I've always been fascinated with the French language since my early 20s. I don't remember what sparked the interest initially but it has brought me to Alliance Française which then introduced me to the French culture.. and which in turn prompted my very first visit to Paris. Did all that finally bring me to my French man?.. maybe...French is known to be the 'language of love' (or so that's what the French has been marketing their language as), aided by the fact that it is technically a "Romance" language - language that descended from Latin.
Personally, I do find the language attached with a romantic aura. And I'm not being bias here (well, maybe a little) but among the other European languages, I find that French is the most classiest sounding. Even cursing sounds a lot better in French.. I'm not proud to say this but I picked up all the bad words before the rest... you know, just so I'd know when I'm being bad-mouthed.. a precautionary measure you could say :)
I've made a huge leap in understanding the French language after 3 years being immersed in it although I can't boast (just yet) that I'm now able to utter rapid-fire French... well mine is more like 'survival' French. The recent event that had me landed in the hospital, put my competence in the language to the test and the outcome is that I could comfortably communicate with the doctors & co. But when hubby is around, I'd choose the easy way and take a backseat and let him do the talking instead.
I remember my very first visit to Paris, trying to find my way to the hotel.. it was opposite a bank and I stopped a passer-by for the direction of the bank. The conversation went something like this:
Me : Excuse me, do you know where Banque de France is?
Woman : blank look
Me : Banque de France?
Woman : still blank look
Me : ummm Banque de France? (wondering which part of those words she didn't understand) and then sputtering the name of the bank a few more times, trying to pronounce it as differently as I could
Woman : ohh.. Banque de France! (and then she pointed the way)
See, the difference between her Banque and my Banque was that I pronounced it as bang (as in abang).. and the way she pronounced it was more like bong=bonque. A little glitch in the pronounciation but I was finally understood.
Indeed, French words are not easy to pronounce. The greatest difficulty in pronouncing French is knowing which letters not to pronounce. And it takes a lot of nasal activity as well as the tip of the throat in order to deliver a decent sounding French. It would make pronouncing the French nasals easier if you were to have stuffy nose, rendering a 'sengau' effect.
The tv plays a huge part in making me understand the essence of everyday French and it's quite different from textbook French.. much like Bahasa Melayu and Melayu pasar. The tv has also make it possible for me to differentiate between French French and Canadian French as the latter has a much different nuance and lingo to it.
Approximately 40% of English vocabulary is of French origin. There are many words of French origin in English such as art, collage, competition, police, routine, table, and many others which have been and are being anglicized. They are now pronounced according to English rules of orthography, rather than French. There're also lots of French words or phrases being used by English speakers, such as à la carte, aide-de-camp, cliché, concierge, en route, fiancé(e)..
The most important word in the French language has to be "Bonjour". It's a customary greeting upon entering a store or restaurant or when approaching the person behind the till or counter. The French are incredibly polite on the surface - but this linguistic etiquette goes further than mere politeness. It implies so much more than that. The manner of your "Bonjour" determines the rest of your conversation with that person. Enter a bakery or a shop or restaurant of any kind, anywhere in France without a courteous "Bonjour" to the person at the till or counter, and your reception will be a frosty one. But try a bright and breezy "Bonjour" and the service becomes much friendlier.
Politeness and good manners remain essential to the French way of life and that's the thing I admire most in the French culture.
* you speak french?
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