lost in translation ... sorta

okay I've been living in France for almost three years now (omg, has it really been that long and yes that's right world, looky me LIVING in France ... but I digress) and I am still learning the most basic of vocabulary. or sometimes finding out that I had a word completely wrong in my head based on how it sounds.

an example.

I'm always asking my dogs nicely (okay yelling)to go outside. since here I have heard JY tell the dogs to go out, in French. It sounds like vah door. now of course it isn't that ... and many times I am loathe to ask since it seems continuous and so many times I will just think it over in my head, imagining finally that I know what the words are. doesn't matter anyway, really ... I just tell them 'vah door' knowing it means go outside. but I am always in search of the written as well as spoken word. it helps me to retain the words when I can picture them written in my imagination.

so of course I know that the first word is vas. derrrr. I turned over the second, door, in my head. no it isn't d'or because I know that or is gold and it isn't 'go of gold' we are shooting for.

so then, still talking to myself in my pea brain, I think about dor or some version. well hell, dor would be some version of dormir which is sleep and we aren't telling them to 'go sleep' (not usually anyway). hmmm. being the femme au contraire that I am, there is no way I am heading for the dictionary. I resolve to reflect more but since I know how to pronounce the phrase and its meaning I can use it and worry about spelling later.

meanwhile I am confronted with the word 'hors' more and more, always ignoring it until I reach an ATM that is hors services and I am all like what the ??? I don't see any hours written, oh wait that would be horaires or heures ... hmmm. and how did hors get wrapped up with ATMs AND appetizers?????????????

okay so I cave in look up hors and it means out. you mean to tell me I have been here almost three years and never learned (or needed to learn) the simple word OUT???? good god woman.

take it a step further and look up the word outside. dehors. pronounced duhor. when spoken quickly, door.

so yes folks it is ' vas dehors ' ... go outside. but more like GET OUT!!! when said by JY! lol

I could give more examples exactly like this where words you know to speak, when written are entirely off base. then begins the scavenger hunt, piecing bits together to get to the whole picture. fortunately, the main form of communication is spoken and one can slip by a bit ...

zee franche she ees a funny ting, no??

je suis heureuse!

aujourd'hui Jean-Yves m'a dit que mon français a été meilleur les derniers jours. il a dit je me rappelle d'employer les petits mots qui sont si importants en français!

il est enseignement dur d'un vieux de nouveaux tours chien et encore plus dur pour acquérir une nouvelle langue après l'enfance… que je pense que j'ai rayonné comme une écolière qui a obtenu A!

j'ai pensé il était nécessaire de vous dire que cette histoire en français, il est plus appropriée!

yet another faux-pas.

omg. that reminds me of something I found hilarious. and embarrassing. at the same exact moment!

In my Friday French lesson, I had to write (in French, of course) a summary of a bad internet shopping experience I've had. This is a typical example of the kind of work we do .... something real life .... and then, during the lesson we discuss all of my *les erreurs* as well as the topic at hand.

anyway, so I was relating a bad eBay experience with a female vendor and in my story I referred to her as la Madame. Because I had previously learned that instead of saying l'homme for when you want to say 'the man' ... did this or that, it is better to say le monsieur.

so Laurence tells me, with a chuckle, that it is not la madame. unless you are referring to someone who was of royalty. or worked in a brothel!!!

well, if I had a euro for every time I've said la madame instead of la dame, I could buy myself and a hot le monsieur a nice dinner somewhere. lord knows how many women I've referred to as being house-of-ill-repute employees!

why oh why didn't one of my French friends correct me by now????!!!

why? because I'm the entertainment, folks.

sigh.

le futur ...

my my my ... yesterday in my French group we embarked upon le futur! I have yet to master the present not to mention passé composée and here I am trying to think about adding an extra "R" plus avoir to the end of everything. talk about tongue twisters!

The approach to my French group is actually quite informative. No endless memorization, rote pronunciation drills or disciplined dictées. I am learning about life in France as I learn to speak about it.

The workbooks we use all center around relevant life topics that are current in French life ... we've covered PACSg and socio-cultural norms including how to label/address different family and coupling scenarios. We have lively conversations about the week's political activities ... in all the countries represented (UK, US, France). Barack and Sarah provided much fodder, indeed! These group sessions are supplemented by a weekly 1:1 lesson ... I'm hoping my finances allow me to continue this approach next year. C'etais une investissement dans ma nouvelle vie et mon futur!

