Bonjour, Mes Amis

Ben.... mon ami.... (salut Debbie).

J'ai terminé plus de leçons français.  But still had to use Google translate to help me with creating the previous sentence.

So far on Duolingo.com, I've mastered three lessons - Basics 1, Basics 2 and Phrases.  In Duolingo.com, that actually represents an impressive amount of work.

In each lesson, as you go through, you are given any number of "lives," represented by little love hearts in the top right corner.  If you lose all of them, and then get a question wrong, you have to start all over again.

Ouch.

For me, there was a great deal of starting all over again.  And again.  And again.

However, I did it so frequently that I managed to gather enough points to master two lessons in one evening.  Je suis la reine!

Mwah hah hah hah hah!

I shall check in again when there is more to report.  Perhaps I'll be able to write a sentence without the help of Google!

Bonsoir!

P.S. - if you would like a chance to try Duolingo.com out, I've been given three invites.  Let me know and I can send one to you!

Oh My Goodness, I'm Back!

Well... like every time I try to get stuck into any sort of language training, I get side-tracked by a tonne of other stuff.

But I'm back now... after I don't know how long.  Things got very busy and French fell by the wayside - as it seems to every time I try to self-study.  i clearly need much more discipline.

On the bright side, I've found a new free French programme on the inter-webs.  It's not very much like livemocha.com at all.  For starters, there's no social element, so there's less pressure.  I get to fail in private.  Secondly, you learn to conjugate verbs in a more school like setting (there are tables you can bring up for conjugations every time a new verb is introduced).  Thirdly, it mixes writing, speaking, reading and translating up all into one exercise.  That way, everything gets equal attention... you can't fake your way through.  And last but not least, it teaches you more than just conversational French.  You learn the basics - the very basics - right from the off.  It's actually more helpful for someone like myself who needs that foundation (else I feel hopelessly lost and overwhelmed).

The site is doulingo.com, and its mascot is an owl (unoriginally).  At the moment, it's French section is only in Beta testing (I managed to score an invite AND I have two to hand out - if you want one, let me know).  You have to apply to get in on the beta testing.  Currently, Spanish and German are offered fully tested for your learning pleasure.

It's actually a great deal of fun.  The programme sends you daily reminders to practice.  I skipped two days this week (I started on Friday, so that's my weekly start).  On the second day, the message Duolingo sent me read:

You made the owl cry.
To keep the owl happy you should practice regularly.

And I actually went... 'Oh!  Poor owl!'

I might be slightly suggestible...

So I can safely say that my reading and comprehension are well and truly above my ability to actually write and speak.  There's just something about trying to form sentences on my own that's incredibly difficult for me.  So, in order to help with this, I will be trying very hard to engage in more French conversations.  And listen to more French things.  Like radio... or movies... or something...

I have no idea when my next update will be.  For now, I'll leave you with this sobering (pun intended) thought (you'll get it after you read and translate what's to follow.  Promise):

J'aime le vin rouge.

Yeah.... I'm not much good at jokes...

Á bientot!

French 101, Unit One, Lesson 1

I'm starting slow. Exposure to French during family gatherings has probably sunk in more than I give myself credit for, but I still want to start from scratch because there are basics that I'm certain I'm missing.

My Resources

It might surprise you to know that I'm not taking formal language lessons in a classroom full of students. I haven't the time or the money for that. If you're thinking of learning French but, like me, have neither the time nor the resources to do so, then this link is for you:

Livemocha.com

It's a fabulous website of language learners from all over the world. The basic lessons are free, though there is a subscription for about $100.00 (C.A.D.) a year that will grant you some lovely extras. I'm not sure what those extras are... I haven't purchased that service. I'm too poor to.

The format is much the same for every language they offer, I think. Basic French, for example, has four 'terms' with two or three units, each with approximately six lessons per term (French 101 and 102 have three units each, and French 201 and 202 have two units each).

They offer extra practice outside of lessons and the ability to create flashcards from your lessons.

