Fluent French

[pic] Fluent French Experiences of an English speaker
by Erik T. Mueller
Citation: Mueller, Erik T. (1998). Fluent French: Experiences of an English
speaker. New York: Signiform. Available: http://www.signiform.com/french/
Read more about French
[pic] Contents 1. What would it be like to speak French fluently?
2. Section 1: Words and expressions
1. The basics of spoken French
2. Conversational tics
3. Synonyms for good
4. Hedges
5. Interjections
6. Inventing new words
7. Everyday differences
8. Television
9. Common knowledge
10. Tu versus vous
11. Meeting and parting
12. Politeness
13. Yuppies
14. Cyberspeak
15. The newness of language
16. Language change and "bad" grammar
17. Learning new words
18. Cute words and expressions
3. Section 2: Comparisons with English
1. French sounds more complicated
2. French sounds simpler
3. French sounds too categorical
4. French gives a more negative impression
5. Learning new words in English via French
6. An explosion of words
7. Nonexistent words in French or English
8. Number of words for expressing a given concept
9. Inversion in statements
10. English-sounding French expressions
11. Proto-Indo-European
12. False friends
13. Phrasal verbs
14. Noun-noun combinations
15. Punctuation differences
16. Acronyms
17. Common mistakes made by English speakers in French
4. Section 3: Fine points
1. Tense agreement
2. Antecedents
3. Negatives
4. Numbers and letters
5. Pronouncing vowels
6. Pronouncing consonants
7. Intonation
5. Looking Back
6. Acknowledgements
7. Further Reading
8. Additional commonly-used words and phrases
1. Adjectives
2. Adverbs
3. Nouns
4. Verbs
5. Expressions
[pic]
Copyright © 1998 Erik Thomas Mueller.
All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative
information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is provided with
the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal,
accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert
assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person
should be sought. (Based on a declaration of principles jointly adopted by
a committee of the American Bar Association and a committee of publishers.) Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness
of information contained in this book, the author and publisher assume no
responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency
herein. Any slights of people, places, or organizations are unintentional.
All brand names and product names in this book are the trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective owners and/or manufacturers.
Mueller, Erik Thomas
Fluent French: Experiences of an English speaker / Erik Thomas Mueller
ISBN 0-9660746-2-9
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 98-90278
[pic] What would it be like to speak French fluently? I fell in love with the French language when I began studying it in high
school. After visiting Paris for a week and living with a French family for
three weeks, I loved it even more. I wondered what it would be like to
learn to speak French fluently:
Is there a single moment when the language finally clicks and you
understand it? When can you speak it? How long does it take? Once you can
understand and speak it, does it feel as natural as English? Can you
distinguish different dialects-both accents and vocabulary? In the same way
as English dialects? How much are the differences between English and
French cultural?
I didn't know whether I would ever find out the answers to these questions.
Then years later, I was given the opportunity by my employer to transfer to
their Paris office. I lived in France for three years, during which I kept
a record of words, expressions, and perceptions.
I have organized this into three major sections, each consisting of short
chapters. The first section discusses various French words and expressions,
the second concentrates on comparisons between French and English (though
such comparisons are made in the other sections as well), and the third
discusses some of the finer points of French. At the end, I will review the
above questions and attempt to answer them.
It is assumed the reader knows some basic French, though translations will
be provided. Examples will be given in Parisian French and American English-
what I am familiar with. I have tried to provide translations which are as
accurate and idiomatic as possible in my dialect of English. (Though some
readers will undoubtedly find them ``too American''.) Section 1: Words and expressions
The basics of spoken French When I first arrived in France while in high school, I was surprised to
learn that ne is often omitted in spoken French:
written French spoken French English
________________________ _____________________ ____________________________
Il n'est pas tr?s cher. Il est pas tr?s cher. It's not very expensive.
Je ne sais pas. Je sais pas. I don't know.
Je ne vois plus Corinne. Je vois plus Corinne. I don't see Corinne anymore.
Cela ne sert ? rien. Ca sert ? rien. It's of no use.
