and with completely exasperation said %26quot;WHAT?%26quot; I pointed to the item and on the menu and said, in English %26quot;how would YOU say it%26quot; He pronounced it. %26quot;Hey,%26quot; I laughed, %26quot;I was pretty close.%26quot; He laughed too and we had a very pleasant meal.
I%26#39;m trying to think about the percentages. I%26#39;ve toted up that we%26#39;ve spent 35 nights in 5 trips to Paris the last 3.5 years. I figure each day may consist of 40-60 human transactions: i.e. buying an apple from a grocer = 1 transaction; buying carnet of metro tickets=1 transaction; lunch might be several transactions: greeting, seating, ordering drinks, ordering food, ordering coffee, asking for the check, saying goodbye.
So all in all I%26#39;ve had 1500-2000 transactions in Paris and my %26quot;french%26quot; is as you say %26quot;bonjour/soir, au revoir, si%26#39;vous plait, merci etc%26quot; and some menu items. I%26#39;m hard pressed to recall 15-20 negative experiences. So the 1% figure is pretty accurate. A little effort, a little french, a little politeness, and a sense of humor is all you need.
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I have the worst time pronouncing %26quot;je voudrais%26quot;.....and I had about 10 years of french during grade school and high school and I still cannot pronounce this phrase without it sounding like I%26#39;m mangling the language!
Could someone please give me a phonetic pronunciation lesson??
Thanks!! 20 days and counting.....
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Bonjour Canuck,
Je voudrais bien mais sans un micro c%26#39;est difficile ! Try to read the following as a English speaker :
zher voo-dray it work perfectly for my English hubby. If you have the time come and practice at slowtalk.com
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Thanks Lucky! I think I was trying too hard to get that %26quot;rolling R%26quot; in there.....I guess I don%26#39;t have to worry about it!!
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Don%26#39;t let anyone discourage your from attempting to speak French in France.
Think about it like this. If someone comes up to you in San Fransisco and says %26quot;Me Loost, Ver eh Goden Gate Parks%26quot; you would instantly understand that this person is not fluent in English, is lost and is trying to get to the Golden Gate Park. You would be kind and try to direct them, speaking slowly, and using lots of hand motions. You would not be insulted that they butchered your language or rude to them--you wouldn%26#39;t walk away without trying your best too assist them.
The same person comes up to you and says. %26quot;Jeg taper. Hvor er Gyllen portPark?%26quot; You look at them with with a bit of blank stare and you don%26#39;t know what they are saying as you do not know any Norwegian. They say it louder and slower. You tell them you are sorry you cannot help them. They walk away wondering why were so rude as to not direct them to the Golden Gate park.
I found everyone, even people in remote villages in the south of France who spoke NO English to really appreciate our butchered attempts at speaking French. They did their best to figure out what we were saying and to be helpful to us.
Get some tapes and listen to them--you have time to brush up and at least practice the basic greetings. In Paris you will find many ( probably about 95%) speak quite a bit of English and many enjoy helping you speak french.
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Heading out for our fifth trip to Paris, and we have never been ridiculed by our small bit of French. Most everyone speaks English pretty fluently and if you just say the main things, greetings, thank you, goodbye, etc. they will reply in English and think nothing of it. Hope all of these postings ease your mind. We, too, are going back the end of May. If you want any info, I have some great notes of my own that I%26#39;d be glad to send you...
Email me at vickisfloyd@hotmail.com if you want them.
Have a great time...see you there!
