Squirrel Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 OK, I'm sure this has been discussed before but I'm new, so, pardonez-moi. I did O level French for 5 years (passed grade B), one year of A level, and recently had just over a year of private French lessons at home with my hubby, an American who had had lessons at Boston's French Institute as an adult. Come to think of it, French is about the only thing I can still remember that I did at school. Got an A level in Latin, and O level in Spanish and can't remember hardly a word of them (well not exactly much call for using Latin is there?) ;D As for maths, forget it, my knowledge that I still retain is from junior school, no further! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnM Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I started in an "O" level class, but we were all so bad that we actually took CSE. In 2001 I started lessons again, last year took a GCSE and got an A, this year I am on the A level. I find the most difficult bit to besortingoutwhereonewordendsandanotheronestarts when they talk at me. For example, by the time I've worked out whether they mean "En hiver" or "On-y-va" the speaker has moved on and I've lost the gist!When I am invited to go on Room 101, First I will banish all irregular verbs, (the west country folk have got it right, the verb "to be" should be conjugated as I be, you be, he be etc). Next will go giving a gender to chairs and finally that stupid system (name forgotten) whereby I (well "my") change gender if I'm taking about a female.I'm only doing A level because the lesson is on a convenient night. I've never ever been into collecting awards, I never had many badges in the scouts because I'd learn the knots that I thought I needed, but wouldn't learn the totally useless over-hand-triple-sprongle-hitch just to get a badge. I want to communicate with the French, I don't care about having a certificate on the wall.[;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I know quite a few kids in the UK that had A* in GCSE French and thought they were fluent. I think that is a quite a common misconception. GCSE French is really teaching you just how to pass a GCSE exam. I know this could be said about all school subjects, but you don't walk away from a history exam thinking you are an historian and yet youngsters with a good grade in a french exam seem to have a unrealistic perception of their ability.This morning Sporty Spice or whatever her name is was on TV and she said 'bonjour', ' "oh you speak French" came the reply. "un petit peu" said she. And that was it, she sat there grinning and looking bemused at the same time, and didn't say another word! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkkent Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I passed "O" level French with 67% in 1958 and since then have had sporadic lessons. Like JohnM I have difficulty hearing where one word ends and the next begins. I suspect part of the problem lies with the differing rhythms of English and French: like much of English, stresses within words are irregular but French tends to stress each syllable equally (and when spoken quickly can sound like a machine gun firing).I can read French well enough and (providing I can tell what the other person is saying) hold a conversation. I can be totally lost in supermarkets when the checkout operator decides to be friendly.I don't mind irregular verbs, they add interest to what might otherwise be codebreaking. At present I am trying to remaster the use of the subjunctive. This seems to be much more important than the past historic which we laboured over greatly at school but which seems totally absent from modern day French.I can remember quite a lot of the maths I learned, but nothing of the Latin, which at the time thought so mechanistic that a bright parrot would be an ideal student. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Animal Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Aboutthewordsstucktogether, even the French sometimes get it wrong themselves. My husband was once treating an elderly lady who was bedridden (is that right, even that looks peculiar when you think about it), and as she was bedridden, she had "un ulcer" on her leg. An elderly lady friend living nearby came in to see her and said all concerned "Comment va votre nulcer".We were moving our offices once in Paris carrying stuff along a long corridor and a young French secretary said to her Italian boss "Il me faudrait un petit âne". He replied "c'est quoi un tane?". When they used to say "C'est trop épais", I used to think they were saying "C'est trop pépé", meaning old fashioned or something.Bon, je m'en vais... with a nice new smiley, or rather an old one [Www][:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnM Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Clark, Whether you mind them or not is immaterial... when I get on room 101 irregular verbs, infact conjugating as a whole, will go. No question about it. Roll on the days of Je Av, Tu Av, Il Av, Elle Av, etc and I think we'll dispense with either Ils or Elles as well. "They" is "they" is "they", no need for gender here.Trouble is, most of the peole watching will not have the faintest idea of what I am blithering on about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo53 Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 My French is fairly good, though not as good as it ought to be after doing A level French (early 1980s, oh god) and living here 3.5 years. I kept meaning to study the language, but never did ... I can function pretty well on a day-to-day level (how DO you insure your car, fill in your tax forms, etc. etc. if you hardly speak any French? It's a mystery to me how people get by). I can sometimes hold quite a reasonable conversation (though other days my French brain just won't get into gear). However, despite what many Brits would see as a good level of French, I find there is a huge language barrier that frustrates me a lot. I know that, unless I work really very hard and get a lot more fluent, I will always be handicapped socially and intellectually here. It's one of the reasons I want to go back to the UK.I am tired of feeling stupid because I can't express myself properly. I'm tired of not being able to have interesting, subtle conversations with people about life, the universe and everything. I'm tired of not being able to join in fully (eg with school fundraising projects). The only real friends I have here, as opposed to friendly acquaintances, are anglophone. That is a direct result of the language barrier. I think it's very hard to overcome.Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrel Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 I think in the Cote d'Azur there are English-speaking banks and I believe (again forgive my ignorance if it's not true) that the utility companies have English-speaking phone numbers you can call. I know what you mean though.[quote user="Jo53"] I can function pretty well on a day-to-day level (how DO you insure your car, fill in your tax forms, etc. etc. if you hardly speak any French? It's a mystery to me how people get by). IJo[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Well spare a thought for me, where I am my neighbours insist on giving me the Breton words for everything! The thing is most of the Breton words sound more like the Klingon I used to hear on Star Trek . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 How my french? Struggling enough with English. Does anyone know what visigothic means? By the way I am A level standard and have been visiting France for many years and always felt disappointed because although I could get by I could not understand what they were saying in return. Since then I have been told the accent in the Tarn is equivalent to that of Glasgow. Went to Pyrenees last year and has a much better understanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Sorry, VISIGOTHIAN?? ANYONE??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absafc Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 [quote user="KatieKopyKat"]Sorry, VISIGOTHIAN?? ANYONE???[/quote]Weren't the Visigoths a German tribe during Roman times? Occupied France as Germans are wont to do from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnM Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 How can you not know what Visigothian means when a simple search on the internet brings up the following defnitions....1. VISIGOTHIAN was not found in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary2. Sorry, no dictionaries indexed in the selected category contain the word VISIGOTHIAN. Ahh... errrr..... [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Where is Dick Smith when you need him ? Googled it and found this reference in an online dictionary - hope it helps ..............a member of the western group of Goths who sacked Rome and created a kingdom in present-day Spain and southern France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 John M [:D]Absafc gross bisouxThanks Gay. No gros bisoux for you I'm afraid but as a moderator and to make your job even more hairsplitting, could we have a three strikes and your out for smartasses who dont do proper english like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Sorry Ms K Kat, I was merely making reference to Madame Bays astounding willingness to learn German, probably in all its ancient forms, and as I remembered the Visigoths were Germanic I slung it in there, and now it's causing chaos (like the Visigoths themselves) in this innocent thread.I got kicked out of the O level class and into CSE, and from there I was kicked into the bike sheds. If only I had been more interested in Language than History I wouldn't be struggling with French as much as I am now. I really wish I had had a chance to do what JohnM is doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 KKK,I've got to ask how you did with your self imposed exile? You didn't quite make it, I think you realise that you have a serious problem! When you were gone, you peek at the posts and restrain your self or did you keep well clear to avoid the temptation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Sorry whats John M doing or should I ask?[:$] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 No gros bisous - I'm gutted ! A bit more, which bizarrely came from a site giving the meaning of dreams - who the heck would dream that word ?Visigoth.(sect of the Goths that sacked Rome in 406AD then settled in Northern Spain and Southern France). As a mod I could easily be persuaded to give warnings for people who constantly comment on spelling and grammar [:)] There was once a most dreadful falling out here over that - in the pre mod age, thank heavens! (although of course, the odd apostrophe consistently out of place can be a great help to Mods [;-)]) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I thought he said he was doing A level earlier in the thread; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 [quote user="viva"] KKK,I've got to ask how you did with your self imposed exile? You didn't quite make it, I think you realise that you have a serious problem! When you were gone, you peek at the posts and restrain your self or did you keep well clear to avoid the temptation? [/quote]I peeked at them thinking nobody would know and then realised I was logged in. (shamer) Anyway, the hubby is away on business tonight so I escaped the clinic and you will have the pleasure of my company all evening but I will be signed back in to the clinic tomorrow when he returns. Why does my presence bother you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Why does my presence bother you?Should there be an apostrophe there? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Hi Gay, perhaps you will have the pleasure of being bisoued by me (if you like that sort of thing) when the black eye goes[;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 No not at all, just thought I'd ask you here how it went, or didn't, rather than resurrect the post that I'm too lazy to look for [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Visigoths spoke Gothic, I believe, a Germanic language of the Indo-European family of languages. There is a Wikipedia entry, but the character set isn't showing up on my computer.I think it might cause John to explode...(I've been at work, Gay! It isn't the holidays yet!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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