The best part is, you will be graded by native speakers who are also on the site AND, should you choose, they offer live chat so you can practice speaking in real-life conversations.

Sold yet?

If you decide to sign on, and are a follower of this blog ('cause, you know, I have so many of them at the moment), look for me. I'm the cat named Linguiphilia.

I'm thoroughly excited about this website because, not only do they have French and the other stronger languages of the world, but they also offer Welsh and Occitan! How cool is that?!

I shall be using this site a great deal, methinks.

Plan of Attack

Alright, I don't really have one as yet.

I will be working through the lessons on the site. I'm hoping to get through a lesson a week, so it'll take me six weeks to get through Unit One. I want to get through French 101 entirely (that'll be sixteen weeks) and then I'll start picking up French children's books to read. I'll also be tuning in to French radio when ever I can. Thank goodness for online streaming!

End Game

I hope to be able to read, write and speak French fluently in a year. Yeah. A year is a very short time in which to learn a language, but I'm banking on my previous and continued exposure to French to help me out. Plus, my Dad speaks it, so I will be getting extra help if I need it.

The Road So Far

Yes, I did steal that from Supernatural. Ahem...

Last week I began working through the lessons on Livemocha.com. I found the first lesson, 'Introducations' actually quite tricky. If they're all this hard, it might take me a bit longer than a year... Still, it was fun.

The comments on my submissions have been, thus far, encouraging. Though, let's be honest, I've only got one comment on my written submission and nothing yet on my spoken. I'll report back if I have more.

The site offers game-based learning, so there are games such as picture-word match and so forth. They do this for reading and listening, and have exercises for writing as well. I'm quite enamoured.

I will be buying a French-English dictionary as soon as I get the extra funds and might be tackling books a little sooner than the completion of French 101. We'll see how Lesson 2 of Unit One goes first, I think.

Language 1 - French

The first language, and perhaps most pressing in bilingual Canada, I want to learn is French. My father and his family speak it. They are French Canadian, after all. There are actually quite a few dialects of French, with French Canadian being one of them.

I intend to learn classical/Parisian French. I can pick up French Canadian French (how's that for an odd sentence) if I have the language upon which it is based. I will also be understood in France, should I go there. That's fairly important.

French - A Very Brief History

French is actually quite a young language, linguistically speaking. Before France was France, it was Gaul (and before that, who knows?). I'm talking long, long ago. In the Iron Age kind of long ago. The language spoken there was, unsurprisingly, Gaulish. What you might find surprising is that Gaulish is more closely related to Welsh or Cornish than it is to modern-day French.

Say what?

Gaulish belongs to the "Celtic" family of languages. It's only modern descendent on the continent of Europe is Breton. It is considered a 'p-Celtic', or, Brythonic (or Brittonic, depending on what school you ascribe to) language.

When Caesar invaded Gaul in 58 BCE, culminating in more or less complete subjugation after the Battle of Alesia in 52 BCE when Vercingetorix was captured after a long siege, the cultural landscape changed dramatically - as did the linguistic one.

Latin became the dominant language (particularly in administration), and, probably, all sorts of pigeon languages sprouted in various parts of the now Roman province of Gaul. Of course, the absorption of language was a much slower process than I've described here, but I'm short on space.

Then came the Franks (from whence we get the name 'France'). First noted in about 3 CE, they were a Germanic tribe hailing from north of the Lower Rhine and began incursions into Northern Gaul, creating a linguistic divide between the north and the south of France.

Further diversification and dialectisation of the languages throughout the Medieval era created a virtual melting pot of languages. Through this emerged one particular version of northern French which eventually became standardised and thence spread over the whole of France through aggressive 'one French' policies of government.

That' a broad stroke to describe a incredibly complex development. Do forgive me; space and all that.

Interesting to note that as France was undergoing its growing pains, they, when deciding upon a standardised language, sometimes chose the more Germanic words over the Romano-Gallic ones. Beer, for example, is bière in French, bier in German, and in Gaulish -cervisia (remind you of Spanish? Yeah, they were once Celts too... but I digress).

