Francaise, franglais...or Del boy ?

Ricardoe

Ricardoe

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I was on another motorhome forum recently and someone asked in broken pigeon franglais about the tour de france next year.” nous going a la tour”. I was amazed that anyone could publicly show how ignorant they were.I resisted the temptation to slag her off,just leaving a cryptic comment,then It crossed my mind that maybe most people(english) dont bother with any foreign languages because they can expect foreigners to understand us! This may be the case in northern france and the low countries,but I know when I had problems with my campervan this year down SW France,if I hadn’t had a bit of french I would’ve been screwed.I got the feeling some of the locals went out of their way not to talk english. So I just wonder how many of you guys make an effort to comunicate when in europe..or am I just talking out of my derrière ?
 
Very little effort from me.

Hand signals usually.
 
Must admit I go out of my way to learn some of the basics for whatever country I’m off to.

Got a couple of free apps that give you a vocabulary of 1,000 words and a learning system that works for me.

The downside is they don’t have grammar so can be hard to put sentences together - but I found by learning words for (for example) me, you, the, and, it and so on I got by in both Italy and France earlier this year.

Unfortunately since updating the iPad to IOS 11 the apps no longer work but I’m sure there’s plenty out there!
 
As a coach driver, visiting many different European countries, I always tried to have a few words of the local language, even if only to be polite. Fortunately I was taught French whilst at school and much of it came back so I am reasonably happy in France. This carries over to Italy and Spain which are both similar enough to French to get by. I give up with Portugal though, a friend who is fluent tells me that even the Portuguese don't speak their language! German is easier than it sounds as it has an Anglo-Saxon base. Scandinavia all speak better English than most Brits!

But take note; in my experience in France if you don't try you'll just get the Gallic shrug. However if you do try, even if it's excruciatingly awful, they'll often help you out.

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Et bien moi, très cher, je n'ai absolument aucun problème! Nord, Sud, Est ou West...Je ne fais pas de Franglais, either I speak in English or if stuck ... which might happen by all means.... je parle Français!

@Jim couldn't use my usual colour... any reason why?
 
sorry, but I don't understand why they are ignorant for asking the question that way? Was it a french forum? if so I get that but if it was an English one I don't get it....

I once stood behind some Brits in a bakery, sorry "Boulangerie" who just grunted and pointed at what they wanted, I taught them how to say please and thankyou and they were made up.

When in France where I have been visiting for 25 years and still only speak very little despite even having lessons, I often find the French wanting me to speak in English for their own education these days. I'm sure they don't think I am rude or ignorant for trying no matter how badly I try.

so I guess, I must be "Del Boy"
 
My wife spears reasonable French and I can get by in German and Italian and we’re thinking about leaning Spanish next. :)
 
Ricardoe said:
I was on another motorhome forum recently and someone asked in broken pigeon franglais about the tour de france next year.” nous going a la tour”. I was amazed that anyone could publicly show how ignorant they were.
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Well what do you expect? Serves you right.
 
I can just about get by in French and German and more or less manage basic tourist Italian. I usually find though that whoever I'm speaking to takes pity on my pitiful attempts at mangling their language and replies in English. I do always make the effort though.

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davidbaldam said:
My wife spears reasonable French and I can get by in German and Italian and we’re thinking about leaning Spanish next. :)
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Wow, David, that's a bit hurtfull... Fancy spearing the reasonable ones?

What does she do to the ones that are not so reasonable?
 
Whenever I try to speak French to the French, I always get a shocked look and "Quoi? in return. People of my age hardly ever speak English, whereas youngsters have often been taught English at school. A Dutchman living in France I was talking to (in English) was very dismissive of the French, saying that they will not work with you if your French is not perfect. Yet another Dutchman said that the accents vary so much across France that they have to tune in to you, just carry on, they will catch up. I find that my confidence goes and I just melt. On the other hand, a one line joke is often understood and appreciated.

My two English grandsons have only been taught in French, so of course are very good. They say that they think in English, and speak in French, but they are often laughed at by their friends because the results appear odd to them. Words in the wrong order, English sayings that are nonsense in French, and vice versa.
 
I am multi -lingual when it comes to ordering beer(y)

And asking for an ash tray
 
Google Translate and a phone .. Google are supposed to be working on a talking version .. Whatever next. Strange really when I went to France 25 years ago it was hard work and no one spoke english now even small bars seem to understand a mixture of French, Spanish and English.

We watched an altercation on a pedestrian crossing in Spain. Car driver had tried to run down a Spanish woman. There was a very very heated exchange in Spanish finished off with F**K Y** in English.
 
Ricardoe said:
I was on another motorhome forum recently and someone asked in broken pigeon franglais about the tour de france next year.” nous going a la tour”. I was amazed that anyone could publicly show how ignorant they were.I resisted the temptation to slag her off,just leaving a cryptic comment,then It crossed my mind that maybe most people(english) dont bother with any foreign languages because they can expect foreigners to understand us! This may be the case in northern france and the low countries,but I know when I had problems with my campervan this year down SW France,if I hadn’t had a bit of french I would’ve been screwed.I got the feeling some of the locals went out of their way not to talk english. So I just wonder how many of you guys make an effort to comunicate when in europe..or am I just talking out of my derrière ?
Click to expand...

In my experience most people do make an effort to at least know the niceties, thank you, good morning. etc etc. The person who amazed you by their ignorance was probably doing their best and I doubt a "slagging off" as you put it or a cryptic comment would have done much to encourage them, glad you didn't do that. That is not usually done on this forum and to correct or point out a persons grammatical or spelling errors is not usually done either.

