Come Learn French with Me? (Part Deux - Days, Months, and Numbers)

Moving on from where the previous post finished, today I'll be reviewing days of the week, the months, and more numbers.

Les Jours de Semain (The Days of the Week): 

Lundi = Monday

Mardi = Tuesday

Mercredi = Wednesday

Jeudi = Thursday

Vendredi = Friday

Samedi = Saturday

Dimanche = Sunday

Les Mois (The Months): 

Janvier = January

Février = February

Mars = March

Avril = April

Mai (pronounced "meh" = May 

Juin (pronounced "jweh") = June

 Juillet (pronounced "jwi-yeh") = July

Août (pronounced "oot") = August

Septembre = September

Octobre = October

 Novembre = November

Decémbre = December

Les Chiffres: 

11 = Onze ("ohnz")

 12 = Deuze ("dooze)

13 = Trieze (think of the Spanish "trés")

14 = Quatorze ("cah-torse")

15 = Quinze ("cans")

16 = Seize ("says")

17 = Dix-Sept

18 = Dix-Huit

19 = Dix-Neuf

20 = Vingt ("van")

Come Learn French with Me? (Part Un - Letters and Numbers)

Ah, man, it's been too long! I actually wanted to work on this two weeks ago, but life got in the way, as always (the sickness, work, and a barrage of reading assignments - told ya the demands of life, work, and school would get to me!). Anyhow, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I hope to use this cyberspace to review and share the progress that I'm making as I'm learning French! As I said, I;m a bit late for this (Rachel once told me that I'm constantly late to everything...she might have a point there.), but that won't discourage me at all *insert a heroically egotistical laughter here* MOVING ON! Here is a brief summary of what I have learned thus far =)

L'alphabet - the French alphabet is the same as its English/American counterparts, but with some distinctions:

"A" is pronounced "ah", not "ay"

"B" is pronounced "bé', not "bee";

 

"E" is pronounced like "euh", not "ee";

"G" sounds like "jay" (without the "y");

"H" is pronounced like "ashe";

"I" is pronounced "ee", not "eye";

"J" sounds like "gee";

"P" is pronounced like "pé", not "pee";

"Q" sounds like "kew";

"R" is pronounced like "air";

"T" is pronounced "té";

"V" is pronounced "vé"

"W" is actually called "double 'v'"

"X" is actually called "ix"

"Y" is actually called "i grec";

"Z" is actually called "zed".

Les Chiffres (Numbers) 1-10:

0 = Zéro

1 = Un ("ooh")

2 = Deux ("doo")

3 = Trois ("twa")

4 = Quarte ["cat(r) - the r is somewhat silent]

5 = Cinq ("sank")

6 =Six ("cease")

7 = Sept ("set")

8 = Huit ("wheat")

9 = Neuf ("nuff")

10 = Dix ("deese")

"Could You Say That Again?"

Since I posted the last post, I've got to admit that I'm a sucker for accents, especially those that are German, English, Russian and French. In the few years that I've worked at my little gas station, I've had the incredible pleasure of meeting men and women from England, Scotland, France, Norway, Germany, Italy, Australia and a few places here or there that I can't remember. And I'm entranced by their accents, especially from the women. It always catches me off-guard whenever I encounter someone from outside the US, since it's an experience that I don't have on a daily basis. It wasn't until recently that I noticed that whenever a foreign woman (especially if she's English or French) talks to me, I just space out. I get lost in the fragile words that gently fall from her lips, and after she's done addressing me, I embarrassingly have to say, "Could you say that again?" because I wasn't paying attention to them in the first place.

I always tell my co-workers that these women could just down-right be insulting, calling me the Scum of the Earth and such, and my reaction would only be, "Could you say that again?" since all I heard were the words that came from her mouth and not the message formed from those words. In other words, I'd care more about how she said those words rather than what she said with those words. I've always found a woman's German or Russian accent to be sexy, alluring; on the other side of the coin, I find English and French accents to be romantic, inviting. I always joke with friends and family that I would someday move to a European country with the hope of marrying someone from there. Right now, it's a 3-way tie between Europe's England and France, along with Eurasia's Russia.

All joking aside, I would still like to visit a country or two across the pond. I don't really travel much, since I don't really have the money to do so. I'm somewhat envious of others who have indeed traveled. Although, if I do choose to travel, what can I do for fun? What kind of food to eat? Would I meet new people and find new friends? So many questions. The only way to know for sure is to just go for it and visit those lands so strange from my own, with different cultures, social constructs, and perspectives of life, food, music, and so much more.

Come Learn French with Me!

One of my classes this Spring Semester is elementary French (or FR100, as some refer to it). This was, unfortunately, the only basic foreign language course available this semester. All other languages were either level 2 or above, and I didn't have the prerequisites (the beginning classes) to add those to my current schedule. Besides, French is one of the handful of languages that I do want to learn (among German, Russian, Japanese, and American Sign Language), so I'm quite content with taking this course this semester. When I talked to my sister about this language course, she reassured me that learning French is quite easy, since a good handful of vocabulary and grammar reflects its Spanish cousin (which I already know - ethnicity for the win!). This simply means (in theory) I shouldn't have too much difficulty learning this romantic language.

However, just like anything new, learning a new skill (or in this case, a new language) relies heavily on repetition, comprehension, and understanding. So I got to thinking, "What if I post my progress here? I can review the material thus far and I can pass on (somewhat) what I've been learning onto others." It's been three weeks, but I've already got a good grasp on basic numbers (0-70), reciting the French alphabet (same letters as the English alphabet, but with different pronunciations), and basic colors, phrases and greetings (and such). Essentially all of chapter 1 in our class textbook. I'm ecstatic to know just how much I'll learn before the semester is over. Until next time, fellow readers!