Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Do You Speak Another Language?

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When I arrived in France I was thirty years old and did not speak more than three words of French.

Some of you have asked me what was that like and how long did it take me to learn to speak French.

 

1) It was hard.

Language isn't one of my natural gifts. I also do not like to study.

 

 

 

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It took me a very

 l………….o…………………..n…………………..g  

time to learn French.

I am still learning.

I have a very thick accent that doesn't bother me in the least because I do not hear it.

 

Twenty years ago at a dinner party, a man asked me if I could read in French.

I answered that I could read basic French but not classic novels. I also admitted I could not write in French.

In which he replied (in French) "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? After all these years you haven't learned?"

I replied, "I am stupid." I thought I might as well tell him what he thought and avoid any more of his insults. 

It worked.  

The conversation about my French language skills ended, though the dinner conversation continued on lighter topics.

 

 

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When French people ask me how long I have lived in France

I know in a small way they are judging my French. If I say, "Ten years," they often reply in one or two ways:

 

1) You speak well,  you have a charming accent.

 

or

 

2. You speak like this after twenty years?

 

After a while, this sort of response started bugging me. 

I thought I would change my answer so that we would all feel good.

Therefore when a French person asks me how long had I lived in France I say, "Not too long."

They respond by saying;

1) Incredible! Your French is very very good and I adore your accent.

 

They smile and I smile

everyone is happy.

 

 

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Yes, I am bending the truth. But that is a fault I can live with.

Unless God marks all that stuff down in which case I am busted.

I probably am busted for so many other things it won't matter anyway.

and personally, I don't believe God does that, and if God does do that then I 

don't believe in God. Did I just go from talking about my French skills to

confessing? That is a fuller conversation and one I enjoy in French and in English.

 

Scrapbookinghelp

 

I speak French.

I dream in French.

I can follow a conversation in French.

I started to speak French when I found out that I had cancer (nearly thirty years ago.)

amazing what a little fear can do to one's language skills.

 I can buy antiques in French.

I can also kiss in French,

make crepes, and I feel I have come a long way since the day I couldn't say more than oui and non.

I cannot pray in French.

Swearing in French does do it for me. But I know the swear words

I cannot tell a joke in either language.

Now that Gabriel is in my life I have another brilliant reason to speak English.

 

Comments

16 responses to “Do You Speak Another Language?”

  1. Kathie B

    Portuguese, but it’s been a struggle every step of the way, because I didn’t start studying the language until (nearly) 21 years ago. Plus the older the student, the harder the learning is.
    But believe me, it’s never too late to start, and I feel it’s absolutely been worth it!

    Reply
  2. Kathie B

    Que coincidência! This report just aired on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” about Brazilian musician Rodrigo Amarante, who immigrated to the U.S.:
    https://www.npr.org/2021/07/16/1016645441/rodrigo-amarante-and-his-great-musical-tantrum

    Reply
  3. Stubblejumpers Cafe

    After three months of living in a French-speaking community, a local girl chastised me for not speaking French better. “You don’t push yourself,” she said to me, accusingly.
    So I said to my loverboy, who always spoke to me in English, “From now on, we will speak only French, okay?”
    We did, and three months later my conversational French was fairly fluent. Enough to impress some.
    Immersion and actual speaking made all the difference.
    It’s great that Gabriel will learn English in this same natural way.
    -Kate

    Reply
  4. Tyleman

    Your post was very timely for me today. I’ve been here almost six years and my French is minimal. Unfortunately I also have a neurological condition (familial essential tremor), which makes learning difficult as an older (66) person. So I forget words or use the wrong word, as I did yesterday, asking for a pizza “pour envoyer” instead of “pour emporter.” After I said this the man at the pizza place replied in English, “you want it for takeaway?” Oh well, c’est la vie!

    Reply
  5. Paula

    I still understand Italian after living in Milan’ some 50 odd years ago. I can still get by in Italian but it is far from perfect. Whenever I can I watch Italian tv series , I don’t understand every word but I get the jist. I also did German in school and again understanding is better than speaking.

