Start French classes tomorrow... wish me luck (I need it).

[Bruce Whitehead]

I have zero ear for language... so I am really nervous about this class.

I have taken French before and do OK up to a point, then it feels like I walked into a room of people speaking Greek and I have zero capacity to interpret anything going on.

I have been in Quebec long enough now that I no longer get a heachache when I spend a day hearing and speaking only french, so this is a good time to start. Seriously I would get blinding heachaches to the point that I would just start to tune out everything and would go to "my happy place".

Been working on speaking more and more and even get lots of compliments on my "cute anglo accent" which in Quebec is actually a pretty big compliment... angos are not the chosen people here.

The classes run M-R from 6-10pm for two months, so I will not get much of a reprieve once I start. I switched all my radio stations to French stations today, and have been reading all week and listening to my dated language CDs.

Worst part is that I have friends from Quebec and friends from France, so as soon as someone teaches me a phrase the other has to correct me and let me know what is either "proper" or what is "local". So I end up learning it all twice and then trying to keep it straight depending on who I talk to.

An anglo in Quebec with Parisienne French is considered almost as pretentious as a Quebecois with Parisienne French...

Dare I say that language lessons here are as much lessons in regional politics as they are lessons in grammar and pronunciation?

UGH. Wish me luck. I hate not feeling confident in an academic situation (not something I suffer from often - I am arrogant that way).

Bruce

[dsirkle]

That you understand those aspects of the situation indicate to me that you really already speak the language but wish to fine tune your command of the language to the level of a native speaker.

[reixox]

Bonne chance!
Basic french isnt so bad.. its when you start getting into super duper past perfect tense. Where before you can finish a sentence you have to guess if the word's fem or masc and if you get it right they blindfold you and spin you around until you get the proper endings correct with the correct accents.
:p

I think you'll do fine, you're already immersed so you'll catch on real quick

[Patricia]

I know what you mean about dialects as I can understand a little of a type of Portuguese but not as spoken in Portugal, and Cantonese, but not Mandarin. Sounds like you've developed more ear for French than you realize. ("realise"? They spell things with an "s" over there?)

Bon chance!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Just remember in Quebec they don't really speak french anyway

You can do it and it will be fun.............can't wait to speak french with you (Real french )

[Vypyrz]

Good Luck! I know exactly what you are going through. I spent 9 years in Okinawa, Japan. I was good with their Japanese dialect and "slang", however, when I would go up to mainland, alot of times it was tough. Tokyo has it's own slang, Osaka has it's own slang, etc... Then, when I started taking college classes on proper Japanese, my Okinawan friends would always say, "What are you saying? Nobody talks like that..." It was frustrating at times...

But I also would laugh at them sometimes when they would "spreak a Engrish"...

Rob

[Jessandyballs]

Embrassez mon âne

Bill

[Bruce Whitehead]

Thanks all, just gathering my books, filling my thermos and trying to decide if I need a lunch. *yeesh*

I think it will be a whole lot of...

Bonjour! Ca-va?

Ca-va bien et toi?

Ca-va.

And then throw in a lot of Mais Oui! For good measure.

And me saying over and over... mon francais est tres mauvias, excusez moi!

Bruce

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Embrassez mon âne

Bill

Not sure where telling people to kiss your donkey will take you, but I guess it could be the start for an interesting conversation

Bonjour! Ca-va?

Ca-va bien et toi?

Ca-va.

After 8 years with John those 3 things are resuming the conversations he has with my parents

Mais Oui!

Always work in any language, makes people think you understand or pay attention

[Bruce Whitehead]

I feel for John... that has been my life for 3 years... a whole LOT of Cava!?

Today was a whole lot of ...

Je suis Bruce.

Je suis du Calgary.

Je suis de Kindersley en Saskatchewan.

J'aime les serpents!!!

But I had fun, as close to having fun as my cantankerous old self gets to having fun.

Maintenant, je dois nettoyer mes serpents.

bruce