I just gotta jump in and say that this is one thing (of many) that's amazed me about Alizée: She's got us all learning French! That's like a bird that flies overhead, and inspires rats on the ground to try to build wings!
Me, I learned French starting in elementary school, 3rd grade, and continued with it through high school. That was ten years of lessons! Straight As! After which, I could actually talk with French people, in France (albeit very slowly).
After that, about thirty years went by, during which I never needed to speak or use any French at all. It's just
not a sought-after job skill or the most valuable thing to know, not here in America. Then I discovered our Alizée. Bought some of her CD's. Started playing 'em. Now get this - this is the weird part....
For the first couple days with her music on my stereo, I could understand some of it. Just a bit. But not that much. Then on the third day, yikes! Suddenly, it all sounded
Chinese! What had happened???!
Then my brain started really throbbing for a day or two! It was like some old, buried stuff was working its way to the surface. It wouldn't even let me sleep. So I started really studying some French again - first Lilly's lyrics, then some learning CDs & books, then some websites... Then the brain pain slowly subsided and a few days later - DOUBLE YIKES! - the next time I listened to Alizee, it was like it was totally amplified! I could hear every word, even sing along a bit. (btw, the wife & kids were NOT impressed - I don't sing so good in English, either.)
Sure, a lot of words I still have to look up. And the way French runs words together, and the way so many words sound the same - (whew) - as a non-French speaker, I'll probably always need to have some printed lyrics to look at, just to sort it all out.
So I guess what I'm saying is WOW. Good for you! But it's going to be challenging. And careerwise, you'd be better off with learning Spanish, or Chinese or Japanese, you do realize. S'il faut apprendre le français, il faut l'apprendre pour l'amour!
(sniff) Thirty years since high school! (I wonder if I got a invitation to the reunion?) It's kinda flown by. But you know what? France and French have lately been creeping back into my life. Now, I've got a nice neighbor who's a French Prof at the U, and get this ---> a family just moved in down the block (with kids same ages as ours) that are from France! He's a helicopter engineer. We've been helping them adjust. Cool! Who knows what this could lead to, but they are heading back in a couple years. Maybe we'll have weaseled ourselves an invite to France by then!
Salut! Félicitations! Sacré bleu!
Chuck
(p.s.: *For what it's worth, I posted on Lillytown.net to ask if the French detect a Corsican accent in her singing -- no answer yet. But I'm pretty sure the answer's gonna be "no".) C
(p.p.s. - no, the french prof or most of the new family down the street hadn't heard of Alizée yet. But I bet their older brother, Stefan, will know...)