Speaking french

[Chancer]

Please let me in on the secret of how to send rats by e-mail, I have several deserved récipients [:D]

[Gardengirl]

I wish I could, and no doubt my neighbours would be delighted to shift them up north! ? ? ?

[idun]

ALBF, and I really do not think that some people manage.

I got by, having a baby with next to no french, but I was young and that is not being ill or worse, seriously ill. And I know how to play any cards I have, and smile and be self effacing, and I knew that learning would take time so getting by has to be a temporary state and I had to do the best I could whilst I was learning..........

......but remember people end up with serious illness and I really do think that they should do themselves the favour of getting up to scratch with the french that will serve them. It isn't anyone else's responsibility but their own as to what they understand. AND remember no one is forced to move to France or any other country......... please note I do realise that those in the jungle may be being forced to stay in France though, because I watch french news most days.

[alittlebitfrench]

I think it depends Idun on the person you are. If you have been spoon fed all your life then you are right. If you have faced and overcome challenges all your life then I think you can. There are survivors and there are not.

If you want to retire to France but have have limited/no French I think you can learn quite quickly with a good teacher 'survival French' which will get you through most situations including illness. Do they teach 'survival French' ? From there you can learn.

Like I said earlier you have to turn off UK TV. On another forum I was looking at, half the active threads were about receiving UK TV in France. Even one was by the chief editor of the magazine. LOL. A lot of the other threads about people wanting to move home. Is there a correlation between the two ?

I wonder how Chancer survived in France for 3 years without speaking French ?

[Chancer]

[quote user="alittlebitfrench"] I wonder how Chancer survived in France for 3 years without speaking French ?[/quote]

 

I got by because I am a survivor, I only spoke French from day 1, never English but only the very limited French that I had that no-one could understand. I had no British TV, did not even know it could be got, critically I did not mix with the English speakers and had not even realised that forums existed, I was totally on my own but that did mean that I was not living in an English speaking household, the only speech came from the French TV.

 

I did however have but one sole priority and it wasn't to get my place completed, that took 9 years to get any income and is still a couple of years from completion, no my number one priority was to learn the language, I arrived in Picardie to an abandoned dwelling with no electricity or running water, well it did run but out of a thousand leaks, totally uninhabitable, I offloaded my tools and gear, slept on the floor and the next day drove to Grenoble for a 2 week intensive course one on one with a private tutor who I had met on the great barrier reef while travelling. I dont know of one other person that had that level of commitment, in fact any level of commitment other than lip service and saying its difficult when you are older and that its alright for me because I am fluent [:(]

 

The problem was on returning trying to find someone in this area to continue the teaching or even some classes, neither existed, when I made contact with the ex-pats and asked them where they were recieving French tuition they looked at me with disdain, they were all paying an English woman to be a translator for them, she did offer lessons but none of them were interested, neither was I, I knew it had to be a native French speaker and having heard her in the boulangerie asking for UN baguette and pronouncing 'un' (which should have been une) like a Londoner saying unreal without the French intonation I knew that I had reason.

It took me a couple of years to find a teacher, she was very good, very traditional but only continued for 18 months during term time, I even sat in on French language courses for foreign students at Amiens university as un auditeur libre.

 

It was being repeatedly hospitalised that made me realise I needed to seriously up my game.

[alittlebitfrench]

There you go, I rest my case.

If you have the right metal attitude, smile and you are a born survivor you can do anything. It works the other way as my OH proved in the UK. Could not really speak a bean of English but managed to find a job and accelerate quite highly in business within two years.

Language is just one aspect of it all.

If you arrive in France with your head up your own bum you got no chance even if you are fluent in French.

[mint]

Please, no more generalisations................they are just sooo boring and unfounded[:'(]

I had virtually no French either and, not only have I survived, I feel that I am practically thriving[:D]  Sometimes, as I did yesterday evening walking with 4 French people, I mix up my vowels, just like the policeman in 'Allo! 'Allo!, but the difference is, I am aware of it  and correct myself or when someone laughs at me and tells me how it should sound,  I then practise it till it becomes effortless and just trips off my tongue.

Here's a word (I've just read it in a book) conscienscieusement that you CAN pronounce but you might have to take it slowly at first[:)]

And please don't say that nobody uses words like that in conversation because I often use words like that in French, as I would in English.

See, what I mean, no more generalisations PLEASE.  This is potentially an interesting thread so don't turn it into" but you do this and that" because there are all sorts of learners and all levels of ability on here.  Let's keeping it INTERESTING and reflecting our diversity.

[alittlebitfrench]

Mint said ...

"Here's a word (I've just read it in a book) conscienscieusement that you CAN pronounce but you might have to take it slowly at first.

Unlikely, because it is spelt incorrectly. LOL.

Just asked my daughter what in meant and she had not a clue. Obviously they don't say it on You Tube videos.

There is French and there is French...but I am generalising...so I will stop.

[mint]

s[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]Mint said ...

"Here's a word (I've just read it in a book) conscienscieusement that you CAN pronounce but you might have to take it slowly at first.

Unlikely, because it is spelt incorrectly. LOL.

Just asked my daughter what in meant and she had not a clue. Obviously they don't say it on You Tube videos.

There is French and there is French...but I am generalising...so I will stop.[/quote]

Yes, you are right, one "c" too many and probably because I didn't look but just wrote it down as I would say it, so thank you for pointing that out.

But, the very fact that you noticed I'd spelt it wrongly makes me suspect that you do know the word!

Might be an idea to be more accepting of others' errors and then you might be more accepting of your own.

I don't go around picking up every little spelling or typing error that someone makes but go along with the spirit of what the person is saying or trying to say.

So, how does the English compare.....conscientiously......o, la, la .....but of course the pronunciations are completely different!

Seeing as you have taken off your gloves, may I be permitted to do the same?

Er..............would that be the daughter that you tell me "picks up" Chinese easily?

Even though there is no such thing as spoken "Chinese" but different spoken forms such as Cantonese, Hakka, Mandarin, etc?

[idun]

I appreciate all the comments on here, but I started the thread because of health and my feeling is that that is one aspect of life that is too important to play at. And it seems that so many retire to France, at all sorts of ages.

Does it matter if communication with the electrician or baker is a little odd, I don't think so, but one's doctor is quite another thing and I do not believe that it's up to the doctor to be an unofficial translator, as I keep saying, what if they get it wrong......... ? There are many things in french and english that are at odds.

Holidays, temporary residence is quite different.

[cajal]

This morning I visited my médecin traitant for a renewal of my 3 monthly prescription.

I always try to obtain an appointment on a Wednesday as my registered quack doesn't usually work on a Wednesday.  She speaks good English but is a miserable, officious old git who doesn't know the meaning of 'deskside manner'. She is a deadringer, looks wise, to the German chancellor. She replaced an exceedingly pleasant old duffer who spoke no English but who had an excellent and approachable manner about him.

At some stage during our appointments he (the old duffer) would always tell me he had a patient on his books from Sootamtun (Southampton) and would ask if I knew them. I, obviously would reply that I didn't. However on my final appointment with him before he retired he asked the inevitable question, to which I gave my usual reply, but added, that although I didn't know them I did know Southampton and that "il est situé juste en face de la rivière de Northampton".  He looked at me rather bemused knowing full well it isn't and, when I smiled, he immediately realised that it was a blag and he cracked up laughing. We parted with best wishes. He also, pre retirement, carried out a minor surgical procedure for my wife at his practice with an appointment at 7 o'clock on a Saturday evening.

Today,the Locum was a middle aged guy, who immediately enquired if I was English. Having affirmed his query (or had Angela referenced my notes/records...hmm?) he asked which language I wished the consultation to be conducted in. I suggested that as he was the chef he should choose. So English was the default.

During the appointment we talked about Christmas puddings, how Croydon would be a rather grim place to live. He reckoned the best fish & chips in London were to be found in Musswell Hill and he also had the wherewithal that to fully appreciate 'London' living one needed to aim for residency in the likes of Mayfair or Belgravia! (no flies on him) We also shot the breeze about a couple of other insignificant topics then a quick medical onceover and that was it. Hopefully the miserable old git will take retirement and he will takeover the practice.

So, English speaking within the medical profession?  I have been lucky/fortunate while a French resident with admin, nursing, doctors,dentists,specialists and surgeons who wanted a slice (get it?) of the action of me where I can honestly say a good 95% have all had a good to excellent command of the English language. I am able to converse in both languages but prefer the English option with my health and it would seem all those I have come into contact with feel the same and are amenable to oblige. I also believe a prerequisite 'must' for the medical profession is an acceptable desk/bed side manner. Sadly not always forthcoming.

[mint]

My ophthalmaloque (have I got that right?), OK my eye man always asks me if I wish to speak French or English.  I always say French not that my French is brilliant but that it always feel strange to speak English with a French person.

Mind you, I have recently joined a group where we speak French or English as we prefer and, more often than not, Franglais.  It's really good fun![:D]

[Patf]

While we're on about language - how do you say in french 'the cake was a flop' or 'the cake flopped'?

I had a baking failure the other day, I was going to give one to my neighbour if they had turned out well..

[mint]

Dunno, Pat, but, if it happened to me, I'd say, le gateau, c'était un catastrophe!  May or may not be the right thing to say but my listeners would definitely understand!

But, you know, none of MY cakes would end up that way................no, that's not true, just that I wish it were![:D]

[cajal]

[quote user="Patf"]While we're on about language - how do you say in french 'the cake was a flop' or 'the cake flopped'?[/quote]

Mon gâteau s'est effondré?

[Patf]

[:D] I've never heard effondré - could literally be that.

The cake turned out edible, but nothing special.

I was trying to be too clever, creating a spongey, light fruit cake. But it was too light and all the fruit sank to the bottom and it didn't rise.

I'll have to have another go - she gave me some crystalised fruit from a friend of theirs who has a bakery business, and I wanted to use it in a cake.

We've had a few discussions about the different kinds of pain d'épice (french or english.)

But this is a big thread drift - sorry! Perhaps start a new thread on pain d'épice.