tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post8129056748776951711..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: The mystery of language: Ali Bacon is disconsolate when words fail her on a trip abroadKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-74781357803416429642017-06-24T17:59:53.951+01:002017-06-24T17:59:53.951+01:00My problem exactly Cecilia. Italian comes a lot mo...My problem exactly Cecilia. Italian comes a lot more naturally!AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-90834989287800760252017-06-24T12:58:40.322+01:002017-06-24T12:58:40.322+01:00Spanish was my downfall too - I had always thought...Spanish was my downfall too - I had always thought of it as being similar to Italian until we went to Barcelona and I found it was just similar enough to be confusing, especially when I had to report a stolen purse to a policeman who spoke only very slightly more English than I did Spanish. I've never had to use a phrase-book quite so much.Cecilia Peartreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12653871639579934396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-20693876481661428662017-06-23T16:59:35.691+01:002017-06-23T16:59:35.691+01:00Hi Enid. I once worked as a student in Montreux Sw...Hi Enid. I once worked as a student in Montreux Switzerland and got quite fluent the n French but I agree I felt different and maybe even acted differently (don't ask!)<br />Fran, Dennis & Bill. My sister once worked as an au pair in a remote French Village and counted in French for some time afterwards. She was telling me recently when she arrived back at a London station she asked for her ticket in French and was waved away 'foreigners over there"! It was the 1960s!AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-12415317206521372952017-06-23T09:35:50.764+01:002017-06-23T09:35:50.764+01:00The blog and the comments are all so reassuring. I...The blog and the comments are all so reassuring. I taught French at school and university and have spent several years living in France so, a few years back, I was pretty fluent in it. But even then, I never felt fully me. I'm not claiming great things for my spoken English, but I can usually find the words I need without too much reflection. Sometimes, though, in French, there was that frustrating hesitation, the search for 'le mot juste' or the most appropriate colloquialism. Glad to know it's not just me (whoever that is).Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-79980830552843115342017-06-23T07:56:05.148+01:002017-06-23T07:56:05.148+01:00I think that you don't really know a language ...I think that you don't really know a language until you can laugh in it. Germans think I am a humourless wretch.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-14853777500358577242017-06-22T22:02:15.436+01:002017-06-22T22:02:15.436+01:00When I was au-pairing in France many moons ago, I ...When I was au-pairing in France many moons ago, I was told I would know when I was really 'getting there' with the language if two things happened: dreaming in French; swearing in French. The second came more quickly (especially at 'les sales gosses') but I did have a couple of dreams towards the end of my 10-week stay where at least some of the characters spoke French. I woke up feeling almost bilingual.Fran Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13497526684591168192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-52716021271566890332017-06-22T17:28:14.146+01:002017-06-22T17:28:14.146+01:00English is my mother-tongue, French my adoptive on...English is my mother-tongue, French my adoptive one, and I've always been intrigued by the way I feel like a different person when speaking French. I grew up in South Wales, where I remember people who could switch seamlessly from Welsh to English in the same sentence.Enid Richemonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17218197995089241666noreply@blogger.com