Why is the French accent hard to understand?

The French language tends to be difficult to pronounce at first because there are simply sounds that native English speakers aren’t used to making. To begin with, French is more evenly stressed. This means that while some parts of a word are stressed, it’s not as distinct as in English.

Why are written and spoken French so different?

Written French word order is based on argument structure, i.e. the role the nouns play in the verb’s action: Subject verb object. In spoken French, however, word order is much more dependent on discourse structure—- the role the nouns play in the speech context. And in written French, it isn’t common either.

What is it called when you can speak a language but Cannot understand it?

Receptive bilingualism – understanding but not speaking a language.

How long does it take to understand spoken French?

For English-speakers, French falls into category 1. In other words, it is considered one of the easiest languages to learn because it is “closely related” to English. According to the FSI, it would take an English-speaker approximately 23-24 weeks or 575-600 hours of study to become proficient in the French language.

Who speaks the purest French?

Actually, the purest French is spoken by all middle-to-upper classes anywhere in the central an northern part of the country — Orléans, Cherbourg, Bourges, Nancy, Rennes, Amiens, Dijon, Rouen or Tours…

Why is French writing so weird?

The biggest reason for unpronounced letters is that, at one time, the letters were pronounced. Spelling tends to reflect the language as it was spoken when the language was standardized, rather than how it’s pronounced today.

How is French written?

The French alphabet is based on the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, uppercase and lowercase, with five diacritics and two orthographic ligatures. The letters ⟨w⟩ and ⟨k⟩ are rarely used except in loanwords and regional words.

How long can it take to learn a new language?

The correct answer is: “it depends,” but you probably already knew that. The next and most accurate answer is that it can take anywhere between three months to two years to learn how to speak, write, and read in a new language fluently.

Is there a posh French accent?

Tours accent is actually the closest to ideal French. Paris sounds faster and they tend to put a tonic accent at the end of words, which sounds kinda posh. The Frenh living around TOURS located in the vallée de la LOIRE (ie : Loire’s valley where French Kings had gorgeous castles) are renown for their perfect French.

How difficult is it to understand spoken French?

Understanding spoken French is difficult. French people speak fast, and they often don’t follow all the “correct” rules when speaking! For example, just take a look at this interview by French online media Konbini with Olivier Véran, our new Ministre de la Santé (= Health Minister.)

Do we eat vowels in French?

In Fast spoken French, we often “eat” vowels. Especially in “ le ” and “ je ” before a consonant. From the same interview, in the sentence just after the one we heard before, Olivier Véran says: (= “We know that until June 2nd, I won’t be able to go on a vacation further than 100km / 60 miles away.”)

What is the difference between spoken French and spoken French?

In both cases, the “spoken French” version is more informal, with less weight or certainty behind it. “ Ouais ” can mean the English “meh.” French people also use “ Mouais ,” to mean “ more or less” / “I guess so ”… Other very common “fast spoken French” words are created by cutting the end of words or groups of words.

How do you speak like a French person?

This is the classic, most-actionable tip to start speaking like French people do. Correct French grammar includes “ ne…pas ” for negations, but French people very rarely use the “ ne ” in spoken conversations. Je n’aime pas les Paris-Brest. (= “ I don’t like the Paris-Brest pastry .” ) becomes “ J’aime pas les Paris-Brest.