The French Language

[JediRage]

Disclaimer: This thread is absolutely NOT meant to be abusive about this particular language or the people who speak it natively.

Now, that we have this out of the way. Lets talk about the quirks of this language. I've studied this language for approximately a year or so (not continuously) and I still can't get a grip on it. I can read it, vaguely speak and write in it but I cannot, for the life of me, understand when French is being spoken by native french speaking people. It's so frustrating because I feel I should be able to understand what's being spoken but I just can't.

My main problem is that syllables sound so similar. Like -ais, -et, -ai etc. etc., you catch my drift. It's just impossible if the guy means allez or aller etc. etc..

And please don't take this badly, but since it's such a guttural language, do you get showered by spit when talking to a French person? Just the way the syllables are made twists the mouth in funny ways.

I mean no disrespect, and please be civil.

 

[lbsf1]

Some people get languages some don't.

I'm good at maths and Science but can't get my mind around languages. After 5 years of doing French I still hadn't learnt much and now after a year not doing it I don't remember any.

Do you need to do a language? what level are you doing it at.

If you are from the uk it is a common missconception that you need a language gcse to get into uni however only the very highest courses at the very top uni's actually say you need to.

 

[JediRage]

No, I did two French courses in University and a small course before joining it. It just occurred to me while watching the Wigan vs Man Utd game (which was being commentated by French guys, online stream and all) that it was just impossible to make out a phrase or a successive bunch of words.

Just an impulse thread creation.

 

[lbsf1]

No, I did two French courses in University and a small course before joining it. It just occurred to me while watching the Wigan vs Man Utd game (which was being commentated by French guys, online stream and all) that it was just impossible to make out a phrase or a successive bunch of words.

Just an impulse thread creation.

Ah right, Just wondered whether you were studying for a qualification.

Our french teacher kept on about how after you learn a language you never learn it but that as you and I have found is complete b-s.

Also it doesn't help the french speak so fast.

 

[JediRage]

Also it doesn't help the french speak so fast.

I know. It's like doing complex chord progressions on guitars on a very fast beat. And sometimes chords sound the same too.

 

[anominus]

Im 14 and taking french as a GCSE. I find it quite hard.

 

[lbsf1]

Im 14 and taking french as a GCSE. I find it quite hard.

God save you .

Some people get on with languages some don't, but a usefull skill to have.

 

[Crash]

Getting French right is hard, especially if they are speaking quickly. There are a lot of nuances that you have to catch.

Try paying more attention to the subject instead, is it je? il? vous? That will tell you more about who's doing the action. In present tense, the verb will generally be conjugated, plus aller is one of the weird non-standard conjugated verbs, so depending on the conjugation. Another thing is that the conjugation on the verb will almost always indicate the tense. Also, I don't know if your teacher has taught you this, but there are certain dropped sounds and rules that aren't apparently; for example, when a word starts with a vowel and the previous word ends with an s, a liaison is done, where you pronounce the s as a z and drag it across the two words. For example, les amis is pronounced leszzzamis. Ask your teacher about these rules, that will help you understand spoken French better.

One thing though, my experience is that French is should be spoken with the tip of the tongue rather than with the back of the throat. With that, I don't see where it's really gutteral and spitting?

From what it sounds like, don't worry about not understanding spoken French very well, especially since you've only been studying it for a year. It took me roughly 2-3 years in foreign language class to get it down so that I can speak and understand in a slightly slower than normal pace. One thing that I've found helpful is that find something that is spoken in French (like a speech, not music), and then find the transcript of it, and follow along, that really helps in hearing some of the nuanced sounds and what not. If you keep going with it, as you progress, you'll start understanding more and more.

 

[NickysLuckies]

I'm french-canadian from Montreal with romanian roots, and speaking/reading/writing in French is an easy thing for me since French and romanian both have latin roots.

Funny fact, here in Quebec (the only french province of Canada), people can barely speak and write in French without making hundreds of mistakes in a single sentence (not including immigrants). 3/5 of people here can speak a decent French... and what about writing! 3/4 of people have the writing level of a 5th grader. Worst thing about it is that there is a law (law 101) protecting the French language from being overtaken by English. By that, I mean: everyone has the obligation to attend French schools (exeption for english-canadians), TV ads, newspapers, shop signs, etc., must be written in French.

I could go on and on, but let's see what you think about it.

Edit: Tell yourself that there are plenty of people natively speaking French that make worst mistakes (and more) than you would.

 

[GT_Prologue5]

From my experience, French is very difficult to get past the basic vocabulary. Verbs that end in -er aren't fun, nor is aller (to go), etre (to be), faire (to do), and a lot more. Masculine and feminine isn't fun (Il/Elle, especially using inversions) and le/la/l'/les and everything else is difficult.

Mais, j'aime le parle francais.

