My ability to learn languages is way gone by. I can't hear the tonal nuances well. Daughter laughs at my attempts at Spanish.
Rick, I have a hard time expressing myself in English at times. I think in French all the time, and I speak it all day long. When I'm not speaking French, I'm speaking Hebrew. About the only time I use English is here, and it's not easy for me.
Thanks so much, Telly. @Rich, if you'd hear the tonality of Hebrew, or Arabic, you'd see how difficult it is to master these 2 languages. My wife speaks flawless French and Hebrew, but very, very little English, her Spanish is quite good however. My French is not with a Parisian accent, I must admit, I'm told I sound like a North African when I speak it.
Jeff, that is Soooo Cool too bad your not in Colorado you could tutor me Way to go Telly!! Keep at it!!
+1 I was there for 2 weeks, and was picking up lots of things. I imagine in 2 years you were doing pretty decent. BTW-beautiful place to visit
I'll get to Japan one day, and it looks more and more like it will be coming soon.. and I won't come back!! Hell you go to University for a degree in Japanese History and Language and you should eventually you know.. get there :rofl
before the family and I came to live in Canada, we lived in Greece for a few years, so, I learned Greek. I get strange looks from Greek people when I tell them I'm Israeli--they don't believe me. Strangely enough, I came very close to a real fist fight with a Lebanese guy in a restaurant, when I was speaking to the waiter in perfect Arabic. The customer at the table next to me was listening in, and he asked me from which suburb of Beirut I was from. When I told him from Haifa, Israel, he called me a dirty liar! It could also be because I have the so-called "Middle Eastern" look about me.
I was very disappointed when I used it. In fact, it made me more confused. I would say to pass on it unless you can get it free. My local library has it online and any cardholder can set up a personal account for free. Your story makes me think of my own experiences. I'm Haitian and Venezuelan but you look at my skin color and in American terms: I'm black. People "compliment" me: "Ohh, your English is so good! Wow! You speak very well!" I don't know if they say it because so few people speak the language well (I doubt it) or if they don't expect black people to speak it well (bingo). I don't know what people expect?! I live in America, I've gone to school all my life only in America. How should I speak? When they find out I speak more than one language, I get the blank stare. I imagine the mouse running, the wheels spinning, and walls of stereotypes begin to break down.
Telly, it's very much about time that stereotyping came to an end. To anybody who's multilingual, more power to them. For myself, I wish that I was as fluent in English as in French, but I suppose it's good enough. People get the message when I speak English. My wife has trouble even introducing herself in English, and our daughter walks away if anybody speaks to her in English. In a way, it's our fault, and I intend to start speaking to my wife more and more in English, so she can learn it better. I want my daughter to become trilingual--all she speaks now is French and Hebrew, though she does know bits and pieces of English.
I wish you luck with that! Knowing your area pretty well, English is not exactly easy to find at times
yeahhhhhhhhhhh, of course Ken! By the way, more and more people are blowing off the language laws, and putting up signs in English, or other languages, before French. When I go shopping, I sometimes refuse to speak French to a shopkeeper or a cashier, if I feel he or she speaks English. The reason why is, I find it hard to understand Quebecois French.
I was schooled in Quebecois so it isn't too much of an issue for me, but yeah I know what you mean. Guess with the PQ and BQ not doing so well things are getting a little more relaxed.
I've been warned not to learn French Patois if I visit Canada and to learn real French. Is Quebecois the same as Patois?
It's just regional as far as I know.. I have never heard the term Patois personally. Quebecois is very accented and slangish compared to Parisian if I recall..
From your description, they seem to be the same thing. If a fluent French speaker can't even understand it, you know there's something wrong.
As far as I know they understand each other fine, there is just a lot of terms that don't quite match up. Same works with British, Canadian and American English. Some thing just don't quite match up
