I've been slightly preoccupied with trying to lose my accent in French of late. I can sometimes fool people for a little while, depending on how observant they are or what we're talking about- there are a few words, not necessarily the obvious ones ("feuille" and "bouilloire"? No problem) that give the game away.
Sometimes, though, people spot something, but can't quite put their finger on what it is. My accent in French doesn't conform to expectations of how an English person would speak French.
Cue comment from a lady in the supermarket where I worked over Christmas:
"Vous êtes Alsacienne, Madame ?"
Literal translation: "Are you an Alsatian?"
Proper translation: "Are you from Alsace?"
Makes me smile every time.
Oh, and incidentally- this is why you should never, never, never, ever use online translation sites. Leave it to the professionals!
Back to the cupboard now to scratch behind my ears and chew a few shoes. Might go and scare a few small children by pretending to be the Big Bad Wolf later, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment