The thing that gets me with French is definitely all the conjugations for the different tenses. Hearing it spoken, or speaking it myself, doesn't cause me quite so many problems, because so many of the different spellings are pronounced the same way, or at least so similarly, that it's hard to notice the difference in casual conversation. Six or seven years ago, when I was still in highschool, I was able to get a free tour of a temple in China by following the back of a French tour group and listening to what the guide was saying - I was both surprised and pleased to find I could understand that much. I still have trouble reading highschool level writing though, when I see it.
I could probably get by in France speaking what I have right now (though I'd definitely want a dictionary for an extended visit), but if I had to try and write messages to be understood, I would be in deep trouble.
I think the reason I like Alizée's songs from a sheerly academic perspective as well as otherwise is because they simultaneously use relatively simple language I can understand (being pop songs), but have a lot of double entendres and word quibbles that make it a challenge to keep the same meaning when I translate. ACC is the song that really hooked me in to her world, for precisely that meaning, and now I look for it everywhere :-)
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10-20-2006, 09:03 PM
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