How's my French?
March 1, 2017 8:29 AM Subscribe
Francophones of Metafilter: here's (gulp) a 1-minute audio recording of me rambling in French. (Language learner trying to speak somewhat off-the-cuff, so: pronunciation issues, grammatical errors and weird pauses abound.) If I had about a month, maybe 1-2 hours a day, to work on my spoken language with the goal of maximizing my understandability while speaking French in France, what should I work on, and how should I go about doing it?
The questions:
Below is a trancsript of the recording, as spoken (transcribed after the fact).
The questions:
- How's the pronounciation? I am cursed/blessed with a remarkably good ear for phonemes but not a set of articulatory muscles to match, so I am constantly second-guessing and internally cringing when I speak. (it doesn't help that I tend speed up when I get nervous.)
- How's the grammar? Are my errors the sort that will impede meaning? I tried to record this with a minimum amount of rehearsal, so as to preserve the sorts of word choices and sentence structures I would use when speaking extemporaneously.
- I can access learning materials through my local library and the internet (obviously), but I don't quite have the funds for, say, private tutoring at the local Alliance Française. Finding some sort of conversation group or meetup would be ideal, I guess, but tbh even if I did find one it would probably take me at least a couple weeks to screw up the courage to actually attend. Therefore, I am primarily looking for things I could work on on my own, in my own time.
Below is a trancsript of the recording, as spoken (transcribed after the fact).
Bonjour à tous! Voici ma question à Ask Metafilter. Alors, je vous démande: quand je parle le français, pouvez-vous me comprendre? Je n'ai pas assisté à une classe de français il y a plus que cinq ans. Mais cette année, en Avril, je vais aller à la France pour 12 semaines. Alors il faut que je réapprenne tous que j'ai oublié. Je sais que j'ai les problêmes de parler trop vite et pas clair avec de la grammaire pas propre, mais ça, c'est pas des problème qui reste seulement en français - parfois j'ai la même problème en anglais aussi. Peut-être que vous avez des stratégies pour me faire mieux compris? Ou si vous avez des autres commentaires, ils sont bienvenues aussi. Merci pour votre réponse!
Your French is really good!
I am not a native French speaker, but I have spent a lot of time learning it and scored 18-19 out of 20 when I went for my assessment for citizenship. (/humblebrag) Your accent is certainly Anglo but it won't be at all difficult to understand for native speakers, even those who are not used to non-native speakers. You've mostly mastered the "r" and the nasal sounds, which are usually the most difficult for an English speaker to get. Don't worry one bit about your accent. French people have a long tradition of appreciating the faint Anglo accent, as long as the person is making a decent effort grammar-wise, which you are. You will probably get told you have a "cute" accent. (This is meant in an appreciative way, not a demeaning way.) You could stand to work your lips more, really protruding them for words like "pour" and "trop." The muscles surrounding your lips will get a workout if you're really doing it correctly.
The few small grammatical mistakes you make are not bothersome, and in fact are mostly only apparent when written. Again, a native speaker who is not used to non-native speakers should have no trouble understanding your meaning. These will get ironed out to a large extent during your stay there anyway.
What you can focus on at this point is learning to speak casually. Conversation bounces around like a ball, and it's rare that you actually get an entire fully-formed sentence in. I speak "textbook" French like I learned it and take care to round out all my sentences with carefully conjugated verbs and such. No one else I know does. I would listen to contemporary movies and music and note when you hear slang, so that you recognize some of the more popular terms. Verlan kills me because I just cannot unpack it fast enough to keep up.
Bonne chance et bon voyage!
posted by Liesl at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2017
I am not a native French speaker, but I have spent a lot of time learning it and scored 18-19 out of 20 when I went for my assessment for citizenship. (/humblebrag) Your accent is certainly Anglo but it won't be at all difficult to understand for native speakers, even those who are not used to non-native speakers. You've mostly mastered the "r" and the nasal sounds, which are usually the most difficult for an English speaker to get. Don't worry one bit about your accent. French people have a long tradition of appreciating the faint Anglo accent, as long as the person is making a decent effort grammar-wise, which you are. You will probably get told you have a "cute" accent. (This is meant in an appreciative way, not a demeaning way.) You could stand to work your lips more, really protruding them for words like "pour" and "trop." The muscles surrounding your lips will get a workout if you're really doing it correctly.
The few small grammatical mistakes you make are not bothersome, and in fact are mostly only apparent when written. Again, a native speaker who is not used to non-native speakers should have no trouble understanding your meaning. These will get ironed out to a large extent during your stay there anyway.
What you can focus on at this point is learning to speak casually. Conversation bounces around like a ball, and it's rare that you actually get an entire fully-formed sentence in. I speak "textbook" French like I learned it and take care to round out all my sentences with carefully conjugated verbs and such. No one else I know does. I would listen to contemporary movies and music and note when you hear slang, so that you recognize some of the more popular terms. Verlan kills me because I just cannot unpack it fast enough to keep up.
Bonne chance et bon voyage!
posted by Liesl at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2017
You're perfectly comprehensible, and you're not going too fast, but you have a standard north american "flat" affect/accent.
