Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Pretending to be French

Pretending to be French

 

Pretending to be French. 

Do you know that I can

Fake a French accent in English. I have heard it plenty.

I can set the table like a French person, merci Belle Mere.

I can "do" the facial expressions of a French person.

Actually, I can fake being French pretty well, years of fitting in will do that to a person.

Unfortunately, I do not have that French-ness that is undeniably hard to describe, yet is evident and tangible throughout France.

Oui?

 

 

Pretending to be French

 More that one thing is certain, among them my English accent will never go away. Which doesn't bother me in the least, because I cannot hear it? And when I need to pretend I am a tourist, nor an expat I put the accent on thick… For example, the other day, when I was pulled over I said in French with a thick accent,

"But police officer, excuse me, but I did not see the red light?"

The police officer shrugged his shoulder, and said, "Zut, a Tourist!"

They say if you learn another language before you are 18 years old or so, it is possible to speak without an accent. They say if you learn a language before you are 8, chances are that you will always speak that language forever.

Okay.

I have an accent, I started to learn French when I was thirty years old.

But, as I said, I can make enough French expressions with my face to convey that I am speaking or and that I am at least French…

Really.

Oui.

An entire conversation can be carried on with non verbal expression and the word French word "ca-va."

 

 

 

Pretending to be French

 

If you wear a beret, you will stand out.

If you wear stripes you will stand out too, unless you are in the south and it is summer.

But who cares it is so adorable and French!

Doesn't my doodle look, French? It sure doesn't look Austrian, nor African, or Texan.

Pretending to be French.

I like crepes.

 

Comments

11 responses to “Pretending to be French”

  1. g

    I like to pretend too-when I am visiting a huge mansion for instance -I pretend I grew up there and I can see it all in my mind I love pretending-I also love that doodle OH LA LA…so French …. non?

    Reply
  2. Diogenes

    I grew up in Dallas. At our school they started the kids in French early, second grade. I remember we had a girl in our French class with a very, very heavy Texas twang. She spoke French in class with that same accent. Now that was something to hear! 50 years later it makes me laugh.

    Reply
  3. martina

    New neighbor thought I might speak fluent French (which I don’t-yet)because of the many French things around the chateau er my home. Perhaps the first clues indications were the Chat Lunatique and Attention Au Chien enamel signs by the front door…
    Corey, you do have a certain je ne sais quoi!

    Reply
  4. Sue

    Ahhh, I have to envy you a little. I will never, ever be able to blend in here in Japan! I guess I was near the cut off. I started learning Japanese when I was 18. A lot of people tell me that I have very natural sounding Japanese pronunciation (including my daughter, whom I can actually believe). Chopsticks? Bowing? Noodle slurping? No problem – but still, I will never blend in! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Violet Cadburry

    is that your doodle, oh la la, love it!

    Reply
  6. Kathie B

    Some research indicates that in most cases a person cannot learn to speak another language without accent unless s/he starts by age 13. Ironically, back in my youth, our school district had a policy that students weren’t allowed even to start studying a foreign language until 8th grade, on grounds that they believed children weren’t ready yet until then (at the earliest) — go figure!
    I’m adept at being the helpless tourist in Portuguese whenever it suits me (and sometimes even when it doesn’t!).

    Reply
  7. Linda

    Bien sûre, your doodle is very French!

    Reply
  8. RebeccaNYC

    I started studying French in the 6th Grade, and as a singer have studied French pronunciation pretty extensively, so my pronunciation is not TERRIBLE, but I am so far from good. However, one of the proudest moments of my life came last year when I was doing some shopping with a girlfriend here in France. She took me into her cousins shop and introduced me. We exchanged pleasantries and then my friend said I was visiting from NYC. Her cousin was totally shocked. “But I thought you were FRENCH!” So proud. After all these years, I have finally learned to say “Hello” and “Pleased to meet you” completely correctly.

    Reply
  9. Curtains in My Tree

    I so enjoy reading your thoughts and wish I could speak one work of the French language

    Reply
  10. Valerie Spanswick

    I love your doodle! You convey so much with just a few simple lines and color.
    I lived in England for ten years, and while I didn’t have to deal with a new language, I definitely had different reactions when people heard my American accent. In the early years, shop clerks would become subtly more aloof when I spoke, but after a few years when I picked up the cadence and more British enunciation that didn’t happen so much. Although I still sounded American, at least it was obvious I wasn’t a tourist. I never could make myself say to-mah-to, though!

    Reply
  11. Rebecca from the pacific northwest (now in Lagrasse)

    Wait, you created that sketch?? Nice!
    I remember on our honeymoon in Switzerland, venturing forth with a little Switzer-Deutsch, someone local telling me that my “American accent was so charming.” Who knew. We americans always thought that everyone Else had the accents.

    Reply

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