{"id":2536,"date":"2018-07-18T13:01:01","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T17:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2018\/?p=2536"},"modified":"2018-07-18T13:12:47","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T17:12:47","slug":"vive-la-patrie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2018\/2018\/07\/18\/vive-la-patrie\/","title":{"rendered":"Vive la patrie !"},"content":{"rendered":"
A Review of my second week in tours, france<\/h5>\n

\u00ab On est champion<\/em> ! \u00bb<\/strong> \/\/\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>“We are the champions!”<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0–\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>the French people of Tours<\/strong> \/\/\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Freddy Mercury<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sunset over the Loire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another very warm week has come and gone in France and what have I learned?<\/p>\n

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Selfies at the Guinguette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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  • Abbreviations and fillers : So, uhh, English isn’t the only language with words that don’t mean anything and shortcuts, ya’ know. For example, j’suis<\/em>\u00a0(meaning “I’m,” pronounced\u00a0shwee<\/em>), j’sais pas<\/em>\u00a0(meaning “I dunno,” pronounced\u00a0shay pah<\/em>), ben…<\/em>\u00a0(meaning “well…,” pronounced bah<\/em>)\u00a0typically said at the beginning of a statement to get your words rolling and you can throw a quoi<\/em>\u00a0(meaning “what,” pronounced kwah<\/em>) at the end of a sentence for emphasis, although it has literally\u00a0no significance to the context… While all these all may be commonly spoken, grammatically they are most definitely incorrect and I won’t put them in a French paper at the risk of a bad grade. However, once you know the basics of the language and enough vocabulary to stay afloat in an inundation of French words and cultural references, it’s the ability to add these into a conversation that makes it seem like you really know what you’re talking about. I’ve been trying out this nuanced communication method at the vending machines with my morning coffee: “Bof ! J’suis trop fatigu\u00e9e, moi !<\/em>” ( meaning “I’m so tired”, pronounced\u00a0bowf shwee troh faahteegay mwah<\/em>). If my accent didn’t give me away and maybe I wore stripes and a beret and carried a baguette*, I’d like to think people would believe I was French.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    *side note: French people don’t actually wear stripes or berets on a daily basis, but I have seen more than a few carrying baguettes through the streets*<\/em><\/p>\n

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    • Anglicisms :\u00a0OK, c’est super cool, \u00e7a !<\/em>\u00a0The French and English have a history in trading with each other, especially with regard to language. From what I’ve been hearing in conversations, it’s fairly commonplace to have at least 5 English words every 30 seconds (this is a rough estimation, I haven’t recorded any actual data). While the intent is to complement the language with words that don’t quite translate into French and adopting them with the lovely French accent, this “slang” that the younger generations like to use is not always appreciated by their elders. I’ve talked to professors and other adults who are completely opposed to these shortcuts which are, in their opinions, invading the French language. I’ve even seen advertisements that promote the protection of the French language as one of the purest symbols of the French culture. From this point of view, every English phrase absorbed by the French culture should be immediately replaced by a French equivalent. Others like my host mom, Chantal, really don’t mind these anglicisms. For her, it’s a question of having known a good amount of English already and the frequent usage is really more in the language of “les jeunes<\/em>” (young people). So it’s just as critical for her in the context of intergenerational communication with her son or her neighbors, for instance. However, at the end of our discussion on this topic she finished by saying, “really though, some words you just don’t need English for.” This was, of course, stated in French. The bottomline is anglicisms aren’t always appreciated, but they are used in just about every conversation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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      • Formal letters and basic anatomy, a lesson on cultural context : As I’m approaching the date of my DELF B2 proficiency exam, I’ve been spending a significant amount of time learning the organization of several types of common French documents like formal letters, the essay, commentaries, blog posts, and letters to the editor. These common, written means of communication, which I normally don’t think twice about, have been my main focus. At first I thought, sure, I shouldn’t have any trouble writing a letter to a mayor or director of a company and maintaining an opinion<\/em>, but as I went through the review, I realized that the French culture had its own particular way of presenting this kind of information. The level of formality is especially accentuated by the use of vous<\/em>, the formal “you”, which is at the base of such correspondences. Practicing this skill of writing a letter in and of itself isn’t terribly difficult, but it took some work for my mind to readjust and accept this different representation of something that was familiar to me in the context of my own culture. Similarly with learning basic anatomy and the run-down of a general medical consultation in French, I feel as if I’m starting again at square one. In this case, the medical field in French is shaped not only by a different vocabulary, but also a different healthcare system than what I’m accustomed to. While I’m essentially just learning a new vocabulary that allows me to communicate via a written statement or in a medical setting, the lessons go beyond that. If I truly want to understand the words I’m saying, I have to understand the culture that they stemmed from and then I can apply them in a letter about the importance of\u00a0les pauses <\/em>(breaktime)\u00a0in France or in an exchange with a patient to determine the cause of her\u00a0mal au foie<\/em> (liver pain).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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        Risotto \u00e0 la fran\u00e7aise (AKA with French wine)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n