Foreign languages and accents

[Mattk]

When we speak French for example we are taught to speak in a French accent so how come the French don't speak English with an English accent?

I ask from genuine curiosity as I may purchase the rosetta stone language course.

[MarkRae]

Il ne pige que dalle, cet espèce de raté... ;-)

A la prochaine, mon pote.

[mike11111]

Et à toi!

[boxtops]

Gee. thanks MR - I hope that was a generalisation and not aimed directly at my attempts to join in with a bit of repartee. Those of us who understand could get quite offended by that.

[factor-fiction]

> "Cela se peut, mais ce n'était pas ma question" (Mark Rae).

I only scraped a pass at 'O' level many, many years ago, and I've never spoken it since, but if you intended to say "That may be, but it was not my question" I'm wondering whether it should have said "...mon question".

[tearinghair]

MarkRae, now you know how it feels not to have the right question answered....... not sure what the French equivalent of LOL is (probably the same, but my 30 years of French teaching ended a while ago). My apologies for my frustration in Computers earlier (but I still can't download Adobe...)

[DTCwordfan]

you had better study your definitives - ma question - basic rule anything conceptual with an 'ion' is feminine.......

I lived i Belgium for 4 years (like living in Scotland accent and some word usage) and then Paris - as Mark said it takes 10 years. I'm not bad but by no means perfect. In my experience, it is those that have had a parent of each that master both accents the best. And, by the way, there are some abyssmal English accents from Brits and French accents from the French. And as adequately demo-ed here and not picked up by the Ab-Ed, French is full of sland and cussing in day to day speech, just as English is. "Merde" (2 books) is very good to start with - Smiths used to have it as I have given them as Chrissie presents

[mike11111]

Sorry Factor, definitely 'ma'. Question, nom féminin.

[mike11111]

We're skating on thin ice here. I can almost hear the Valkyries flapping their wings.

[naomi24]

Mike,

//How very confident you are in your own ability. You remind me very much of my French Canadian friends. ;o)//

//Very confident. My French friends and contacts would agree. Certainly streets ahead of French Canadians, who are not all that highly-rated in 'La Belle France'. //

Irony isn't lost on you, is it. ;o)

[MarkRae]

> but I still can't download Adobe...)

I'm very pleased to hear that!

[factor-fiction]

Thanks, Mike and DTCrosswordFan, and sorry for doubting your French, MarkRae .

I am pretty sure that 'questionnaire' is masculine, so I wrongly assumed 'question' would be masculine too.

That's why I only scraped a grade C, I suppose.

[DTCwordfan]

the French Canadians have probably a better sense of irony than the French themselves! I l have lived in both Quebec and France......and, just as an aside, my god the french can be very different in vocab and accent!

[mike11111]

How very true. At the age of 13 I spent 10 days with my French penfriend in his parents' flat near Paris, and for many years afterwards would always drop in on them whenever I was in town. My penfriend and his mother I could understand perfectly. As for the father (lovely bloke) who came from the far east of France, I couldn't understand a word. It became quite comical, as I had to ask my friend or his mother to repeat everything he said. They were quite understanding.

[MarkRae]

'questionnaire' is masculine because it ends in 'aire', just as 'question' is feminine because it's an intangible ending in 'ion'

[MarkRae]

> the French can be very different in vocabulary and accent!

Just as in every large country. Have you ever heard a Cornish person and an Aberdonian having a conversation....?

[mike11111]

Yes.
"What's that then moi lovely?"
"Hoots mon, yer wee Sassenach scunner. Awa' an' play wi' yer pixies!"

[MarkRae]

> "Hoots mon, yer wee Sassenach scunner.

No, I was talking about a real Aberdonian, not some early 70s sitcom cliché played by James Doohan's vocal coach...

[mike11111]

OK, so my Scottish dialect isn't as good as my French. Sometimes you have to blag a little to get through, only you would have picked that up, most others would have fallen for it. I should know better than to play with the master.

[mollykins]

You speak with the accent of the person who taught you. The french assistant we had ended up helping me a lot so I think my accent is quite good, and when we were in France, people understood me a lot better than my parents.

[MarkRae]

Much to learn you still have...my old padawan...