This week we did some language and sentence dissection, to be sure. But we were dissecting the lyrics to a popular Bénabar song. Just so happens that J-Y had suggested I buy Bénabar as a way to improve my language and enjoy a new generation of French folk music. He's such a smarty-pants. So I brought the 2 disc CD with me ... which included a DVD of a live concert. Bénabar's music represents a very traditional French genre where the emphasis and importance are more on the lyrics and less on stylized musicality.

After listening to the program's version of the song and explaining the meaning with each other, in French, Laurence broke out her brand-new DVD/TV monitor and we were treated to a live performance of "le Dinér" ... a droll song about all the many ways a couple could avoid a social engagement they aren't looking forward to, and instead stay home ... under the covers!

Did I mention that Bénabar is a talented young man who is quite easy on the eyes?

a few more tidbits for the parlez-vous'ing

ça vaut la peine (it's worth it)
à peu prés (approximately)
s'a me touche (it touched me)
se sentir bien/mal (I'm feeling good, bad)
combien de temps (how long, referring to time)
combien de fois (how many times)
J'ai besoin de ton aide (I need your help)
Je me suis bien amusé (I had a good time)
appeler = téléphoner (to phone)
ça t'a plu? (did you like it?)
oui, ça m'a plu or non, ça ne m'a pas plu
faire la grasse màtinée ('sleep in' morning)
Mes amis m'ont dit que (my friends told me that)
il m'a dit/elle m'a dit (he/she told me)
un roman (novel)
perdre les clés (lose the keys)
à l'étranger (abroad)
un étranger (a stranger)
sauf (except)
je n'ai pas bien dormi (I didn't sleep well)
une autre fois (another time)
enlever (take off)
Merci pour ton aide (thanks for your help)
se tromper (mistake)
prendre un verre (take a drink)
Tu aimerais déjeuner avec moi? (Would you like to have lunch with me?) chez moi? (at my house)
faire les devoirs (doing the homework)



Oh, the poppy image is one that will be incorporated into a mural on the ceiling of the 'cage escalier' (staircase) ... do you like it?

compendium of (dubiously) useful French words and phrases.

why dubiously? because they are considered so in my estimation and maybe not yours.  Of course, I learned loads more like a bigger start on verbs, passé composée, etc.  But these are just little bits applicable to my life and also more regularly used by the French.

I just completed 4 weeks of 1:1 French classes, twice a week for 90 minutes each session.  I only missed one class (my last one, yesterday) due to sudden change of itinerary related to my doctor's appointment.

so ... here they are, in no particular order.

c'est nul.   (It's crap.)

faire les courses.  (shop for food, go grocery shopping).

un garagiste/mécanicien (mechanic).

sans le voir. (sight unseen).

il le faut, il a fallee (necessary, was necessary)  (( ban c'est necessaire from your lexicon!))

bouger (move - as with a piece of furniture about the room).

demanager (move from a country)

à tout de suite (a few minutes)

à tout a l'heure (later today)

je t'ai dit (I told you)

je me doute (I guess)

insupportable (unbearable)

je suis énervée (I'm irritated)

ça m'énerve! (on my nerves)

avoir peur de quelque chose (to fear something - like huge nasty spiders!)

avoir besoin de (a need for, I need .. with je)

un mure en pierres apparentes (exposed stone)

il y à dix ans (it's been 10 years or 10 years ago)

je te plainds (poor you, as in poor you for having to try and speak French with me ...)

comment ça s'est passé (so, how did it go?)

décontracté (casual)

qu'est-ce-que ça veut dire? (what does it mean?)

ça suffit (it's enough)

la semaine derniere (last week)

la semaine prochaine (next week)

des rideaux (curtains)

dénicher (found a special thing)

la belle famille (in-laws)

dépeche-toi! (hurry up)

je me suis excusé (I apologize)

le sable (sand)

la poussiére (dust)

allumer (switch on)

éteindre (turn off)

donner à manger (to feed...like the dogs)

des placards de cuisine (kitchen cupboards)

de temps en temps (time to time)

perdre les clés (lose the keys)

j'ai envie (I've been craving)

ni vu, ni connu (nobody could tell)

sauter de joie (jump with joy)

hier, avant-hier (yesterday, day before yesterday)

demain, aprés demain (tomorrow, day after tomorrow)

il y à des jours 'avec' et des jours 'sans' (some days are better than others)

se sentir bien/mal (feel good/bad)

ça t'a plu? (did you like it, common phrase of the French)

le décalage horaire (time difference)

c'etait pas terrible (it isn't great)

je dois (I must)

Our process during the lesson is Laurence (mon professeur) takes a colored sheet of paper and jots down all the words and phrases I haven't understood throughout the lesson. The lesson ends with me reviewing this paper and identifying the meaning in English. I have all of these various papers for reference, in addition to many exercise sheets from homework.

