Speaking French with an English accent
Nov 24th 2018, 1:17 pm
#31
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Location: Cayman Islands
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Re: Speaking French with an English accent
Linguistically this (now extended) household is a complete hotch-potch. I'm English mother tongue, with a quite reasonable level of French, and a smattering of German from when I lived and worked there 30-odd years back, now just embarking on Flemish. OH is Dutch/Flemish mother tongue, with perfect English, arguably fluent French, a similar level of German to myself plus a smattering of Finnish - this due to her best mate being a Finn. Eldest stepdaughter is French mother tongue, with fluent Dutch, English and German, and an increasing interest in learning Italian. Her boyfriend is German mother tongue, fluent English, rapidly taking French and Dutch on board. Younger stepdaughter is rooted in French, but understands Dutch and English well enough to reply...in French. 
It's not uncommon for us to have French, English and German intermixed within a conversation, sometimes even within the same sentence
In my time spent in Suisse Romande I took part in three national censuses (I received a book token for participating in each!) one of the questions was "Which language do you think in?" I replied 'English' on two occasions, but the last time I honestly answered 'French', presumably I was fully immersed by that point. I remember at the time that some UK press picked up on this census question and reported it as if it were 'a strange question'. Well not to me, for sure.
We've been in Flanders for three months now, it seems that OH is well and truly 'home' on the language front, and she frequently asks me for French terms - we still have a pile of administrative Swiss French stuff to be gotten through.
I often have trouble finding a phrase in English when speaking with Anglophones and have revert to French in my head and attempt to forward think it, especially true with idioms.
"What on earth are you talking about? Chickens don't have teeth." kind of thing.
So, I'm thinking in French, OH in Flemish - I know this from when she talks in her sleep! - I imagine that both the girls think in French, I'll ask when I go to visit them next month.
Sentence structure is less of a problem for me, as I rarely speak German these days, so I don't get into the "we know where, when and why but not what" trap.
It's not uncommon for us to have French, English and German intermixed within a conversation, sometimes even within the same sentence
In my time spent in Suisse Romande I took part in three national censuses (I received a book token for participating in each!) one of the questions was "Which language do you think in?" I replied 'English' on two occasions, but the last time I honestly answered 'French', presumably I was fully immersed by that point. I remember at the time that some UK press picked up on this census question and reported it as if it were 'a strange question'. Well not to me, for sure.
We've been in Flanders for three months now, it seems that OH is well and truly 'home' on the language front, and she frequently asks me for French terms - we still have a pile of administrative Swiss French stuff to be gotten through.
I often have trouble finding a phrase in English when speaking with Anglophones and have revert to French in my head and attempt to forward think it, especially true with idioms.
"What on earth are you talking about? Chickens don't have teeth." kind of thing.
So, I'm thinking in French, OH in Flemish - I know this from when she talks in her sleep! - I imagine that both the girls think in French, I'll ask when I go to visit them next month.
Sentence structure is less of a problem for me, as I rarely speak German these days, so I don't get into the "we know where, when and why but not what" trap.
Nov 24th 2018, 3:05 pm
#32
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Location: Paris
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Re: Speaking French with an English accent
I think most French people like the British accent, although of course it comes in all sorts of flavours. I know when I first met my wife, she had a strong French accent which I loved, but that slowly eroded away into something more neutral over the years - the accent is still there, but it's not obviously French. Occasionally on TV or radio they will interject a stereotypical Englishman speaking French and really play up the accent - I think it amuses and pleases. I really wouldn't worry about it. If you can't roll those r's for example, just speak so you're understood, the accent and the effort gone into speaking French is usually enough to charm.
The one thing that catches me out is whether to say English or American words with a French accent... For example, going to the cinema and watching a film with an English title - do you say it with a proper British accent, or do you pronounce it with a French one - it could seem pretentious either way!
The one thing that catches me out is whether to say English or American words with a French accent... For example, going to the cinema and watching a film with an English title - do you say it with a proper British accent, or do you pronounce it with a French one - it could seem pretentious either way!
Nov 24th 2018, 4:15 pm
#33
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Joined: May 2016
Location: Antwerpen/Anvers
Posts: 7,265
Re: Speaking French with an English accent
...The one thing that catches me out is whether to say English or American words with a French accent... For example, going to the cinema and watching a film with an English title - do you say it with a proper British accent, or do you pronounce it with a French one - it could seem pretentious either way!
That said, then comes the thorny subject of English words 'borrowed' into day to day French. Le weekend is ok, but sandwich becoming 'sondweash' took a bit of getting used to.
We tend not to speak English at home with an absurd French accent, although when I was working, a few of my Francophone colleagues would deliberately do just that.
I suspect that this was aimed at the one of the three Brits on the team who never mastered French in 25 years.
One thing that still gets my goat is the French penchant for 'doublage' over 'sous-titrage', especially on TV. It was thankfully less prevalent on Swiss TV.
Nov 24th 2018, 5:02 pm
#34
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Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Paris
Posts: 1,549
Re: Speaking French with an English accent
For the borrowed English words (of which there are many) I adopt the French accent, because I know some French are annoyed by how many English words are creeping into their language - I found an example of that just by chance on a Facebook page last week, and a month back my son's teacher tried to stop the children using any of these English words that are now adopted (she has her work cut out there!).
