Merde. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of this speaking French lark, smugly ensconced as I am in my Avancé class, I find I’ve been blithely going around calling French people fuckers. To their faces. Yes, wine glass clutched tipsily in one hand, I’ve been happily saying salut (‘cheers’) but they’ve been hearing salou (something considerably less convivial). Apparently we native English speakers, especially those of us of the antipodean variety, have a real problem perfecting the finer points of pronouncing French vowel sounds.
So to all my French friends, I can only say je suis très désolée! And I think in future I’ll stick to the pompously Anglo-Indian sounding but safe tchin.
In the meantime, here’s some more fun with badly spoken French, from Flight of the Conchords.
Friday, May 22, 2009
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5 comments:
I love the vid! And I don't THINK I've called people fuckers, but it's possible... I did once ask for little sweaters for a cake.
Yeah, my partner once asked for chips with tartar sauce and ended up with a big plate of uncooked steak mince.
I was aiming for birthday candles. The clerk and I realized simultaneously a) what I actually was looking for and b) what I was actually saying. T'was pretty funny!
Rare steak is a good thing; but Texture Issues with steak tartare for sure. [shudder]
LOL on the video :)
Yep, I'm doing my bit to spread Kiwi culture around the world :)
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