The struggles and frustrations of an Englishman living in France, trying to make sense of the French language and at least things off your chest, if nothing else …
“I guess that never had a formal education in French in school gives me an immediate disadvantage. When I was living in France a few years ago, I was optimistic. I made good progress in my night-school England on the course at, hey (!) Level 2 Someone had said that if you have a musical ear (which I do) is what an advantage when learning a language other go.
I sailed through the setting Michel Thomas CD (very useful when you start) and was confident that I will be flowing, the one or two years? I think it is mentioned, language schools, such as “Total Immersion” or learn, perhaps through osmosis. I did not.
So what went wrong?
French and English fluently some tell me that French is so beautiful, poetic and descriptive in comparison to English. Oh, really? Here are some points I would like to take issue with this score:
What you can use a jargon that no difference or distinction between “doing” and “to do” doing makes to say? To do so, I assume (ha!)
Here’s something I always find it a little difficult, again and again. The second word should be familiar with all the concerts, that’s what the audience screamed reference to its assessment of the performance, but it does not just “more” or “new” or “repeat” It can also mean “still” as in ” You are with me still? ” (I sincerely hope so). Can always say sometimes “back”, but (and this is confusing), it may mean “always” If it’s not vague, I do not know what is.
Conversely, a further example of this ambivalence, the word (like what, what, etc.), depending on context. Why are my friend with a French phrase in English as follows: “. I’ll be there at the same time as you”
Here’s another: A person or a “person” can also mean “no” … sometimes … not go so far!
Spitting in the infinitive (no, it’s not a typo). I am referring to the French infinitive.
We were lucky, English only one way to express our infinitives. For … such as crying, sleeping, screaming, cursing and spitting and so on. But the wily French academics have not two but three ways to say: come “doing” word. And the differences come after the verb, the concept of sentence structure wobbly than a Jenga game to do during an earthquake. Not only that, but, you guessed it, hit those three little guys, if you are familiar or polite (more on that later) and changes in spelling to the topic that is you are, I, we have it .. . it is enough to spit.
Another thing very difficult to get a head, for example, are the French words for two complete opposites. I am referring to the “bottom” and “top” (top and bottom) the difference in pronunciation is so subtle that it is virtually non-existent, the first, is explained as follows: “. … Soo” and the second as ” seeooh … “, I think. Surely this could open a hearing loss to some misinterpretations in, is not it?
The time to mention the odd numbering. Everything seems simple enough until we have 69 or 69 (no snickering in the back, please) spent. Then, instead of seventy years, we have to say, seventy, who was 71, 72, and so on. But wait, it gets even worse when you get up to eighty.
Then we come to 24, 81, four 22 etc., and then say that this is the year this is expressed as: ninety, 91, etc. I mean, how painful and frightening is that?
Even the French-speaking Belgians are a sensible approach to this issue, the 70 (seventy), 80 (eight) is opting.
We come now to the situation masculine feminine /. Apparently a few centuries ago, was the very learned ACADM Franais together and decided that their beloved language, although very beautiful and poetic, was not just complicated enough. I think the discussion went like this:
“What can we do to make it really difficult for foreigners (the English) to communicate with us?”
“Why do not we go a few nouns masculine and feminine, making” offered a learned professor. What a brilliant idea, they all decided.
“But how can we decide who is who?” asked another.
“It does not matter! In this way the code is more puzzling, the stupid” Rostbifs. “
“Yes, in fact, we were able to do certain things, say, days or years to change sex at some point in time, inexplicably no logical reason!”
“Just great!” They decided unanimously.
Not only does this concept incredibly strange to us poor simple English is used, but it is another example of how the structure of the sentence is affected grammatically and dramatically by the criteria of the combined male / female as well as the distinction between whether the person you talk to a stranger or friends, or at the Technical University and so on.
In a coversation with a few friends English visitor we discussed, among other things, like the French plural “s” is almost never verbalized, at which point 11 of the son of my friend’s seven-year notes with a wry smile: “It looks like a incredible waste of ink … ‘Nuff said.
Well, I admit that we Brits to our cars and boats that are related “his”, but this exception is considered a term of endearment.
Having said all that start when you dive into another language, the more you learn the more complex it seems. A bit like the understanding of quantum theory, but even more difficult, although all these have in some of the absurdities of the English language is very clear. It brings your attention to some peculiarities of spelling and French students use words like through, trough, branch, thoughts, words, etc. are mistaken for drought, which we take for granted. At least with the consolidation of French vowels are usually constant.
So I will quote only, if I may, based on the novel by William Styron (Sophie’s Choice) on one of the peculiarities of the English verb infinitive, “… to speak, what to me like a rose in bloom or blossom like me … a rose in the English language there is no fixed rule. “I had never considered.
My criticism on this subject say that I’m just a literal translation into English, but that’s not entirely true. What I’m trying to do is to understand how these two, after all, the language is very similar in many respects so diverse and perverse in others.
The only thing that is worrying that someone in my disadvantage amounts to be equivalent to 2:59 years, or, worse, made me determined to dig Linguaphone course and a few formal investigation tiresome this (and of course beautiful) language instead of complaining about it though. .. Good luck! “
About the author: Kim Van Horn began as a return of graphic design in the seventies, among other things, record covers for the music industry in London before founding his own in the provinces. He now lives in SW France, where he was to draw and write (and learn French) goes further. For more information about his work can be found at: http://www.penandinkdrawings.org/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Van_Hoorn