I do think however, that English people can actually speak French better than the French can. They add a lot of drawls and carrying/combining words, but when me and my friend Mike speak it's very sophisticate and easy to control. Just my American view of it.

 

[Submerged]

Additionally, with adding a language to something that you know and remember well, it increases your chances of getting somewhere if you are looking for a job abroad. Once you have mastered a (European Language, for example) the other languages in the same region should be relatively simple to learn, as I have been lead to believe.

While learning French, you will also learn the similarities that French and English words have as well.

Best thing to do, for learning French and listening to French accents, is to basically find someone near you who will not mind speaking French to you and being asked many times to explain themselves in English what they actually meant and trying to have a French conversation. Most people should be quite keen to show you their language and how best to speak it in an informal setting.

 

[JediRage]

Try paying more attention to the subject instead, is it je? il? vous? That will tell you more about who's doing the action. In present tense, the verb will generally be conjugated, plus aller is one of the weird non-standard conjugated verbs, so depending on the conjugation. Another thing is that the conjugation on the verb will almost always indicate the tense. Also, I don't know if your teacher has taught you this, but there are certain dropped sounds and rules that aren't apparently; for example, when a word starts with a vowel and the previous word ends with an s, a liaison is done, where you pronounce the s as a z and drag it across the two words. For example, les amis is pronounced leszzzamis. Ask your teacher about these rules, that will help you understand spoken French better.

That is the hard part. I remember the linked words but sometimes that makes it worse when someone speaks it that way because you're trying to listen for two words but end up getting one and confusion ensues. The problem with conjugation also is that many of them sound the same (et, ai, ais, er, ez etc.).

I do think however, that English people can actually speak French better than the French can. They add a lot of drawls and carrying/combining words, but when me and my friend Mike speak it's very sophisticate and easy to control. Just my American view of it.

I've noticed that this is true for many languages. If you study it in a school/college instead of at home, you are going to get a formal tone whereas native speakers may insert a lot of colloquialism and slangs in their speech which can be hard to pick up.

 

[AlexGTV]

French is the only language insults sound so flattering.

 

[dud95]

I'm french-canadian from Montreal with romanian roots, and speaking/reading/writing in French is an easy thing for me since French and romanian both have latin roots.

Funny fact, here in Quebec (the only french province of Canada), people can barely speak and write in French without making hundreds of mistakes in a single sentence (not including immigrants). 3/5 of people here can speak a decent French... and what about writing! 3/4 of people have the writing level of a 5th grader. Worst thing about it is that there is a law (law 101) protecting the French language from being overtaken by English. By that, I mean: everyone has the obligation to attend French schools (exeption for english-canadians), TV ads, newspapers, shop signs, etc., must be written in French.

I could go on and on, but let's see what you think about it.

Edit: Tell yourself that there are plenty of people natively speaking French that make worst mistakes (and more) than you would.

Also, it's not that signs can't be in English and in French; but that if the signs are bilingual, the French text must be at least three times larger to "preserve the language".
Really,if you want to "preserve the language",move to France or at least try to eliminate the excessive amount of slang in Québecois French.

From my experience, French is very difficult to get past the basic vocabulary. Verbs that end in -er aren't fun, nor is aller (to go), etre (to be), faire (to do), and a lot more. Masculine and feminine isn't fun (Il/Elle, especially using inversions) and le/la/l'/les and everything else is difficult.

Mais, j'aime le parle francais.

I do think however, that English people can actually speak French better than the French can. They add a lot of drawls and carrying/combining words, but when me and my friend Mike speak it's very sophisticate and easy to control. Just my American view of it.

-er's aren't that bad, from what I know.
-re's on the other hand, are just frustrating.
Also, you wrote "But,I love the speak French."...
It should be: "Par contre, j'aime parler français" ("mais" is translated as "but";you can't start a sentence with "but")

Les terminaisons de -er ne sont pas si mal, de ce que je sais.
Les terminaisons de -re sont frustrant.
Aussi,vous avez écrit "But I love the speak French"...
Il faut que vous écrivez: "Par contre, j'aime parler français"

Being one of the lucky English Québecers, a site that I often use (for verbs and such) is www.verb2verbe.com . It really helps with the translation of verbs (more understandable than the Bescherelle from an english point of view).

 

[exigeracer]

Anyone who says it's a beautiful language, just have them say:

La precision d'un processus chirurgique.

It sounds like some sort of small animal passing through a printing press.

 

[JediRage]

French is the only language insults sound so flattering.

That reminds me of the Matrix Reloaded scene with Neo and the Merovingian. And my god Monica Bellucci ...

 

[Rykon Zero]

And all this is the reason I chose to write down Germany on my Exchange program choices. My brother, who can catch a language by mere virtue of listening to people speak it, had trouble with French. It took him three years to get fluent. I, with German, am having a grand old time. I am having no trouble understanding how everything works. Can't catch a damn thing from my brother's French, though.