The Gibberish that is my French
I spent the afternoon with the cousins and their mom, trying to give Bout chou and Choupette a break from the blah of a rainy day.
The mom, V, is a stylish working mother who's always intimidated me a bit. She's chic, no other word to describe her. In recent months, though, I've been able to get to know her better and to feel more relaxed around her.
And yet, my French turns to gibberish.
Not just with her, I should add.
It's a weird thing; I stumble over phrases that, in the calm of my mind, I know how to say perfectly. I think it's that I'm thinking of what to say, in English, and am translating it on the fly. So, I'll come out with a mangled version of something and then, hours later, a much lovelier phrasing will pop into my head and I run it around the contours of my language lobe and try to remember it for the next time.
{And now Bout chou is trying to get me to come to his room by saying "Allez" when he means "Venez" and he's very much mistaken if he thinks he's going to succeed.}
So there's my language thought for the day. Trying hard not to massacre this beautiful language.
The mom, V, is a stylish working mother who's always intimidated me a bit. She's chic, no other word to describe her. In recent months, though, I've been able to get to know her better and to feel more relaxed around her.
And yet, my French turns to gibberish.
Not just with her, I should add.
It's a weird thing; I stumble over phrases that, in the calm of my mind, I know how to say perfectly. I think it's that I'm thinking of what to say, in English, and am translating it on the fly. So, I'll come out with a mangled version of something and then, hours later, a much lovelier phrasing will pop into my head and I run it around the contours of my language lobe and try to remember it for the next time.
{And now Bout chou is trying to get me to come to his room by saying "Allez" when he means "Venez" and he's very much mistaken if he thinks he's going to succeed.}
So there's my language thought for the day. Trying hard not to massacre this beautiful language.