I think that this ambiguous example of English, which is difficult for an Englishman to read and understand. Proves Dougals Breakfast's point beyond any doubt whatsoever. We all have to be tolerant of people using our language, as a second language. Their understanding of our language may improve, with time, however, or so it seems, they will never grasp the humour that the nuance of our language affords the true English speaker. Just as I will never understand Swiss or French humour. If indeed it does exist.
I thought I made you laugh ...
Intolerant? Like many said, it depends where.
Many french makes fun of my Quebecois accent, this is insulting! I will always remember that french lady I met in Istanbul who told me:
- Ah, comme c'est mignon votre accent!! Vous savez que votre francais n'a pas évolué depuis la colonisation?
Translation: How cute is your accent! You know your french didn't change since colonisation?
I was sooo ready to kick her french lower back!
My Grand-mother (bless her heart) had expressions and words I didn't understand, so if this is not ''evolution'' (what the ****).
But what's really kill me, is someone who learned french and comes and tell me my french is not french! Who are you to tell me I don't speak french???
Oh, I met this french guy once who refused to talk to me in french, pretending he doesn't understand us, Quebecois.
- Ze french you speek iz verrrry different, your accent iz impossible to understand!
The good thing here is most of the time, people are much more nice to me when they know I'm Quebecoise and not French! Hum... wondering why....
Nil the Frog!
Sada, you are an exception and you do make me laugh, however, I don't always understand everything in your posts, just as I am sure, you do not always understand mine.
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Your hole, just got a whole lot deeper.
Intolerant? Probably.
Any more intolerant than English speakers are of "bad English"? Hmm...
It's funny one should say that. I would have expected them to be reluctant to switch to english while talking to a foreigner, but the contrary has happened to me twice:
Once in a shop in Geneva and once on the phone with a clerk from Lausanne I heard them answer in english... Mind you, my french is not perfect, but I dare consider it good and my accent isn't too obvious.
By that I surely don't mean that they are intolerant, but it was a mixture of an effort to help me and, well, a bit of intolerance?
What's the French equivalent of Lynn Truss?
I believe that would be the whole of the Académie Française .
Don't be bothered by it... they can't always be right. Sometimes you have people struggling with the local language and cursing the locals for not being helpful and at other times people curse because they can't use the local language often enough, as the locals will switch to whatever is suitable to help...
Exactly, that was the funny part!
The first time that happened i was almost offended, cause I really enjoyed speaking french. But then I remembered how many times I felt grateful, when someone would switch from schwiizertütsch to high german.
So the second time it happened I couldnt help it, I started laughing like crazy when I realized that the dialogue was half in french half in french. Poor lady on the other side of the phone thought I was insane.
You know, I always run into anglophones who say things like: "My French is OK/ pretty darn good/passable" etc etc and they are either lying to themselves or just LYING. I don't know who told them their French was ok but it sounds to me like they made that decision all on their own!
My experience as a francophone in an anglophone world? Most of you need to up your standards of what is "passable". Sorry.
Nil I think your accent is super cool, 'sti.
L.
I take your point in general, Leyla, but having conversed with Dougal's Breakfast at some length, I can confirm that his French is fluent and precisely as he describes it. (I feel qualified to say this as a native speaker of a not dissimilar variety.)
et je n'ai pas besoin ... you mean you don't need it ? eh merde alors !!!
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Evidently the profanity filter's French leaves a lot to be desired as well.
Brightonite's fault ... as usual !!!
Guilty! Without the slightest twinge of guilt.