For those of you who travel to France - are you now bilingual? 😀

[yodeli]

Sorry to say.... I don't understand !
Now this is going to be interesting, French course to a French by a UK person. Did you learn this one in France Belgium or Switzerland (I vote for Belgium, a French would have said Toc Toc instead of Frappe frappe))

 

[DDJC]

In May, I was passing some guy sitting outside his moho with the bread, and gave him a cheery bonjour.
He smiled and said in perfect English "Ah, but we say Goede morgen". I know a handful of Dutch words so I apologised.

He shrugged. "Why would you know Dutch? No one except us and a few Belgians speak it. Everyone knows English."

I felt a bit ashamed by this. I can get by in France and Italy and probably order a beer in Germany. But the only Dutch I know is Good Morning, Hello, a few other pleasantries and a very rude phrase that I was advised to only ever use in Amsterdam.

But this was countered by my favourite memory in Milano. I was parking up in the (very rough looking) motorhome park in the city. I was talking to the guy there, and he was getting more and more grumpy with me. Finally, he said "Sei di napoletano?" (Are you from Naples?).

I was rather taken aback and replied "No, sono inglese." (I am English). He immediately cheered up and replied in pretty good English, "OK, Inglese. No problem..." He paused then, "Do you know you speak Italian with Neapolitan accent?"

I don't think the Milanese and Neapolitans get on!

 

[Barbie and Ken]

I’m still learning English

 

[yodeli]

cyberyacht

Just burst out laughing, nearly wet myself, reading your signature
"If at first you don't succeed, forget sky-diving."

 

[Mike Rivers]

Always made me laugh when I think of all the really useful French phrases I learned at school. These come in very handy if you’re in a queue at a Super U or similar where you turn to the person behind you and casually say something like “Jean et dans la salle de classe” with a shrug of the shoulders acting like you’re a local when reality is they think you’re the village idiot as you’ve just told them “John is in the classroom”.

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[Janine]

Always made me laugh when I think of all the really useful French phrases I learned at school. These come in very handy if you’re in a queue at a Super U or similar where you turn to the person behind you and casually say something like “Jean et dans la salle de classe” with a shrug of the shoulders acting like you’re a local when reality is they think you’re the village idiot as you’ve just told them “John is in the classroom”.

La plume de ma tante!

 

[varaizian]

I did, and passed (just) O level French 50 odd years ago and still remember quite a lot, though I find written French easier. My accent is appalling and I have been told my English is more comprehensible than my French to the average French person.
On one occasion I was asked where we had come from and I said Millau, never heard of that she said. I had pronounced it rather as spelled 'Mill ow" when I wrote it down she said 'ah meal yo' or something like that.

I think it is pronounced like "miaow" but it never works for me either.

 

[varaizian]

Something I can't stop myself doing is translating km speed limits to miles, just can't stop it, despite the fact that I check my speed on the sat nav in km

On the odd occasions that I visit the UK in a French vehicle with only kms/hr on the speedo I use the 16x table to convert. e.g at 30mpm take the first number and multiply by 16 so 3 x 16 = 48 kph. Keeps me awake too!

 

[sedge]

Millau = me - yo - the 'yo' being the Black Country pronunciation of 'you'.

 

[yodeli]

Millau = me - yo - the 'yo' being the Black Country pronunciation of 'you'.

Perfect!!!

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[yodeli]

La plume de ma tante!

JJ used to give me the whole lesson with 'la plume de ma tante"!! "See woman, I can speak French!"
Yeah right , as if!!!

After a while I had portuguese stuff instead, don't ask me what stuff, I don't know what he was saying, but I've seen many a cashier have a laugh! And if it didn't work then once or twice I saw him make a euro note disappear.... magic always works on women!

Edit : Have you read JJ's signature... Makes me really laugh too!

 

[Gillygrim]

I was lucky enough to have two years at boarding school in France (Nantes) when I was 17/18, followed by a year in Morocco with a boyfriend, living on a carpark in an old caravan. I'm 80 this year and still fairly fluent although I do tend to use expressions from the early 60s. My French teacher at Grammar school used to get really annoyed because somehow I knew what she was saying before she translated it ! I'm sure I was French in an earlier life and had it not been for various family obligations I'd have been living in France years ago. Like Queen Marie Stuart I shall die with France written on my heart but not until I've had many more years of travelling over there !!

 

[cyberyacht]

On the odd occasions that I visit the UK in a French vehicle with only kms/hr on the speedo I use the 16x table to convert. e.g at 30mpm take the first number and multiply by 16 so 3 x 16 = 48 kph. Keeps me awake too!

I should hope you were awake at Mach 2.36. The scenery is going by at quite a lick.

 

[yodeli]

I'm sure I was French in an earlier life

Funnily enough I tend to think I was Scottish in an earlier life! Each time I have been there, it was like coming back to my roots. I wish I could go more often. Not possible right now!

 

[Janine]

Having done A Level French (and German) I went straight from school to train for a few years in Belgium and then Switzerland where my languages came in very useful. While living there I adopted the local way of counting instead of the way I had been taught in school (70 became ‘septante‘ instead of soixante-dix, 80 became ‘huitante‘ instead of quatre-vingt, and 90 became ‘nonante’ instead of quatre-vingt-dix). So much easier to say nonante-neuf for 99 instead of the traditional French mouthful quatre-vingt-dix-neuf. I still count like that and I love how the French are completely thrown a curveball when they hear a form of slang from a Brit when they’re probably not expecting anything more than the basics.

For those who might get it:

Frappe, frappe.
’Qui est là?’
’Losty’
’Losty qui?’
’Oui’

Sorry to say.... I don't understand !
Now this is going to be interesting, French course to a French by a UK person. Did you learn this one in France Belgium or Switzerland (I vote for Belgium, a French would have said Toc Toc instead of Frappe frappe))

I am guessing that 'losty qui' sounds like 'lost the key' which is why they are knocking?

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[yodeli]

I am guessing that 'losty qui' sounds like 'lost the key' which is why they are knocking?

But it's supposed to be in French, isn't it?... The only bit which would match is Kiwi (qui oui) but I'm lost with ..losty.
Or it's in French but to be taken as English which would match your" lost the key"
Edit: Correction of silly spell checker WOULD instead of"who"

 

[Janine]

But it's supposed to be in French, isn't it?... The only bit which who match is Kiwi (qui oui) but I'm lost with ..losty.
Or it's in French but to be taken as English which would match your" lost the key"

I think your second guess is correct

 

[sedge]

Good grief - cos I didn't 'get' it either - and now do. But I expect it's all in 'the way you tell them' whether people can grasp the intention of what the author meant it to sound like. I hadn't even thought of 'qui' equalling 'key'. I obviously don't have the correct speaking voice to make it a joke.

(Years ago a Dutch lady on a campsite in France said she couldn't understand my English 'because your accent is not high enough'. Nobody else Dutch has ever had much difficulty - before, during that holiday, or since. You sure it's not you, not having a high enough intelligence, luv? )