Posts Tagged ‘historical buildings’

If you want to learn how to speak French there all kinds of ways – private lessons (best but expensive) local night classes, online French courses, French language software, take your pick. What none of them can prepare you for are the occasional – and mostly understandable mistakes – where we think we understand something and in fact we’re just a bit short!

For example, a friend of mine was in search of a French property. He thought that the place in “rue du chateau d’eau” sounded very attractive. It must be close to a chateau, you would think. What better for your French home than to be near one of these magnificent historical buildings?

Well mostly he was right. “Rue de” does indeed mean “the street of”. Unfortunately a “chateau d’eau” is a water tower. Now some people find them very attractive, and they’re an iconic part of the French countryside, but they’re not quite the fairy-tale castle he was hoping for!

It’s an example of how, when you learn how to speak French, you have to take in the whole French phrase not just the individual words.

Of course the individual words can trip you up just as easily. Another friend (who I must say now speaks quite good French) was visiting France on holiday. She came down to breakfast in her hotel and looked at the menu, seeking something typically French. “Pampelmouse” sounded particularly exotic so she ordered that, only to be rather disappointed when half a grapefruit was served!

Any language will always trip you up occasionally – we just can’t know it all at once. If you want to learn how to speak French I would suggest that in addition to any other lessons you always carry a small French to English dictionary with you, or one of the excellent pocket electronic versions now available. It will just give you the ability to check before making those little “faux pas” (that’s mistakes, by the way). You need to look out most for the things you almost think you know but aren’t quite sure of. You wouldn’t, for example, want to put “petrole” in your car – in France you would get paraffin!

Author: Frank English
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Pressure cooker