I do think I've made progress in the last month. Next week I begin a fall group session with 7 other people. Should be fun!

(image from images01.trafficz.com)

franglais. or anglais en france.

In the time that I've been here, I've heard my share of opinions regarding the English. Particularly the English in the Dordogne. Most of what I have heard has been from the French. Then last week, when my internet arrived and I had some heavy duty surfing moments, I was googling various combinations of expatriate integration into France.

I read some really eyebrow singe-ing articles and comments. One was written by an English couple living here, bemoaning the lack of participation by the English in French life (here in France). They recounted a recent evening at the village fete and being the only English attendees from a village with many English dwellers. They made some comments about how this widened an existing gap. Commenters to this online article were indignant. Some went so far as to saying ... "So what if we don't want to be a part of French life, maybe we are here for the weather!! Its our business, isn't it?"

That got me to thinking about my attendance at my own village fete. No, I hadn't "seen" many English at the lunch tables. I didn't see the local Irish B&B owners. I thought also of the night market I attended in Thiviers. And how I looked and looked for the owners of the Thiviers hotel ... nowhere to be seen. This night I was with Marjo and Rodolphe, the agency owners from Thiviers who do not live in Thiviers proper ... but participate in town life as much as possible. Now of course it could absolutely also be that these folks were there and I didn't see them.

I have been told by my French friends that the English they know are insular. They socialize with each other, form their own clubs, have their own bars/restaurants they frequent, support English businesses where ever possible. and on and on. I've met English who tell me the French are unapproachable, unfriendly despite many attempts. The truth must lie somewhere in between, eh?

On the other hand, I've now begun meeting some English and like everything else, there is more variety there than what appears on the surface. For example, I've met the local B&B owners and they have had a terrible time since moving here a few years back. Trouble is, most of that terrible time was served them by an English criminal who had a fraudulent building business and took them for nearly $100k US. They chose this fellow because he was English. This has soured them a bit on France, but they are stuck. They have been kinder than kind and given me various tips for things I need. Like dog sitting.

They introduced me to another English couple that I met yesterday. Been here about 5 years or so, first as holiday-makers and now full time. The gentleman tells me he would really like to improve his French. Then sheepishly admitted no classes had been attempted but he wants to try!

At the thai curry dinner last week, the English to French ratio was about 80:20. The English folks were gregarious towards me, and had lots of stories for me. Many of which began with "The French this and the French that." And not in kind terms. One particular instance was mocking the French builders/workers way of doing things. How it takes so long, and they disappear. I recounted the tale of my new Irish acquaintances. How much better off they would have been with a French builder. Awkward silence ensued. At the same event, I met another couple (the artist and his girlfriend) who own a nightclub up the way. Her French was marvellous. The French in attendance appeared to all be friends of this young and energetic couple. She tells me their clientele is 90+ percent French. They've been here 3 years and have achieved integration.

The owners of this Irish hotel live in a little village near Brantome with their 2 kids. Their French too is superb. And in my French class I have an English couple, an English woman and an American woman. All working to improve their French. I was immediately drawn to the English couple ... living 1/2 time here, 1/2 time in France. Moved here because everyone was so kind, she says. Notices few English in everyday French life and thinks it is a shame. Keeps trying to get acquainted with their French neighbors, no matter how difficult it seems. Loving every minute of every day and as positive as they come.

One common theme I've heard with ALL of the characters met above is this. If one wants to achieve ANY level of integration, one must develop at least a rudimentary command of the language.

I see a huge influx of English every Friday in the market. They can't ALL be vacationers. Because of course there are tons of French too. But where do they all go after market?

Okay, this hasn't been too insightful has it? After 5 weeks here, I'm hesitant to proffer judgments or conclusions. At this point I'll just say that it is obviously like every other stereotype to be found out there. So many shades of grey exist. I'm reserving further opinions until I've had more time to look closely. I've seen truth in the the judgments. And exceptions.

But I'm definitely leaning in the French direction. Along with some of my non-French acquaintances. We're here for the French. The French culture. lifestyle. PEOPLE. wine. landscape. LANGUAGE. and that certain indescribable je ne sais quoi.

I for one definitely did not move halfway around the world for the weather.