With me so far?

Modern French - It's War!

France, as most of the rest of the world knows, is extremely protective of its language. As a nation, it is quite aggressive in the promotion of the language and even has a committee to decide which foreign words will be used in official French, and which will be summarily dismissed as thoroughly inadmissible. How's that for redundant?

They are so aggressive in their promotion of the official language, that they are quite prepared to stop out the other linguistic treasures hiding in the more rural areas of France. Also, France feels French is under attack and is taking strict measures to avoid outside influences.

They love irony, the French.

Yet, despite the best efforts of the governing parties, French does what all languages do. It changes. The introduction of foreign words from all over the globe, including Portuguese and Arabic has changed the language spoken on the streets of France. Their dictionaries, like any other bound source, are lagging far behind everyday French.

There are a myriad of French dialects, not only with France itself, but all over the colonies. The French dialects spoken in the former colonies in Africa are vastly different to the French spoken in Canada, which is vastly different from the French of Paris. This is not including the Crèole spoken in many other former French colonies (like Haiti), either.

Still here?

Why I'm Learning

I live in Canada - an officially bilingual country. It would be helpful if I learned both official languages. Also, as an avid student of Celtic Studies, I'll have to be able to read and understand French in order to access sources - as there seems to be a considerable amount of academia on the subject written in French. No surprise, really. France was once Gaul, after all.

Most importantly, though, French is the language my father's family uses. It would be nice to be able to participate in their conversations at family gatherings, don't you think?

Excellent! Well, the first lesson begins, well, now! Wish me luck!

Welcome!

Well hello, world.

I suppose you're wondering who the hell I am, and what the hell I do, and what it is I'm trying to do. Well, you asked for it...

I am, by day, a relatively mild-mannered receptionist, with dreams of becoming an author. I host another blog (here) where you can learn how that's going, as well as my other activities. It is my main hive, so to speak.

My name is Sonia Carrière. It's a French surname. I don't speak French, and my French Canadian father is sorely disappointed in me. It's not entirely my fault. You see, I was raised primarily in Australia. They don't offer French language courses in Australia or, at least, they didn't at my school. No one in my town spoke French, really, except my dad.

I did once speak it but, after moving to Australia before I turned 6 and staying there until I turned 17, I've lost it. I've had ample opportunity since to learn, but have always found myself terribly busy, first with university, then with life. So, that fact that I still don't speak French is very much my own fault.

Still, language is something that fascinates me no end. From its earliest development, the evolutionary implications of the creation of language, right through to the myriad of languages spoken today and the vast number of cultures and world views that accompany them, there is nothing quite so remarkable as language. Except, perhaps music, but I don't have the time or inclination to blog about that.

I am particularly fascinated by dead and dying languages. Every time I hear of a language designated as endangered, I feel a terrible pang of loss. Language is beautiful, and the death of one is a tragedy.

You see, so many things are attached to a language - culture, world view and, not least of all, identity.

I've made it my mission to learn as many languages as I can. It's a life-long process, no doubt, for my list of languages I desire to know is a mile long and many languages on there are extinct, or very near to it. Some, like Irish and Welsh, are undergoing revivals - a wonderful thing indeed. Others, like Occitan - the language of my ancestors (my father's family came from Languedoc, where a dialect of Occitan is still spoken... though barely) are struggling against seemingly impossible odds.

This is my journey, as I attempt to learn those languages that most fascinate me. Some languages I want to learn because they will be useful in operating in the world as a global citizen (such as French, Arabic and Mandarin). Others I want to know because they will help me in my academic endeavours (French and German specifically), and yet others I want to know simply because they are fiercely fascinating and utterly beautiful (Occitan, Welsh, Irish and others).

Hopefully I will blog here once a week, with updates on how I'm doing. The more of a language I learn, the more I will endeavour to write in it (don't worry, I'll provide translations as well). I'm sure to bumble about at first.

Wish me luck!