moi
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Sometimes there are things you might want to say that don;t seem to belong anywhere in specific. So here's a place for them:
All this talk of Ancelotti’s fluency or lack of fluency in English, has set me musing about the sometimes mind-boggling arrogance of the English in their assumption that everyone will speak their language. Here on the site we have so many foreigners whose English is excellent (Val, Virosh, Moos – even Ruh Buh Juh – no, sorry RBJ, I know the Welsh are bi-lingual!).
Where I live there are lots of English, who have settled here, yet who make absolutely no attempt to speak French. One couple I know have lived here for 20 years and can barely say “please†and “thank you†in French. The woman complained bitterly to me because in the little local police station there wasn’t a SINGLE policeman who could speak English. WOW! Because in Birmingham where she originates from, ALL the coppers speak French, do they?
With the fall of the pound, I have had to start giving lessons in both French and English in order to buy a few luxuries (like single malt whisky, which is still cheaper here than in Scotland) and the difference between the French and the English is phenomenal. The French move forward in leaps and bounds – whatever we do one week, they practise, they assimilate, they come the next week ready to move on. The English progress at snail’s pace, often not doing anything on their own from one week to the next, but somehow expecting that Moi will wave her magic wand and Hey Presto they will be fluorescent in French.
So, give Carlo a chance. I bet he is already reasonable fluent, and I bet he makes great strides forwards. If Roman is reading this, for a small fee I am available to coach Carlo….
But not until the summer is over, because at the moment with wall to wall sunshine I am down the beach swimming, and my lessons are timed around the high tides!
All this talk of Ancelotti’s fluency or lack of fluency in English, has set me musing about the sometimes mind-boggling arrogance of the English in their assumption that everyone will speak their language. Here on the site we have so many foreigners whose English is excellent (Val, Virosh, Moos – even Ruh Buh Juh – no, sorry RBJ, I know the Welsh are bi-lingual!).
Where I live there are lots of English, who have settled here, yet who make absolutely no attempt to speak French. One couple I know have lived here for 20 years and can barely say “please†and “thank you†in French. The woman complained bitterly to me because in the little local police station there wasn’t a SINGLE policeman who could speak English. WOW! Because in Birmingham where she originates from, ALL the coppers speak French, do they?
With the fall of the pound, I have had to start giving lessons in both French and English in order to buy a few luxuries (like single malt whisky, which is still cheaper here than in Scotland) and the difference between the French and the English is phenomenal. The French move forward in leaps and bounds – whatever we do one week, they practise, they assimilate, they come the next week ready to move on. The English progress at snail’s pace, often not doing anything on their own from one week to the next, but somehow expecting that Moi will wave her magic wand and Hey Presto they will be fluorescent in French.
So, give Carlo a chance. I bet he is already reasonable fluent, and I bet he makes great strides forwards. If Roman is reading this, for a small fee I am available to coach Carlo….
But not until the summer is over, because at the moment with wall to wall sunshine I am down the beach swimming, and my lessons are timed around the high tides!
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