Speaking French

The whole world seems to speak English these days, which can be very useful for Brits and Americans abroad. However, in my opinion, it’s really important that, when we go to France, we make an effort to speak French. Even just a few phrases can make the difference between showing that we’re doing our best and giving the impression of linguistic – and even cultural - arrogance.

If you do need to speak English in Paris, do so as clearly as possible and don’t use slang. In most hotels, many restaurants and some shops, the staff will be expecting tourists and they’ll get a lot of practice speaking and understanding English. Someone in a smaller shop or someone you stop in the street may be caught off guard. Particularly in these cases, it’s rude just to start speaking English. At the very least, ask, “Parlez-vous anglais?”.

On the other hand, the days of French people refusing to speak English have gone and you may well encounter the reverse problem - ie, Parisians speaking English to you when you would rather they didn’t. As someone who loves languages, I really enjoy getting stuck into the language of whichever country I’m visiting and I find it quite distressing when people answer me in English. If you feel the same, my advice to you is to keep going in French as far as you can and you may just win through. With the immigrant population, you may be fighting a losing battle, since they may find English easier than French themselves, but with native French speakers, just brazen it out. After all, that’s what they’re doing.

Another point is that, unless circumstances make it obvious (such as when you’re holding your passport), the Parisian you’re talking to can’t be sure you’re a native English speaker. You might be German, Russian, Greek or many possible nationalities. For this reason, they often ask, “Speak English?”, rather than just speaking English to you. You then have the opportunity to look blank and carry on in French.

How to learn French

If you’re planning a trip to Paris in a few months’ time, you’ve got the luxury of being able to get to grips with French in a serious way before you go. It’s worth it. Honestly. I’m an experienced linguist but, before our trip to Paris, I hadn’t spoken French properly for many, many years and, although I managed quite well, I wished I had put a bit more effort into brushing up my French before we went. Next time…

Whether you’re a complete beginner or whether you’re just a bit rusty, what I suggest you do as part of your preparation for visiting Paris is get as much exposure to French as you can and as much practice as you can in actually using it.

Rosetta Stone
If you’re keen to learn the language thoroughly, I would recommend a combination of the Rosetta Stone language-learning software, a grammar book and a French dictionary.

The Rosetta Stone method gives you full immersion in the language (in this case, French). It’s based on the premise that we can learn a new language in the same way we learnt the first – ie, organically - and, while I don’t entirely subscribe to that assumption, I was surprised how much Greek I learnt from it a couple of years ago.

You’ll hear French spoken by native speakers and, by means of a headset, you can compare your accent to theirs and engage in mini conversations.

This software is a very good tool for learning French. In my opinion, you’ll need a grammar book and dictionary to support it but these can be purchased cheaply and easily (see below). The software itself is not cheap but, if you’re prepared to put in the time, it’s an excellent investment.

French grammar book
There are several French grammars on the market that will serve as handy (vital) reference books, to amplify what you’re learning with Rosetta Stone.

The Collins Easy Learning French Grammar is extremely good value, particularly for beginners.

A degree more detailed and also accessibly priced is Schaum's Outline of French Grammar.

French dictionary
To carry around Paris in your pocket or rucksack, the new, colour Collins GEM is a trusty companion.

If you want something more comprehensive, try the Collins Easy Learning French Dictionary.

Sign up for a free account and access all the services free for a week. After a week, you still get to listen to the audio. You’ve got nothing to lose and significant enhancement of your Paris trip to gain.

And a couple of contributions of my own:

Cultural language
The most important aspect of learning at least a few phrases of French before you go to Paris is so as not to clash with the culture. We in Britain are pretty casual in our dealings with one another but Parisians are more formal and polite.

For example, when you go into a shop, it’s customary to greet the shopkeeper by saying “Bonjour monsieur”/”Bonjour madame”. If you don’t do this, it will seem rude. When you leave, you say, “Merci, au revoir”.

Here are a few words and phrases to help you: