Francophone Fridays

Okay, that’s it! I am tired of being left out in the language cold.  I have been living full time in this ‘foreign land’ for almost six months and I’m just not grasping the language. And it’s killing me!  I’m witty, I’m bright, I’m charming, I’m……mute!!!  If I wanted to take a vow of silence I would have joined a nunnery!  Well, no, maybe not because that also involves a vow of celibacy, and that just so ain’t going to happen, but you get the drift.

I have developed some very neat tricks for surviving on this side of the Ottawa River.  The Urbane Lion always introduces me to someone in French.  This means that they assume that I am French. So, now I always address them with a cheery “Hi!” instead of “Salut”.  They look at me in surprise, but do clue into the fact that I’m English.  I listen to French radio, but rely on the Lion to translate any news that is truly interesting or relevant.  And I have discovered that the more wine I drink, the better I am at speaking French.  However, going around in a constant state of inebriation is perhaps not the best.

Anyway, last night was sort of the breaking point for me.  We were invited to the neighbours for a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebration.  I pulled out my “Hi!” trick and there was some attempt to include me in the conversations, as they are all well versed in English. The problem is that nobody can keep it up. They get two or three sentences out, then they all fall back into their native tongue. Every once in awhile the Lion would translate for me, but it’s really not the same as being part of the conversation. 

Okay, that’s it!  Time to get serious, so I am instituting Francophone Fridays.  Every Friday, all communications between the Lion and I will be in French.  This is going to involve a lot of effort on both our parts.  The Lion will have to remember to speak to me in French, and he is going to have to greatly simplify his sentences.  I am going to have to basically write off Fridays as a day when I can actually say anything witty, bright or charming, which I know will frustrate me to death in the beginning. However, I am hoping that the long-term benefits will far outweigh the short-term frustrations. 

So, starting next Friday, because I can’t possibly start this Friday on my vacation, I will be La Femme Française.  And in the meantime, if anyone has any helpful hints on learning a new language, donnez-moi vos suggestions, s’il vous plait.

Comments

[Alex Fayle]

Raul and I only speak Spanish in the house unless he's really tired and can't speak slowly enough and so speaks English. We're lucky because his English is rough so the default is Spanish.

My recommendation would be to speak French in the house only - it'll be very hard on Marc who will want to just say things in English, but if you want to learn, I don't think one day a week will do it.

One thing - Raul is just beginning to speak Spanish on the phone - he usually speaks English because it's much harder to understand on the phone.

Good luck!

[Jacki Hollywood Brown]

Ah, je me souviens... la difficulté d'apprendre une nouvelle langue. Même après quelques années j'ai la misère de m'exprimer avec ma vraie personnalité. Mon truc pour apprendre le français? http://www.druide.com

[Vered]

I would take a few private lessons.. just to get me going.

Thank you for including MomGrind in your Blogroll.

Enjoy your vacation!

[Wendi]

*smirks*

Are your blog posts going to be in French on Fridays as well? (with translations, I hope!)

*winks*

As my kids would say... "good luck with that!"

Wishing you the best,

W

[Urban Panther]

Alex - bearing in mind you did take several months of immersion first. However, I agree the only way to learn it is to do it. The Lion and I like to tell each other stories way too much to speak only French right now. Let me see how once per week goes and we'll take it from there *smile*

Jacki - merci beaucoup. I was thinking of getting some software. The Lion is taking correspondence courses in the Fall, so while he is spending the time doing that, I might plug away at online French lessons.

Vered - tried some night school courses in French, but the Lion kept telling me I wasn't saying things properly. In other words, I was speaking real French *grin*. I gave up in frustration. My goal is to function in Quebec, not in France.

Wendi - thanks so much for the moral support LOL And what you may end up with on Fridays is complete gibberish resembling nothing like English or French. Frenglish?

[Wendi]

Oh, and by the way, I've challenged you! *smiles*

Tag... you're it.

http://autumnsunrise.wordpress.com/2008/06/26/tag-6-word-memoir/

[Valerie]

je ne sai pas.

i took french twice and don't speak a lick. love the language though. i understand how you would feel left out. if you find out how you can learn it with ease, let me know. rosetta stone is supposed to be very good.