Lyon: “Pardon my French…”
Initially, the hardest part about taking language classes in Lyon was that they took place only in French—all 8 hours of our day. I remember my high school teachers used to try and enforce the “French only!” rule while in class, but we would instantly slip back into English-mode once we had a question. Here, many of the other international students in our classes speak English at the same proficiency as our French, meaning we might as well practice our bonjour’s and merci’s while we have the chance. This actually ends up being for the best, as it is a lot less daunting to practice with someone who is also considered an “intermediate” speaker.
The students that speak other Romance languages such as Portuguese or Spanish seem to pick up French a lot quicker than myself and my other classmates, understandably. Their grammar could actually be atrocious, but to me, their accent and confident approach to R’s have completely fooled me into thinking they’re fluent. As for the Asian students who are learning both a Germanic and Latin language in addition to their own… Well, I have no excuse as to why they’re so much better than me.
Speaking to a native French person used to be one of the biggest fears of mine, but I quickly got over that once I realized how irrational my apprehension was. Working in retail back in Boston, I interact with multiple customers everyday who speak to me in broken English. They may mess up on tenses or use the wrong pronoun, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand them, or think they are any less adept and intelligent because of that. This realization is what really helped boost my confidence in my speaking and really put myself out there. If I sound like a fool, at least I sound like a confident fool!
After only a couple weeks here, the difference between formal written, casual written, and everyday spoken French has become increasingly apparent to me. Learning French in an academic setting in Boston or at my high school only grazed the surface, as colloquial French is on a whole ‘nother level. It seems that most rules you learn in a classroom take a backseat when you attempt to carry a conversation with a native French speaker, with speed and getting your point across being more important than accuracy. I had one French person tell me, “When in doubt, smush all of your words together”.
Lately in class, there has been a big emphasis on learning what certain words or phrases we can use to sound “more French, less American”. Filler words are something you never think about in your native tongue, but that you use way more than you realize or care to admit. Using them correctly means that you sound less like a formal student, and more like an a local having a casual conversation. Below are some of the most common French filler words:
- “Alors…” translates best to “So…” or “Well…”. The best part of this filler word is that you can even use it in formal writing!
- “Euh” translates to the English “Uhhh”. Believe me, the confused American “Uhhh” sounds way different than the confused French “Euhhh”. Your French accent should even be audible in your noises!
- “Bref” translates literally to “short”, but in informal French means “Basically…”. It is used in a “long story short” type of situation.
- “Comment?” translates directly to “How?”, but in this case it is what people often say when they mean “What?”. It is more informal than using the literal translation of “what”, which is “quoi”.
Another great piece of advice I was given? “When you don’t know the French word, just put a French accent on the English word, and they will probably understand you.” And voila!
