Week two of French lessons and it's kicking my argot. Actually I can read the words and understand what they mean. I can usually get the gender, tense, etc right, too. It's when it gives me a verbal sentence to translate that I lose it. To me it sounds like ellefillegarconcahtnoirettubrutesontsomme when it's said in .003 seconds.
Hold on there Kemo Sabe....S L O W D O W N. "Es" and "est" both sound the same to me when spoken at warp speed. What happened to the "t" sound? If France is supposed to be such a laid back place, why do they talk so damn fast?
I'm thinking about speaking in English and then just wrapping it in a faux-French accent. Have you ever noticed how all mimes are French? You know why that is? Because learning French kicked their argot, too.
Seriously, I'm committed to learning this. I've always wanted to learn another language. I'm thinking it will keep my mind....oh look....I Love Lucy is on.
The British on the other hand, despite their outwardly stodgy image, seem to know how to have a good time.
Reading the announcement of the new Royal Baby, Prince Elmo
An English judge
The famous Beefeaters
It looks to me like the whole country is just one giant costume party.
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K is taking a few days off work, so today we're going to visit the new George Dubya Bush Library on the SMU campus in Dallas. Photos to follow.
Have a good day everyone. Stay cool.
S
I feel your pain...I mean, I really feel your pain. As you know, I speak English as a second language. German does not have the "th" sound, so our English teacher in high school said we should try to make an "s" sound while sticking our tongue between our teeth. Of course, this is a totally unnatural thing for a German to do and a lot of them just forget to do this...
ReplyDeleteJust watch this clip about the German Coast Guard trainee.
Just as an aside - in German, the "W" sound is pronounced like a "V" and the "V" sound like an "F." You should hear me trying to say "Wellsville" when I've had a glass of wine too many... :-)
Ha! Love the Coast Guard clip. So how did you learn English? "Total immersion"? Classroom? A program like Berlitz or Rosetta Stone?
DeleteI learned English the old-fashioned way...nine years in school. After graduation I started working as a civilian for the U.S. Army in Germany and also met my ex-husband (an American), which meant I started speaking English on a daily basis.
DeleteNow I'm so good at it that I correct Americans... :-p
If you see Dubya tell him I said hi. I like him a lot more now that he isn't president.
ReplyDeleteDub said "hey" back at you Stephen.
ReplyDeleteI tried to learn French listening to a Marcel Marceau record album.
ReplyDelete