French accent
May 24th 2005, 9:44 pm
#46
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Re: French accent
pikatxu writes:
> But either way, they could not make it sound better even if they wanted
> to, a good English prononciation is hard to achieve for a Frenchman,
> much harder that a perfect Spanish or German accent.
That's what all the French speakers with thick accents say. The ones
with no accent don't agree, however.
--
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> But either way, they could not make it sound better even if they wanted
> to, a good English prononciation is hard to achieve for a Frenchman,
> much harder that a perfect Spanish or German accent.
That's what all the French speakers with thick accents say. The ones
with no accent don't agree, however.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
May 24th 2005, 9:45 pm
#47
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Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Padraig Breathnach writes:
> Not true. The brain changes. It's called development.
The brain does not change. That's a persistent urban legend.
--
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> Not true. The brain changes. It's called development.
The brain does not change. That's a persistent urban legend.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
May 24th 2005, 9:46 pm
#48
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Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Keith Anderson writes:
> Half the battle in English seems to be getting students to recognise
> and reproduce stress and intonation patterns - unstessed syllables
> becoming a short "u" sound. So "vegetable" becomes vej-tu-bl"
Stress is important, but intonation otherwise generally is not. A lot
of ESL courses from the UK waste a tremendous amount of time on pitch
intonation and such, requiring students to distinguish between "neutral"
and "polite" intonations even when the examples given are valid only in
certain parts of the UK and nowhere else in the world.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
> Half the battle in English seems to be getting students to recognise
> and reproduce stress and intonation patterns - unstessed syllables
> becoming a short "u" sound. So "vegetable" becomes vej-tu-bl"
Stress is important, but intonation otherwise generally is not. A lot
of ESL courses from the UK waste a tremendous amount of time on pitch
intonation and such, requiring students to distinguish between "neutral"
and "polite" intonations even when the examples given are valid only in
certain parts of the UK and nowhere else in the world.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
May 24th 2005, 9:47 pm
#49
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Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote:
> Padraig Breathnach writes:
>
> > Not true. The brain changes. It's called development.
>
> The brain does not change.
Speak for yourself.
--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
> Padraig Breathnach writes:
>
> > Not true. The brain changes. It's called development.
>
> The brain does not change.
Speak for yourself.
--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
May 24th 2005, 9:48 pm
#50
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Padraig Breathnach writes:
> That's a male perspective.
To some extent it's a female perspective, too. Many American women
visiting France complain that the men all seem like scrawny, stuck-up
wimps.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
> That's a male perspective.
To some extent it's a female perspective, too. Many American women
visiting France complain that the men all seem like scrawny, stuck-up
wimps.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
May 24th 2005, 9:50 pm
#51
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Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote:
> Padraig Breathnach writes:
>
> > That's a male perspective.
>
> To some extent it's a female perspective, too. Many American women
> visiting France complain that the men all seem like scrawny, stuck-up
> wimps.
How do they find you?
--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
> Padraig Breathnach writes:
>
> > That's a male perspective.
>
> To some extent it's a female perspective, too. Many American women
> visiting France complain that the men all seem like scrawny, stuck-up
> wimps.
How do they find you?
--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
May 24th 2005, 9:51 pm
#52
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Mxsmanic wrote:
> pikatxu writes:
>
>
>>But either way, they could not make it sound better even if they wanted
>>to, a good English prononciation is hard to achieve for a Frenchman,
>>much harder that a perfect Spanish or German accent.
>
>
> That's what all the French speakers with thick accents say. The ones
> with no accent don't agree, however.
>
Indeed, but it's a question of proportion of "thick accents" in the country.
> pikatxu writes:
>
>
>>But either way, they could not make it sound better even if they wanted
>>to, a good English prononciation is hard to achieve for a Frenchman,
>>much harder that a perfect Spanish or German accent.
>
>
> That's what all the French speakers with thick accents say. The ones
> with no accent don't agree, however.
>
Indeed, but it's a question of proportion of "thick accents" in the country.
May 24th 2005, 9:54 pm
#53
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Mxsmanic wrote:
> nitram writes:
>
>
>>I've worked with many educated French. I can't think of a single one
>>where it wasn't obvious that person was French as soon as the person
>>started to speak.
>
>
> As I've said, I work with several such people every day. I had to ask
> them what their native language was, since I couldn't hear any accent.
>
>
>>I can think of several Dutch, who sound and speak
>>like native English speakers
>
>
> That's good, since Dutch itself is very unpleasant to the ear, IMO.
>
You mean Hollander Dutch for sure, Flemish sounds very harmonious to me.
I looove gold.
> nitram writes:
>
>
>>I've worked with many educated French. I can't think of a single one
>>where it wasn't obvious that person was French as soon as the person
>>started to speak.
