French lingo

Does anyone reckon it's possible to learn French by 'picking it up' and not

pmj...

Yep.
It is possible.
But...

bothering with all that grammar stuff? I never cottoned to the English
stuff....wots a participle..past or otherwise lol Any thoughts/tips? :)

Tickettyboo...

How do you think we learned English We don't start off with formal
lesssons, we listen and repeat single words and then build up a
vocabulary :-) Eventually, we learned to construct sentences. The
important thing is, if you want the people you are talking to , to
understand and help then you have to at least try. My French is by no

pmj...

pmj...

Years ago (about 25 years or so), my Sister moved to Wales & picked
up the Welsh Language OK, by listening to people using it & using
it herself - she had no formal training or lessons in Welsh.

Then, in about 1990, she had an idea of moving to Argentina (where
they speak Spanish & there's also a Welsh Ex-Pat Community in the
South, which was (partly) why she wanted to go there), she had no
prior experience, knowledge or use of the Spanish Language & she
went round Spain (on a Bike!), getting to know & talking to the
Locals, rather than going to the Tourist areas. She was there for
about 6 Months & picked up the Spanish Language pretty well.

She then (in 1991) moved over to Argentina, in the very far South,
in Patagonia & has been there ever since - she picked up the version
of Spanish that they use in Argentina OK & ended up doing "TEFL" -
Teaching English as a Foreign Language - to the locals!
:-)

& also working as a Translator (both Spoken & Written, Spanish -
English & English - Spanish).

She is a naturally "Language" type person - she learned Latin at
School & has always been interested in the practical *use* & meaning
of Words & phrases, all of which helped her when it comes to teaching
proper English to Foreigners.

I don't really know all the finer details of how Spanish compares
to French, (though I do know that they both have (some) Latin Roots)
but I reckon that with any Foreign Language, you can pick up enough
of it to get by, for most purposes, by listening to it & (attempting)
to *use* it, when talking to the Locals.

But if you want to learn it properly, so as to be able to be sure of
getting the exact meaning across, then you do have to start to find
out about the specific Grammar & usage.

Sign Language & gesticulation can help in a lot of circumstances,
for occasional use, but a good *working* knowledge of a Language
is very useful.

Nobody can learn it all in advance - you *have* pick up practical
experience as you go along.

Besides, so-called "TextBook" French (or Spanish, German, Italian,
English or any other Language) isn't what most people in those places
actually use when talking, is it?

You need to learn the particular variation that is used in the Area
where you are going. - It's no good, for example, anybody learning
*English* & then expecting to be able to understand (& be understood
by) people in places like Scotland, Yorkshire, Liverpool, Manchester
& Newcastle!
:-)

They all talk with dramatically different variations of the Language
than what we do down here (& they use different words & some words
which are the same have different meanings) & the same thing applies
in places like France.

means brill, but I have a reasonably good vocabulary and a pair of hands
to wave and point with .. oh and I smile a lot too - that always helps!
Communication is fun, in any language

BoyPete...

Such common sense Boo . I've just got this nagging idea of moving there

~~seadancer~~...

So true.
By coincidence, I came across the following quote today:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a
smile speaks them all." -Anonymous
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Foxy at w*rk...

I like that Sea

Anita...

That's a good idea - we can all come and spend our holidays with you :)

when I retire.

Tickettyboo...

If you serious then start to learn now. I love France, like the people
and have always found that they go to great lengths to help when my
language skills fail me. I only go there for short bursts though, on
holiday. If I was planning to live there I would really do my best to
learn as much of the language as I could cos it must be very isolating
if you can't join in conversations. I have heard good reports of the
Michel Thomas language cds ( which I have somewhere, but they are on my
to-do list) To build your vocabulary, ask in your local library if they
get any french newspapers, ( avoid Le Monde and see if they have
something like France Soir, the language is simpler and its not so
politics based)

shaz...

I used to teach French to Juniors years ago when it was the in thing. Itwas
done by conversation, and not by learning Grammar. Go to the Library and see
if you can borrow French conversation CD's.

BoyPete...

Thanks Shaz. Good idea :)

Splodge...

And if you have no luck, you could borrow my set of Michael Thomas French
CDs. I've got the 2 hr introductory course, and the full 8 hr set. It would
be no problem to post them to you.
Splodge

BoyPete...

Thanks. Let me explore the library first. It's just the first thoughts in a
long term plan :)

Anita...

Get a french girlfriend - and she can teach you - the language lol ;)

BoyPete...

And I find one where...............? :)

JoeH...

France? ;-)

Anita...

Awww Joe - you knew ........ rofl ;)

Foxy at w*rk...

lol That's how Robert has become fluent in Spanish :-)

pmj...

For general conversational use, you can prolly get by OK, without
any formal Teaching of it & without knowing all about the different
Grammar etc...

But for *any* Language, it makes sense to have a proper grounding in it,
so you can be (more) sure to use the Language properly & to not make
too many mistakes, doesn't it? (Assuming you want other people to
understand what you are trying to say)
:-)

For example, if anybody says something like "I done this", which is
incorrect usage & Grammar, when what they should say is "I did this",
most English people would know what the person probably meant, but
would know that it's not correct.

Jeff Gaines...

Particularly important with the French, who will go to almost any lengths
*not* to understand any foreigner speaking their language :-)

shaz...

You don't go to the right places. I've never had any problems, and my French
is pretty rusty at the start of each holiday. just getting better when it's
time to come home.

The same thing would apply to a Foreign Language, but many Foreign
Languages have completely different Ruler of Grammar & a Phrase or
Sentence can change *completely* in meaning, with just a small error
in the Grammar (or if the order of the words is wrong).