I feel like I'm getting more and more confident at French everyday! When I ride home on my bicycle, I listen to French music by either Carla Bruni or Yelle (sorry, that's all I have for now...) and try to catch every word they're speaking. I'm making progress. The bike path home is wonderful; it follows along L'Isere, I wear my Ray-Bans and meander along the bike path that goes direct from my house in Ile Verte to the University. I've been picking up a lot of things about the French language, little mannerisms, isms, if you will. One ism is how hard it is for anglophones to pronounce the vowels here. I learned in Linguistics the actual science behind it: they pronounce vowels at the front of their mouth rather than the back like us. As a result, sounds like "Je dit" sounds like a breath whisper or whistling at the end of the sentence. Can't quite master it, but at least I'm aware of it! They also go "euuuuhhh" rather than "ummm", and it seems to me that speaking French is much easier if you pucker out your lips hehe- it looks ridiculous to try, but it makes you sounds more French!
For my semester-long ethnography project, I've decided to do a study on "Franglais", mainly how English words are introduced, welcomed and rolled around in the French language. That is to say, how an English word is Francophonized- for example, les keufs is a verlan version of an English word for police- les flics. In the words of my French professor, the word was introduced into le roulette of the French language, tossed around and came out in verlan. I also think it's fascinating which words, especially English turned verlan, are recognized and understood by your everyday French person. What I want to do is look at different age groups, see what English words they use on a regular basis and which are thrown into a sentence. It would be most interesting to look at those who speak little or no English, such as my host father, yet use Franglais to express themselves in everyday life. Next, I want to look at how these words make their way in the French lexicon. How did cool and speed get introduced? American or British television shows? The media? Starting in Paris and then spreading out to the rest of France?
Another aspect, which broadens the topic a lot but it quite interesting, is how words from other languages are introduced and used in French conversation. For example, we talked about the word mesquin yesterday in class, an Arab word meaning missing generosity or grandeur that was introduced to the French lexicon back during the Middle Ages. It would be interesting the trade of individual words from an array of different languages, the swapping of words. The English language is a prime example; I've been making a list of all the French words we Americans, or Brits, use in everyday language without a thought to the origin of the word. For example: Voila, Bon Voyage, Bon Appetit, chic, cliché, and gourmet. See?!!?
Anyway, if anyone is interested in either participated in a survey I'll be sending out or have any more ideas, send 'em my way!
My French is getting better at the expense of my English. I can't form a proper sentence anymore! I swear by the time I get back to the States, I'll barely be able to converse normally with someone. I remember when that happened to Lillian when she got back from a year in Italy and said "I'm having 'ifficulties!"
