Je parle français
I've talked a lot about places I've been and things I've eaten this semester, but I realized this week that I haven't really talked about one of the biggest parts of my experience here: speaking French. As part of the program at AUCP, I am expected to speak French at all times when I am at school, with other students from the program, and (obviously) with my host family. Which basically means I speak French all the time. I thought I spoke French pretty well already when I got here, but the progress I have made this semester has been incredible and gratifying.
It is difficult to explain the experience of speaking another language for several months. It is exhausting at first, constantly translating in your head. Then, you realize that you don't need to translate in your head and you start thinking in the second language. At least, that is how it has been for me. I am not exactly sure when the change occurred, but I can distinctly remember having an English sentence in my head and being frustrated with my inability to translate it when I first arrived. Now, the sentences originate in French. There are of course words I don't know, but I don't have to think about what I am saying nearly as much.
And this is even more important in France because conversations move very quickly. If you're busy thinking of a sentence and then translating it in your head, the conversation will move away from your thought before you ever get to say it. It is better to just plow forward, recognizing that you will probably conjugate something wrong or forget whether something is masculine or feminine (that's me; I literally guess every time...). I had to learn quickly that it was far better to make mistakes in my sentences than not speak at all. Even the French make mistakes - it's a complicated language!
What with my semester coming to an end and me studying for my Linguistic Strategies final this weekend, I've spent a lot of time lately reflecting on the difference between English and French, and I thought I would just share a few of my random thoughts.
Why French is better than English:
1. It has words like "comme" and "si" that have many different meanings and functions. This may seem annoying in theory. A word that can mean four different things? How do you ever know what people are saying? But it is generally quite obvious, and instead of making things confusing, they actually end up being some of the most useful words.
2. There is a third answer to yes or no questions. That's right. You know when someone asks a question in the negative, like "You didn't go last night, did you?" and you want to answer to the contrary that, in fact, you did go? Well you can't say yes because that sounds like you're saying "Yes, you're right, I didn't go." And you can't say no because that sounds like "No, I didn't go." Instead you use si! Yep, that word I just mentioned that has lots of functions. It often means if, but in this context, it is used to avoid all kinds of confusion that exists in English! Silly English.
Why English is better than French:
1. English lets you make up words. We don't even realize it, but half of the time, when we describe something, we invent new words. We often create descriptions by connecting two existing words with a hyphen, like yellowy-green, grass-grown, round-face, and my personal favorite, lip-gnawing scowl. In French, you can't do that, which has been very irritating in my translation class. Every time I come across one of these hyphenated adjectives, I have to think of a creative way to translate it in French, which usually entails moving words around completely. It's much easier when you can just add a hyphen!
2. Nouns aren't masculine and feminine. Honestly, I think that is the hardest part of French for me. I can conjugate irregular verbs or tell you when to use subjunctive, but I can never remember if a noun is masculine or feminine. Even words that I have known for years, I just can't seem to remember their gender. Some of them have spelling cues and are easy, but for the most part, I literally guess. Which means I am right about half of the time. One day, I'll finally get to the hypothetical point described by all the French where you just know it innately. Maybe. Still not convinced that they don't all just make it up as they go.
I am excited to be back home in a week (a week! That's crazy!), but I really will miss speaking French all the time. It is really hard at times, but it has also been incredibly rewarding. I am so proud to be able to say that I can really speak a second language now. You will all just have to get used to me speaking a lot of Franglais when I get home. Parce que c'est comme ça, and I want to "profiter" from my new skill!
And this is even more important in France because conversations move very quickly. If you're busy thinking of a sentence and then translating it in your head, the conversation will move away from your thought before you ever get to say it. It is better to just plow forward, recognizing that you will probably conjugate something wrong or forget whether something is masculine or feminine (that's me; I literally guess every time...). I had to learn quickly that it was far better to make mistakes in my sentences than not speak at all. Even the French make mistakes - it's a complicated language!
What with my semester coming to an end and me studying for my Linguistic Strategies final this weekend, I've spent a lot of time lately reflecting on the difference between English and French, and I thought I would just share a few of my random thoughts.
Why French is better than English:
1. It has words like "comme" and "si" that have many different meanings and functions. This may seem annoying in theory. A word that can mean four different things? How do you ever know what people are saying? But it is generally quite obvious, and instead of making things confusing, they actually end up being some of the most useful words.
2. There is a third answer to yes or no questions. That's right. You know when someone asks a question in the negative, like "You didn't go last night, did you?" and you want to answer to the contrary that, in fact, you did go? Well you can't say yes because that sounds like you're saying "Yes, you're right, I didn't go." And you can't say no because that sounds like "No, I didn't go." Instead you use si! Yep, that word I just mentioned that has lots of functions. It often means if, but in this context, it is used to avoid all kinds of confusion that exists in English! Silly English.
Why English is better than French:
1. English lets you make up words. We don't even realize it, but half of the time, when we describe something, we invent new words. We often create descriptions by connecting two existing words with a hyphen, like yellowy-green, grass-grown, round-face, and my personal favorite, lip-gnawing scowl. In French, you can't do that, which has been very irritating in my translation class. Every time I come across one of these hyphenated adjectives, I have to think of a creative way to translate it in French, which usually entails moving words around completely. It's much easier when you can just add a hyphen!
2. Nouns aren't masculine and feminine. Honestly, I think that is the hardest part of French for me. I can conjugate irregular verbs or tell you when to use subjunctive, but I can never remember if a noun is masculine or feminine. Even words that I have known for years, I just can't seem to remember their gender. Some of them have spelling cues and are easy, but for the most part, I literally guess. Which means I am right about half of the time. One day, I'll finally get to the hypothetical point described by all the French where you just know it innately. Maybe. Still not convinced that they don't all just make it up as they go.
I am excited to be back home in a week (a week! That's crazy!), but I really will miss speaking French all the time. It is really hard at times, but it has also been incredibly rewarding. I am so proud to be able to say that I can really speak a second language now. You will all just have to get used to me speaking a lot of Franglais when I get home. Parce que c'est comme ça, and I want to "profiter" from my new skill!
No comments:
Post a Comment