>
>
> As I've said, I work with several such people every day. I had to ask
> them what their native language was, since I couldn't hear any accent.
>
>
>>I can think of several Dutch, who sound and speak
>>like native English speakers
>
>
> That's good, since Dutch itself is very unpleasant to the ear, IMO.
>
You mean Hollander Dutch for sure, Flemish sounds very harmonious to me.
I looove gold.
May 24th 2005, 10:00 pm
#54
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Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
"Mxsmanic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Deep Foiled Malls writes:
> > It is a permanent fixture that you can do nothing about. There is not
> > a frog on earth that has successfully removed their distinct accent.
> I work with several who have.
I thought you didn't work ???
news:[email protected]...
> Deep Foiled Malls writes:
> > It is a permanent fixture that you can do nothing about. There is not
> > a frog on earth that has successfully removed their distinct accent.
> I work with several who have.
I thought you didn't work ???
May 24th 2005, 10:02 pm
#55
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Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco
writes:
> How do they find you?
Most of my clients and many of my coworkers are American.
--
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writes:
> How do they find you?
Most of my clients and many of my coworkers are American.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
May 24th 2005, 10:02 pm
#56
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote:
> chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco
> writes:
>
> > How do they find you?
>
> Most of my clients and many of my coworkers are American.
That wasn't what I asked.
--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
> chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco
> writes:
>
> > How do they find you?
>
> Most of my clients and many of my coworkers are American.
That wasn't what I asked.
--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
May 24th 2005, 10:05 pm
#57
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Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
"punktilious" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Mxsmanic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > kyrha writes:
> >
> >> I'm french and I'd like to know your opinion about french accent
> >
> > A slight French accent in English can be charming. A thick accent,
> > particularly one that interferes with comprehension, can be annoying.
> > So can idiosyncratic errors in pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary.
> >
> > Different French speakers manifest their French accents in slightly
> > different ways. Some types are more aesthetic than others.
> >
> > --
> > Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me
directly.
> Actually, I am under the impression that a huge percentage of these people
> that have French as their native language *intentionally* make their
accents
> more pronounced. They think their language is so cool and there was a time
> in this country, when having that French accent made you more popular with
> the opposite sex. But maybe that was a time that has come and gone and
> nowadays, it may no longer hold true due to the tension between French and
> Americans.
A strong British accent has a similar effect on Americans of the opposite
gender (and probably the same gender if so inclined).
I have been know at times to overemphasis mine :-)
news:[email protected]...
> "Mxsmanic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > kyrha writes:
> >
> >> I'm french and I'd like to know your opinion about french accent
> >
> > A slight French accent in English can be charming. A thick accent,
> > particularly one that interferes with comprehension, can be annoying.
> > So can idiosyncratic errors in pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary.
> >
> > Different French speakers manifest their French accents in slightly
> > different ways. Some types are more aesthetic than others.
> >
> > --
> > Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me
directly.
> Actually, I am under the impression that a huge percentage of these people
> that have French as their native language *intentionally* make their
accents
> more pronounced. They think their language is so cool and there was a time
> in this country, when having that French accent made you more popular with
> the opposite sex. But maybe that was a time that has come and gone and
> nowadays, it may no longer hold true due to the tension between French and
> Americans.
A strong British accent has a similar effect on Americans of the opposite
gender (and probably the same gender if so inclined).
I have been know at times to overemphasis mine :-)
May 24th 2005, 10:10 pm
#58
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
"Mxsmanic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Padraig Breathnach writes:
>> That's a male perspective.
> To some extent it's a female perspective, too. Many American women
> visiting France complain that the men all seem like scrawny, stuck-up
> wimps.
Thank goodness for the real men in Paris: those who wear shorts and hiking
boots.
JohnT
news:[email protected]...
> Padraig Breathnach writes:
>> That's a male perspective.
> To some extent it's a female perspective, too. Many American women
> visiting France complain that the men all seem like scrawny, stuck-up
> wimps.
Thank goodness for the real men in Paris: those who wear shorts and hiking
boots.
JohnT
May 24th 2005, 10:21 pm
#59
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote:
>Padraig Breathnach writes:
>> Not true. The brain changes. It's called development.
>The brain does not change. That's a persistent urban legend.
Mixi, you must be getting desperate for argument. I'm not biting.
--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED
>Padraig Breathnach writes:
>> Not true. The brain changes. It's called development.
>The brain does not change. That's a persistent urban legend.
Mixi, you must be getting desperate for argument. I'm not biting.
--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED
May 24th 2005, 11:03 pm
#60
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: French accent
Chancellor etc:
> How do they find you?
By looking in a cupboard till they find a sweaty pair of hiking shorts?
> How do they find you?
By looking in a cupboard till they find a sweaty pair of hiking shorts?
