12.03.07 international house of sausage
I’ve been helping the Scotsmontonian to learn French for the past little while, and diligent as we are in our lessons, I’m constantly confronted to the fact that I speak Québécois. I’m always finding myself telling him “Yes, that’s correct, but we don’t really say that here, only in France”. In the French course we’re doing, they talk about Pressing and Pastis, instead of nettoyeur and vinier. I was concerned he’d learn the European French and not understand people here.
Then yesterday, Comet was begging for some leftover eggs and I heard him say to her, “You cheeky buggerr. Didn’t you get your fill with that mère-guys?” and I burst out laughing. There’s nothing cuter than a Scotsman inadvertently saying Merguez with a Québec accent.
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If it’s any consolation, I had a Ukranian mock my French. Granted, she had studied in Paris for a couple years, but that still didn’t make me feel any better.
That’s why I quit the french lessons I was taking at work. The teacher insisted on teaching us Parisian french despite the fact that most of my co-workers are Québécois. By simply listening and adapting to what’s spoken at work, I think I’m learning something far more useful.
The same would go if I were moving to Scotland and english wasn’t my first language. What good would it do me to learn to speak with a British accent when I was to be surrounded by a completely different way of speaking the english language? Of course this has nothing to do with my love of the Scottish accent—which is the coolest on the planet.
Sacrament Comette!
voyons donc, c’est correc’ la.. on ce comprends-tu, en esti…
You should get the Scotsman to watch taxi 022. Now that’s where everybody should learn French from…
/Luvz me the quebecer language
//down with the frenchies
Hey Paul! I didn’t realize you were in town on a permanent basis. Belated welcome!
Not really updating the blog much anymore, but I’ve moved to LJ if you’re interested (jdhobbes.livejournal.com).
Hey Pastis is Pastis, it’s a real name. Just like Anisette is Anisette.
Vinier ? uh ? Is that some sort of erzat put on the market by the SAQ ?
Eh, I know, come to our forum and we will teach you all the naughty Parisian French that we truly use in France.
Example the teacher says “Oh mon dieu!” when we actually say “Oooh Puuu-tain!”. (with the ending ‘tain squeezed to a silent “tin”
The teacher might also teach you “mais que ce passe-t-il ici ?” when in fact a parisian would say “Puuuuh-tain, c’est quoi c’bordel encore ?”
He/she might also tell you that when not happy with the service you might say “pardonez moi mais..” when in fact a real French would start “Non mais qu’est ce que vous branlez, bande de cons ?!”
So you see teachers won’t teach you a real Quebecois nor will they teach you a real Francais you can use in France.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the French French vs. Quebecois thing. At least while he’s learning the basics. Once he’s here, he’ll pick up all the Quebecois words and slang after hearing it repeatedly (and in different accents).
Some things you just understand viscerally. No explanation required. And then, of course some things will need eternal explanation (an example escapes me now, but there are some things that 6 years later I still have trouble understanding).
I think learning the wrong French is a very valid concern. My partner was teaching a French class to non-francophones at Concordia university last year, and the manuals and cassette tapes she had to use came from the other side of the Atlantic. So students were listening to girls saying “J’ai 19 ans, j’suis à la fac!”. La fac? The only thing that’ll achieve is a lot of confusion trying to cram a university somewhere in “J’l'ai acheté, faque c’t'à moé” or the invalid impression that GameFAQS is a network of gaming universities. Funny, but not really useful.
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