I took my kids to the cinema last week to watch Bohemian Rhapsody (VO), but the guy behind the desk must have seen the children and assumed we all wanted to see Fantastic Beasts II (despite asking for tickets to the other film!). We all sat there through the adverts and when the film started, something was definitely not right! Wrong film with the terrible doublage... Thankfully we exited discreetly and smuggled our way in to the other screen, having missed the first five minutes.
If you get the chance, google Le Doublage, Paul Taylor on YouTube. That's a funny video that explains it well.
I took my kids to the cinema last week to watch Bohemian Rhapsody (VO), but the guy behind the desk must have seen the children and assumed we all wanted to see Fantastic Beasts II (despite asking for tickets to the other film!). We all sat there through the adverts and when the film started, something was definitely not right! Wrong film with the terrible doublage... Thankfully we exited discreetly and smuggled our way in to the other screen, having missed the first five minutes.
If you get the chance, google Le Doublage, Paul Taylor on YouTube. That's a funny video that explains it well.
I don't see it as at all pretentious to pronounce a film with an English title with a proper British accent. Likewise I'll pronounce a French film title with the best French accent that I can muster.
That said, then comes the thorny subject of English words 'borrowed' into day to day French. Le weekend is ok, but sandwich becoming 'sondweash' took a bit of getting used to.
We tend not to speak English at home with an absurd French accent, although when I was working, a few of my Francophone colleagues would deliberately do just that.
I suspect that this was aimed at the one of the three Brits on the team who never mastered French in 25 years.
One thing that still gets my goat is the French penchant for 'doublage' over 'sous-titrage', especially on TV. It was thankfully less prevalent on Swiss TV.
That said, then comes the thorny subject of English words 'borrowed' into day to day French. Le weekend is ok, but sandwich becoming 'sondweash' took a bit of getting used to.
We tend not to speak English at home with an absurd French accent, although when I was working, a few of my Francophone colleagues would deliberately do just that.
I suspect that this was aimed at the one of the three Brits on the team who never mastered French in 25 years.
One thing that still gets my goat is the French penchant for 'doublage' over 'sous-titrage', especially on TV. It was thankfully less prevalent on Swiss TV.
Last edited by G-J-B; Nov 24th 2018 at 5:06 pm.
Nov 24th 2018, 5:53 pm
#35
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Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Hérault (34)
Posts: 8,888
Re: Speaking French with an English accent
For the borrowed English words (of which there are many) I adopt the French accent, because I know some French are annoyed by how many English words are creeping into their language - I found an example of that just by chance on a Facebook page last week, and a month back my son's teacher tried to stop the children using any of these English words that are now adopted (she has her work cut out there!).
I took my kids to the cinema last week to watch Bohemian Rhapsody (VO), but the guy behind the desk must have seen the children and assumed we all wanted to see Fantastic Beasts II (despite asking for tickets to the other film!). We all sat there through the adverts and when the film started, something was definitely not right! Wrong film with the terrible doublage... Thankfully we exited discreetly and smuggled our way in to the other screen, having missed the first five minutes.
If you get the chance, google Le Doublage, Paul Taylor on YouTube. That's a funny video that explains it well.
I took my kids to the cinema last week to watch Bohemian Rhapsody (VO), but the guy behind the desk must have seen the children and assumed we all wanted to see Fantastic Beasts II (despite asking for tickets to the other film!). We all sat there through the adverts and when the film started, something was definitely not right! Wrong film with the terrible doublage... Thankfully we exited discreetly and smuggled our way in to the other screen, having missed the first five minutes.
If you get the chance, google Le Doublage, Paul Taylor on YouTube. That's a funny video that explains it well.
I pronounce English titles à la française, to avoid pausing between trying to speak without an accent, and speaking with an accent. In my rural area, it sounds pretentious, too....
I hate dubbed films on the TV, but the Satellite cinema channels always show them in VOST, and the public channels (e.g. France 2 and 3) often do, too, nowadays. It's rare for our nearest cinema to show a foreign film VOST...
Nov 24th 2018, 7:34 pm
#36
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Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Paris
Posts: 1,549
Re: Speaking French with an English accent
It's nice to 'see you' as a long standing regular. It has been a while! I remember one of my first French cinema experiences, standing in the queue, everyone asking to see speederman... I couldn't find it in me to ask for a ticket for spiderman!
I don't live in Paris these days, I'm far more rural, but the local cinema plays a lot of foreign films, from all across the globe, in their original languages with French subtitles which I think is great.
I don't live in Paris these days, I'm far more rural, but the local cinema plays a lot of foreign films, from all across the globe, in their original languages with French subtitles which I think is great.
Hey, long time no see!!
I pronounce English titles à la française, to avoid pausing between trying to speak without an accent, and speaking with an accent. In my rural area, it sounds pretentious, too....
I hate dubbed films on the TV, but the Satellite cinema channels always show them in VOST, and the public channels (e.g. France 2 and 3) often do, too, nowadays. It's rare for our nearest cinema to show a foreign film VOST...
I pronounce English titles à la française, to avoid pausing between trying to speak without an accent, and speaking with an accent. In my rural area, it sounds pretentious, too....
I hate dubbed films on the TV, but the Satellite cinema channels always show them in VOST, and the public channels (e.g. France 2 and 3) often do, too, nowadays. It's rare for our nearest cinema to show a foreign film VOST...