If you gained the impression that people purposefully refused to speak English or that people in general expect foreigners to understand them, then yes you are talking out of your derriere. I have never experienced that. On the contrary I have found that people in France and Germany very much appreciate a smile and a few phrases, even if the grammar or pronunciation is not spot on and they respond very well to my attempts at their languages.

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We went to night school 18 months ago to learn a bit of French, did the basic course, then did the next one to learn a bit more.
The courses were designed to teach us the basics of how to order a meal in a restaurant, buy train or bus tickets, tell the time (found that one hard to learn)book a hotel room for a set date, arrival & departure time, with a single/double bed, with a shower/bathroom, and lots more useful things for holidaying in France.
We thought we were doing OK, until we were merged in with a much more experienced group, then we realised how much more we had to learn on Grammar. The hard bit to understand initially was that everything has a gender, its either male or female even a wheel barrow!, I asked how do you know which is which?, the tutor replied sorry!, you just have to learn them, there are no rules!
So 18 months later, I dont remember much as I haven't had to use it, but I hope that by getting the course books out again, my memory will kick in, but as with most things in life, the best way to learn is to use it, and get over the embarrassment of sounding like an idiot. :oops:
When we listen to the french TV news, we only pick up a few words, I think to understand what they are saying will take a lot more night classes.:eek: I find it easier to read something than listening to someone, but I guess thats normal for most of us.
 
I Find if I can say hello/goodby and please/thank you in there language they will always help me with anything in between and sometimes it can be quite funny. Having said that I'm still struggling with English but I can speak proper Yorkshire
 
A few years ago I was working in Germany with a group of French engineers, I would speak to them in French and they would reply in English and we corrected each other's mistakes.We all benefited from the experience.
 
A useful phrase I use as I do try to use French and Spanish though am struggling at Spanish

Je m'excuse Mon français n'est pas très bon et lent J'essaie d'apprendre s'il vous plaît ours avec moi
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I apologise My french is not very good and slow I am trying to learn please bear with me
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And as we now have property in France we do have to learn a lot more especially the language of Bricolage :ROFLMAO:

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I can manage a reasonable amount of French, and most of the people I’ve spoken to here either speak excellent English or know enough so that we can have a pretty good conversation in mixed French and English. They seem to enjoy the experience.

I still have difficulty sometimes hearing what people are saying - I really must get used to asking them to please repeat more slowly. Occasionally when the person I’m trying to communicate with has no English at all, and can’t get me to understand what they’re asking, we both get a bit frustrated. I do think that my comprehension is improving the longer I spend here though (about two and a half months so far).
 
I inadvertently caused a baker who visited the aire we were staying at each morning to ply his wares a great deal of hilarity when I ordered "deux bateaux s'il vous plait". "You want two boats?" He said...... then I realised I meant "baguettes".
 
We speak whenever we can and are improving but still find long conversations difficult to follow.

Also technical terms create problems from time to time, a good dictionary is essential for us.

As to gender of nouns etc. a French friend said "don't worry if you get it wrong, you will still be understood and your French is better than their English"

That took a lot of the anxiety of trying a foreign language away.
 
I struggled with French in school but a combination of evening classes in later life and regular trips there mean I can make myself understood for most purposes. Last Spring we spent an afternoon and evening with a French chap who supplies our small business and he let us park the MH in his field overnight. He spoke virtually no English (why should he? He was in France) but we still managed to get on with what little French I knew. I can also haggle at flea markets in French, which is handy.

I did another evening class in Italian, with an excellent teacher (who was Italian) so I know enough tourist Italian to find my way around, buy tickets for things, and feed ourselves. Generally the Italians appreciate you for making the effort to speak their language.

My most recent evening class endeavor was German, but the teacher was seriously dull and I got to the point where I was actually skiving lessons I'd paid for. How bad is that? Anyway, I picked up just enough to get around and ask for things but I can't hold any sort of conversation. I wish I knew more German - maybe some sort of app might help.

My biggest flop was Spanish - I did a short evening class in it and forgot the lot very quickly, but we don't go to Spain that much anyway. I couldn't cope with all that thethethethethe stuff either.

To be honest, as far as language skills go, there's no substitute for spending time travelling around a country independently and buying stuff in local restaurants and supermarkets. Simply turning up at a CCC site full of Brits just 30 miles from the ferry port and only trotting down to the beach every day for a fortnight doesn't cut it.

Plus for anyone travelling to the Med, there's a lot to be learned from Chanel 9 Neus: :)

 
I always make the effort to speak their language, unfortunately I'm rubbish, I can check into a campsite, order stuff in the bakery/café etc, but if they ask me a question or comment, I rarely understand them...

I once ordered a beer using three different language whilst in Germany..!!

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JJ said:
As my Princess will confirm... I am practically fluent in French... :whistle:


JJ :cool:
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Are you fluent in Portuguese JJ?

Just interested.
 
We have three French neighbours and with various means we have fun and usually get the gist of what is meant. As has been said understanding the spoken word is very difficult especially as ones hearing becomes dulled and I am dammed if they can understand my best French spoken with a strong northern accent.
We often resort to Google translate which is a bugger for getting it wrong and funnier still one of our French neighbours is dislecsic so that adds to the fun. We often meet her when out walking the dog and may well walk a mile or more with her nattering away to us and us understanding little of it but always laughing together.
 
QFour said:
Google Translate and a phone .. Google are supposed to be working on a talking version .. Whatever next.
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Already here. There are several different companies that sell headphones that in conjunction with an app translate in real time.

These are ones that get good reviews. Yes, I know they're a lot of money but this is high end tech. It's going to be expensive.

Google also have a version which are less expensive but the reviews on these are nothing like as good. https://store.google.com/product/google_pixel_buds

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