    Reply
  6. Jeanne

    Your posts are amazing. I was just asking myself that question I wonder how long it took Corey to speak fluent french. You are amazing and a brilliant woman. You shine and sparkle in everything you do. I am proud of you. When my Grandmother was alive she spoke to me mostly in Hungarian near the end of her life. I could understand it but never mastered speaking it. My grandson knows several languages and it’s a great asset. I love words as you know. They are magical in any language.
    Love Jeanne

    Reply
  7. Anna

    I still speak German with my cousins in Germany, but getting a bit rusty since my Mutti and Vati, Omas and Opas, Onkls and Tantes are no longer with us. And often when speaking with my sister, only a German word or phrase will do and we slip into Gerglish.

    Reply
  8. Maudie

    I resurrected my love of French during the past year and am taking language classes again.

    Reply
  9. Cynthia Rieth WIlliamson

    Corey, my husband who is 62 will often tell people he is closer to 55 than 50 which of course is true – he get’s away with it every time!

    Reply
  10. Texasfrancophile

    I love languages as well. Especially the way Romance languages flow. I tell my Vietnamese manicurist that they sound angry when they converse. LOL. Like Gabriel, i started out with two languages. Spanish & English. Priceless as you never forget you just get rusty. I lived in Venezuela from 6mos-10yrs. The fun part is practicing it now. That and
    Playing bridge is supposed to keep my mind sharp.
    Truly enjoyed this post.

    Reply
  11. Karyn

    French. Attended Catholic school where we learned French or Spanish from first grade on.
    Wish Americans would understand how difficult it can be to learn a second language. Without speaking another language, we can be so judgmental about those trying to take on English as a second language here in the US.
    Also, no matter the fluency level, it is wonderful to experience another way to live, to see the world. Thank you for sharing your French world with us, Corey.

    Reply
  12. Leslie in Oregon

    I so applaud and admire what you have accomplished with French, Corey. I know a bit about how difficult it is to learn another language after around age 16. It takes a person of indomitable spirit to do what you have done. I have been fascinated by languages (including my native English) for as long as I remember. Since I grew up in the US in the 1950s and 60s, the opportunity to study another language did not arise until I started high school After two years of Latin, I began a lifelong study and love of French, which has included two stints as an exchange student in French-speaking Switzerland and a great deal of time in France, almost all before I was 32. As a young adult, I spent three winters studying Russian in the USSR. I have also studied Italian and Spanish. Unfortunately, the most proficiency I have achieved was becoming conversational in French at one point. (That lasted only as long as I communicated mainly in French with native French speakers.) I hope to resume language immersion by living in a French-speaking country in the future and plan to resume studying Russian with a local native speaker as soon as possible. To me, the most beautiful language in the world is Finnish, and I look forward to spending more time in Finland than the month I spent there long ago.

    Reply
  13. jackie

    I have taken French 1 and French 2 at least 15 times over the last 50 years. I have always been impressed with your French language skills Corey! I remember Pascale Palun (a native speaker) complementing your French when we visited her at her shop/home in Avignon. You are way, way too modest.

    Reply
  14. Franki

    ‘Every language is I person.'(Arabic proverb) A language embodies more than just words and grammar. When you learn a language in the context of its culture there is an added dimension of understanding of that culture,but also, you feel it from within and express yourself differently. Even body language changes.
    My French is a work in progress(** years).Great vocab…questionable grammar.A few short courses in France, while helpful,the greater amount of learning was at my host families dinner tables.Communication not perfection is the goal.
    I also have a long term interest in Arabic (taught English in Beirut for 3 years), and Covid led me to hop online and yesterday I completed 365 consecutive days of Italian on Duolingo (free). For me, it is about PEOPLE.Heck with conjugations(subjunctive,duh!)When in doubt, hazard a guess,FAKE IT and smile (genuinely)..or add a bit of mime. Bon chance!

    Reply
  15. Fat Rabbit

    Whenever I am in France some of my high school French returns. But my niece says that I have terrible accent. I blame that on my deafness!
    So I admire you Corey!

    Reply
  16. Marilyn

    I wish I could speak French.
    I think it is a lifetime of learning.

    Reply

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