Ne bouge pas! Bouge pas! Freeze!
ne is never deleted in written French.
In French before a vowel, le and la become l', que becomes qu', and so on.
In spoken French there are even more contractions:
Je ne sais pas. J'sais pas. I don't know.
Tu es fou. T'es fou. You're crazy.
Il ne faut pas le dire. Faut pas le dire. You shouldn't say it.
tout ce qu'ils font tout ce qu'i'font everything they do
peut-?tre p't'?t' maybe
J'sais pas is pronounced jsaispas. It is often contracted further to ché
pas and in the extreme becomes simply chpas. To sound authentic, you must
pronounce the ch sound twice, and say chché pas. Je suis is also shortened
to chchuis.
Questions are formed without the inversion or est-ce que usually taught in
French class:
written French spoken French English
______________________ _________________________ ____________________
Qui est-ce? C'est qui? or Qui c'est? Who is it?
O? vas-tu? O? tu vas? Where are you going?
or Tu vas o??
Comment t'appelles-tu? Tu t'appelles comment? What's your name?
or Comment tu t'appelles?
Quel âge as-tu? T'as quel âge? How old are you?
or Quel âge t'as?
A rising voice pitch or intonation is used in yes/no questions such as the
following, to distinguish them from declarative sentences:
Ne trouves-tu pas? Tu trouves pas? Don't you think?
Est-elle sortie? Elle est sortie? Did she leave?
Extra pronouns at the beginning or end of the sentence are very often used
for emphasis:
Ché pas, moi. I dunno.
Moi, ché pas. I dunno.
Moi, j'pense que... I think...
C'est important, ça. That's important.
Ca, c'est important. That's important. Conversational tics There are some very common reflex-like phrases. To express agreement:
C'est ça. That's right.
Effectivement. Indeed.
En effet. Right.
Justement. Exactly./As a matter of fact, yes./That's the thing.
Tout ? fait. Absolutely.
Absolument. Absolutely.
Exactement. Exactly.
Exact./C'est exact. That's right./That's correct.
Voil?. Right./There you are.
Bien s?r. Of course.
Eh oui. I'm afraid so./You got it.
Bon. Fine. (can also mean "fine!" as in not fine)
D'accord. OK.
oui is pronounced a variety of ways. Listening to my coworkers talking on
the phone, I noticed they would say oui (yes) at first and then ouais
(yeah). The first oui was more of a "Yes, how may I help you?" or "Yes, got
it" and the later ouais more of a "Yes, right."
The ee sound in oui-for that matter all final ee and oo (as in tout) sounds
in French-are often pronounced with an extra air hissing/blowing sound or
constricted flow of air.
oui is often pronounced with what sounds to me like a "smiling" sound.
When interjecting ouais while the other person is speaking, to indicate you
are following, it is often pronounced by inhaling air into the mouth
instead of exhaling from the lungs as is normally the case.
Ways of saying what:
Comment? What?
Quoi? (less formal) What?
Hein? (even less formal) Huh?
Pardon? (more formal) Pardon?
Oui? What?
Comment ça? What do you mean?
C'est ? dire? What do you mean?
C'est quoi, ça? What's that?
Some other very frequent short phrases:
Ah bon? Really?
Bien s?r. Yeah, right. (said ironically to express disbelief)
Ca y est? So, are you ready?/Are you all set?/Got it?
Ca y est. There we are./That's it./I'm all set./Got it!
Ca va. I'm OK.
Ca se voit. It shows./You can tell.
Ca va de soi. That goes without saying.
Ca n'a rien ? voir. That has nothing to do with it./No comparison./
It's like night and day.
C'est ça? Is that it?
C'est pas grave. That's all right./It doesn't matter.
C'est evident. It's obvious.
C'est pas evident. It's not so easy. (to do, to figure out)
C'est pas vrai ! I can't believe it!/You've got to be kidding!
Je n'en sais rien. I have no idea.
Je ne sais plus. I don't know anymore.
Je m'en fous. I couldn't care less.
M?me pas. Not even.
On y va? Shall we go?
O? ça? Where?
Qu'es