BuzzersonKillwell Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I'm trying to learn and hoping to find someone who can answer a few questions for time to time. I'm using some software (Duolingo specifically), but I can't ask software no questions. Alternatively, if anyone else wants to try and learn we can use this thread to have 1st grade level conversations 3 to 4 months from now. EDIT: I'm running out the door at work and did not search for an existing thread first. Sorry, but feel free to merge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billya Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I minored in French in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shitty Rambo Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I took French in highschool. It's very similar to Spanish (the language of my people, although I can understand the jest of it, I can't speak it fluently) Did you know Entendu means 'sound', so the name Deja Entendu is like Deja Vu in a "something you thought you heard before" sense. AKA super pretension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeine Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Oui, je parle francais. Honhonhonhonhon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbruise Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Google does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100resolutions Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Je parle français!!! Je peux aider si tu veux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwrm38 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 oui Oui, je parle francais. Honhonhonhonhon I minored in French in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avery Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 moi aussi, je parle français. minored in french lit and hold french citizenship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuzzersonKillwell Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Well thanks guys. Today was day one, seems tricky. The way the verbs work is confusing but Im sure it'll just take a lot of practice. The one thing that was really tricky was it seemed like in some cases the un, une, le, les and what have you were pronounced. Other times they were written but not pronounced. Is that right or could I just not hear them? For clarity, the app wrote everything and I can click to hear the phrase spoken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradedOnACurve Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Oui, je voudrais poutine avec mon steak hudsoncomplex 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyHill Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Comment allez-vous ce soir? Je suis comme ci comme ça. Yes, a penguin taught me French back in Antarctica scottheisel and steventangent 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avery Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Well thanks guys. Today was day one, seems tricky. The way the verbs work is confusing but Im sure it'll just take a lot of practice. The one thing that was really tricky was it seemed like in some cases the un, une, le, les and what have you were pronounced. Other times they were written but not pronounced. Is that right or could I just not hear them? For clarity, the app wrote everything and I can click to hear the phrase spoken. when i was learning how to write in french, my tata (auntie) got me this to help with conjugating verbs: http://www.amazon.com/Bescherelle-Conjugaison-Pour-French-Edition/dp/2218951983 i'm also pretty good at math so for me, figuring out the formulas for various verbs was like memorizing math formulas. as far as the indefinite and definite articles, i'm pretty sure you are just not hearing them pronounced since in every day language, not a lot of emphasis is put on those sounds/accents. if i'm speaking really casually though, i might not always use them. depends on the phrase, situation, etc. i don't know anything about that app but i'm assuming since it's educational, they wouldn't drop important bits of grammar from the teacher's speech. there are also cases where if the next word starts with a vowel, you make a connection and it's even less likely you will pick up on a clear cut definite article. for example: l'étoile or les étoiles = lay-twal or lays-ay-twal. as opposed to la femme or les femmes = la fam or lay fam not sure if that's what you were asking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkticon Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 "You're what the french call 'les incompetents'" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarostino Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 voulez vous coucher avec moi? is there anything else one needs to know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuzzersonKillwell Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Yeah, thanks. That pretty much clears it up for me. There is a "slow" button where you can hear the same phrase but they emphasize each part, so that has been helpful. It seems impossible to be able to pick up all the sounds for me at this point, reading it is much easier. But hey, just starting I'm not expecting too much yet. I spent the weekend in Montreal and nothing makes you feel more like a dumb American than only knowing one language. Gonna try and fix that. Thanks for the book. Will pick it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avery Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 ah good! and good luck learning. i've been to montreal before. (watched the kings play the habs at bell centre!). french there is a little different. like they don't call a chocolate croissant "pain au chocolat". i think it was called a chocolatine... there's other differences here and there, but ya, if you know the language, you can still get by just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aych Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I took French for two years, right up until this past Fall semester. I might not remember a lot of the words that I learned, but I do still remember most of the grammar/mechanics. It seems as though there are at least some French-Canadians here, though, so I should definitely take the back burner in terms of your choices. Haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanRees Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 moi aussi, je parle français. minored in french lit and hold french citizenship.was bout to throw your name out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avery Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 was bout to throw your name out there ha. well, merci et bonjour à toi. Alternatively, if anyone else wants to try and learn we can use this thread to have 1st grade level conversations 3 to 4 months from now. just looked back at the beginning of the thread and lol'd at this. it definitely does help if you find people to practice with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emo Revival Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 French in Montreal/All of Quebec is a dialect called Québécois which like Avery said has a lot of similarities but also a lot of differences from Traditional French. You're probably learning Traditional French because it is used worldwide where as Québécois is only in Quebec. In case anyone cared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hipsterasfolk Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Watch some French tutorials by Pierre Escargot (check youtube) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuzzersonKillwell Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 French in Montreal/All of Quebec is a dialect called Québécois which like Avery said has a lot of similarities but also a lot of differences from Traditional French. You're probably learning Traditional French because it is used worldwide where as Québécois is only in Quebec. In case anyone cared. I know they are different, learning anything feels like a step in the right direction. Is the language straight different, or just the pronunciation and some of colloquialisms? Will the written word be the same or close? Also, I'm much better at word recognition when reading than hearing. Normal right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emo Revival Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I know they are different, learning anything feels like a step in the right direction. Is the language straight different, or just the pronunciation and some of colloquialisms? Will the written word be the same or close? Also, I'm much better at word recognition when reading than hearing. Normal right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French that'll explain the differences better than I ever could but I believe it is a lot in the pronunciation, although I know that when I went to france and tried speaking Quebecois I got a lot of weird looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hipsterasfolk Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 kind of like how people in Sweden speak Swedish and people in Malmo speak like Swedes if they had their faces kicked in by a Norse boot konk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avery Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I know they are different, learning anything feels like a step in the right direction. Is the language straight different, or just the pronunciation and some of colloquialisms? Will the written word be the same or close? Also, I'm much better at word recognition when reading than hearing. Normal right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French that'll explain the differences better than I ever could but I believe it is a lot in the pronunciation, although I know that when I went to france and tried speaking Quebecois I got a lot of weird looks. ya, that's a helpful link. i'm in the same boat, actually, with word recognition being easier than hearing, so i think it's normal. for me, it's mostly because i do a lot more reading and writing than i do speaking and listening in my everyday life. i communicate with relatives, government agencies, etc via FB, emails and letters and have no prob with it. i used to be a lot better with hearing when i was in school and my cousins visited more frequently. as it is, my dad doesn't speak french so while it was my first language (thanks to my mom), it took a back seat to english once i started school. it's a similar situation for my husband. he's also french but spent most of his life in america so while he understands conversational french, he didn't pick it up much more than that so we don't speak it in the home to each other. we'll probably only do things like refer to the trash as "la poubelle", tea towels in the kitchen as "torchons" and maybe say something private in public using french. when i was in quebec, i spoke french most of the time with no problem. when i happened upon québécois words i didn't recognize, which was infrequent, i just asked in english. i remember getting a coffee and a pastry in quebec city for breakfast and reading the paper in french though and that was nice. i even saved this article... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.