When I was first learning French, my instructor made a big point of how differently English and French speakers recruit the muscles of the mouth and face. The message was almost always: open your mouth more, move your lips more, involve your jaw more, etc. As a kid, seeing French spoken natively seemed almost cartoonish because of this: pursed lips, corners of the mouth pulled back, so much movement in general. English speakers, by comparison, barely move any muscles in their faces and mouths when speaking. These differences don't impact grammar or syntax, but very much impact the acoustic force of speech.
YouTube and videos to the rescue! Watching people speak natively is a great tool, not just to train your ear but to watch the face and mouth of the speaker. This is a real help for nasals, in particular. In the first video, note how the speaker emphasizes his request that you watch his body language, not just listen to his speech, when making these sounds. Wander through the TV5 videos--they're helpful!--and venture out into the wide world of YouTube speaking tutorials.
Have fun!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:42 AM on March 1, 2017
When I was first learning French, my instructor made a big point of how differently English and French speakers recruit the muscles of the mouth and face. The message was almost always: open your mouth more, move your lips more, involve your jaw more, etc. As a kid, seeing French spoken natively seemed almost cartoonish because of this: pursed lips, corners of the mouth pulled back, so much movement in general. English speakers, by comparison, barely move any muscles in their faces and mouths when speaking. These differences don't impact grammar or syntax, but very much impact the acoustic force of speech.
YouTube and videos to the rescue! Watching people speak natively is a great tool, not just to train your ear but to watch the face and mouth of the speaker. This is a real help for nasals, in particular. In the first video, note how the speaker emphasizes his request that you watch his body language, not just listen to his speech, when making these sounds. Wander through the TV5 videos--they're helpful!--and venture out into the wide world of YouTube speaking tutorials.
Have fun!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:42 AM on March 1, 2017
Native speaker here. I can only concur with Liesl: your prononciation is very good, you master the nasals and the Rs. Your accent is faint to the point people may have a hard time guessing what your mother tongue is. Grammar is OK, unlikely to cause any miscommunication.
I think you just need now to focus on real-life French. If you cannot take part a conversation group (that would be ideal though) maybe you can watch French-speaking soaps - from France with real French argot.
posted by bluedora at 12:36 PM on March 1, 2017
I think you just need now to focus on real-life French. If you cannot take part a conversation group (that would be ideal though) maybe you can watch French-speaking soaps - from France with real French argot.
posted by bluedora at 12:36 PM on March 1, 2017
I think you sound great! Native English speaker here, took French through high school and college, and lived in France for 7 months in my 20s. I could understand 95% of your recording. I am pretty terrible with grammar, so no advice there, but in general your French is great!
posted by sucre at 2:14 PM on March 1, 2017
posted by sucre at 2:14 PM on March 1, 2017
I played it for my native French speaking wife. She says "she's pretty good, really clear." There's a few grammatical issues, but nothing that gets in the way of understanding. She suggests immersion in media - listen to Radio-Canada, watch French or Québécois TV with the subtitles turned on. Check out tou.tv
My 2 cents as a native English speaker who became bilingual later in life is that you sound great. You'll make mistakes but just don't be shy, keep speaking through the errors and you'll continue improving and become more fluid with time.
posted by Cuke at 4:03 PM on March 1, 2017
My 2 cents as a native English speaker who became bilingual later in life is that you sound great. You'll make mistakes but just don't be shy, keep speaking through the errors and you'll continue improving and become more fluid with time.
posted by Cuke at 4:03 PM on March 1, 2017
Response by poster: Thank you everyone! I swear I wasn't trying to fish for compliments, but your nice comments are making feel a little braver nonetheless :)
The tip about face muscles is really interesting - I have been mostly listening to radio and podcasts where I can sort of hear the difference, but it never really occurred to me to actually watch anyone speak. Ça c'est très utile. Merci encore!
posted by btfreek at 4:23 PM on March 2, 2017
The tip about face muscles is really interesting - I have been mostly listening to radio and podcasts where I can sort of hear the difference, but it never really occurred to me to actually watch anyone speak. Ça c'est très utile. Merci encore!
posted by btfreek at 4:23 PM on March 2, 2017
Anglophone who spends a lot of time in France here (and has lectured in French at French universities, albeit comme une vache espagnole. Your accent is pretty good. There were a few minor usage and pronunciation issues (you should say, "je vais aller en France," and it sounded like you said "douze semaines," but it wasn't clear to me whether you really meant to say that or "deux semaines"). It does sound a little flat, which is normal for us North Americans—one of my triumphs in France was when a staffer at the Archives Nationales asked whether I was Canadian (i.e., Québecois).
posted by brianogilvie at 8:01 PM on March 2, 2017
posted by brianogilvie at 8:01 PM on March 2, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
Based on that sample, I think that your French is better than mine, and that you would be somewhere in the middle of the meetup group I attended. That group had a wide range--beginners to native speakers. Many were in situations similar to yours.
posted by floppyroofing at 8:56 AM on March 1, 2017