• Transporter Room 3@startrek.website
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      4 months ago

      I can say “I don’t speak [language], sorry.” in about 10 languages, just so if someone tries to speak to me I can say that to them.

      So far only one person has said any follow up things in that language. I like to think it was “but you’re speaking it now!” but probably just about work stuff.

      Is it weird that I get a very tiny kick out of the slight confusion I can see on some people’s faces?

    • elvith@feddit.de
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      4 months ago

      IIRC if you cannot do it because you never learned it it’s “Je ne sais pas parler français”

      • bitMasque@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        “I do not speak French” versus “I do not know how to speak French”. Both are correct, though only the latter clarifies not speaking the language because they do not understand it, rather than purely out of spite. So in this specific case, the former could be used as a subtle FU.

  • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    The weird thing about knowing a foreign language is sometimes u might offend people for trying to speak their mother tongue when they’re working on their English, so like unless you are in a country where that’s the spoken language, it’s super awkward any time you want to actually use that language that you learned.

  • _cnt0@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    J’ai dû apprendre le français à l’école. L’alternative aurait été le latin. Je déteste tellement cette langue.

    You can keep all mistakes I made in that sorry excuse of a garbage language.

    • ebc@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      Tu détestes le français spécifiquement, ou juste le fait d’avoir eu à apprendre une autre langue?

      Le français, je peux comprendre un peu, il y a quant même plusieurs spécificités étranges à cette langue. Ce n’est pas pour rien qu’on passe plusieurs années à l’apprendre avant d’éventuellement passer à la littérature. Je crois que les cours d’anglais langue première font cette transition beaucoup plus tôt.

      Détester le fait d’avoir eu à apprendre une autre langue, là je ne comprends pas du tout!

      • _cnt0@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        Tu détestes le français spécifiquement, ou juste le fait d’avoir eu à apprendre une autre langue?

        Я ненавижу французский конкретно. Я сожалею, что так и не выучил итальянский должным образом.

        Le français, je peux comprendre un peu, il y a quant même plusieurs spécificités étranges à cette langue.

        That accoustic dumpster fire shouldn’t even be referred to as a language.

        Détester le fait d’avoir eu à apprendre une autre langue, là je ne comprends pas du tout!

        Außer mangelnder Zeit habe ich kein Problem damit neue Sprachen zu lernen.

      • _cnt0@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        Friend of mine went to a school which fashioned itself as “the old school” (as in historically old school). They learned latin and old greek instead of anything useful. He was furious when he came back from vacation in Greece and he only found one person, an old professor in Greek history, who he could talk to.

    • elvith@feddit.de
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      4 months ago

      Je suis dans ça mème et je ne l’aime pas.

      Oui, j’ai appris la langue française à l’école aussi.

      Non, je ne veux… sais pas parler français!

      • _cnt0@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        Non, je ne veux… sais pas parler français!

        Ну, тогда не надо. Есть много лучших языков.

  • foggy@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    If a French-speaking person gives you shit for pronouncing words in French wrong, dare them to say “LinkedIn” in the presence of your English-speaking fluency and try to not humiliate themselves. Maybe first bait then with one they can do, like “Facebook” before crushing their spirits.

    Like we could get mean with “squirrel” or “thorough” or “hedgehog”, but those are less reasonable that they’d have fucking consistent practice with.

    • Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Ha ha ask a yank to pronounce “squirrel” or “mirror” you’ll get sqwrrrrrrl and meeeeer

    • ccunix@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I just have them speak my name. Lived in France for 12 years now and not 1 has got it right.

      • Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        I have a Scottish name that starts with “Mc”

        Every bank and government institution in France separates the “Mc” from the second part, resulting in lost records, odd looking bank cards, fucked up tax returns etc etc

        Wouldn’t change it for the world 😂

    • BubbleMonkey@slrpnk.net
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      4 months ago

      I need to know how they would pronounce it. I took French so long ago, and for such a short time, I barely remember any of it.

      • foggy@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Leen koo din.

        For some reason 3 syllables and for some reason a very rounded “ooh” that is absolutely nowhere to be found in its spelling.

      • ebc@lemmy.ca
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        4 months ago

        seventeen is said as ten-seven in French.

        Belgium’s got it, though: soixante, septante, huitante, nonante, cent

        • AstralPath@lemmy.ca
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          4 months ago

          Do they actually use that? If so, amazing. I saw that on a French YT channel’s April fools video this year.

  • Sertou@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    This is what one of Edmond Dantes alter egos did in the Count of Monte Cristo. “Lord Wilmore” was an eccentric Englishman who understood French perfectly well, but refused to speak it:

    … Lord Wilmore appeared….His first remark on entering was, “You know, sir, I do not speak French?”

    “I know you do not like to converse in our language,” replied the envoy.

    “But you may use it,” replied Lord Wilmore; “I understand it.”

    • ParabolicMotion@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Norway might not be accurately described in this map. While walking through the airport, every airport worker kept trying to speak to me in Norwegian. I don’t know any words in their language. It would be cool if I did, but I don’t. Anyway, they always looked confused, repeated themselves more slowly, and waited for a response from me. Eventually, I realized one of them was asking me about my backpack.