Sunday, December 27, 2009

La très petite fête multiculturel

If you throw une petite fête en français and personne vient

Then do you continue talking to yourself in French for the evening?

I’ll remember for next time that people are too wiped out from the Christmas festivities to attend even a casual party in the aftermath. I realized this even on Christmas night, as I rolled myself and my children home from my best friend’s house at 10:30 Friday night.

Perhaps I exaggerate un peu, though. A good friend of mine took pity on my movie showing for one and came over, but while he speaks a little Russian and some good but rusty Spanish, il ne parle pas français, sauve pour les mots qu'il trouve sur le traducteur par l’internet.

He also doesn’t eat cheese (sacrilege!), so I still have a fridge full of brie with a cranberry and almond sauce.

I took his picture as he left after watching Joyeux Noël with me, but he made me promise not to post it. But I swear, I did have one guest! Il faut que vous me créiez!

Ah well, si personne n’est venu, si plus de fromage pour moi, je suppose.

La prochaine fois, adventures in finding a French streaming radio station d’ecouter

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

When Francophones and Commando Kids Collide…



Si mes amis doubted my comments about my son being très actif, they believe me now, after Lane took the Seattle French Conversation meetup by storm last Saturday! It reminded me why my own studies sometimes seem stilted. I appreciate the group being understanding, but when I asked a nice young man si il aimait les enfants, he clearly wasn’t sure how to respond. That wouldn’t have been because my son was a ça moment jumping up and down  comme un singe, would it?

Alors, despite their occasional protests and unpolished manners, I think my children get a lot out of those meetings, and I always appreciate the gentle attitude of my francophone amis avec mes enfants.

Le français et une affaire de la famille!




Saturday, December 12, 2009

Reality check

Inside my head I’m practically French. I live it and breathe it (on weekends...as much as possible...when les enfants agaçants aren’t bellowing belligerent English mots in my oreilles), I throw parties in French. and I drink French wine whenever I can get my hands on it.

But then, inevitably, something happens to remind me how loin d’être française I am.

All because I get full of the French in my head, forgetting it's pretty much trapped in there still.

«Ha, I think, in quasi-self-convincing French. It’s been months since I last discovered I couldn’t compete with a native French speaker at Lexulous (a strange and challenging version of Scrabble on Facebook). Surely I would hold my own now that I’ve been quasi-self-convincingly sort of immersed en français, for oh, une heure, plus ou moins cinquante minutes.»

About three moves and a handicap of more than 200 points later, I've changed my tune.

Comment dit-on «Wrong again»?
 

Following are a few things that remind me that I'm not there yet…gleaned from my own experiences and what I’ve heard from others…

  • Watch a movie in French…without the subtitles...for five minutes.
  • Call a French friend’s father…try to have a conversation en français.
  • Try to read a French children's book and get the gist without looking up words.
  • Make a meal in your kitchen, calling things strictly by their French names.
  • Invite two French friends over for cocktail and try to hold up your end of the conversation. Or just try to figure out what they’re laughing about.
  • Put your Facebook home page into French as the language and try to update your privacy settings.
  • Challenge a French speaker to a friendly game of Lexulous!
Bonne chance!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Bienvenue

Welcome to Franglaphone,

A collection of thoughts and tips from my adventures in learning the French language and culture. I'm a debutante, but sans jupe as one Francophone recently observed. I think it was apropos, as I would characterize myself a practical learner, with the primary goal of communicating with actual people in spoken French, for the purpose of making friends and being able to converse with them en Français. Still, I am also curieuse, and want to know the rules and la raison, not just what sounds right.

Like many adult learners, I'm always looking for ways to improve my vocabulary and comprehension. I visit French conversation groups everywhere I go--recently Oahu, Seattle, and Spokane--soon, I hope, in France! I'll share my discoveries with you, partly in English, partly en Français, bien sûr.

Alors, on y va.
Jeanne