I just wanted to start off by saying that after my last post about 2 weeks ago, my computer, who had provided me a long and prosperous 5 years of flawless service, finally kicked the bucket. I had made an abortive effort to write this same post 2 weeks ago but my cpu died before I could finish.
That being said, I haven't been able to do much without a computer except focus on my French by watching lots of French television instead of being on the computer. There is a small TV about the size of a mini laptop screen in my room that I have been encouraged on several occasions to watch and one thing that is nice about it is that there are subtitles. I advise people learning a new language to watch TV/movies AND with subtitles both in the target language.
You may ask why and my reasoning behind it is that you are exposed to the language on several levels. You might even consider it similar to taking a class except there is no direct interaction. I say this because you use more senses just like you would in class: You learn to read, you develop an ear, and you get something that one cannot always learn in academics, colloquial sayings and jargon. Another thing by listening and reading in one language is that you won’t always always have to refer to your native or stronger language if you are learning everything from context. This can help you develop skills in explaining what you are trying to say or what a word means in instances where you are with people who only speak said language.
It is just as good to be able immediately translate a word when someone wants to know but I personally think one of the purposes of learning a language is to be able to communicate effectively through it and it serves me better to learn everything through context and looking up definitions in the same language and not so much to use translators. Translators aren’t always helpful especially when you are trying to get a personal view across and it is better to know how to explain yourself even if you don’t know the word versus using a word that has several meanings and just ends up confusing the reader. To give some sites for dictionaries that I use:
These are all pretty well known but I thought I would put it out there regardless. Even though these all have translators I use the english-english, spanish-spanish, french-french dictionaries and not the translators. This is how I use them and I know they have many other uses but you can find that out for yourself. There will always be words that you come across that you don’t know no matter what language you speak and even more so when you practice other languages since a word in Arabic or Swahili may be used in a different way than in English or Spanish due to cultural differences, regional differences, etc., or it may not even exist because it could be a word that describes an action or a series of events that is uncommon in other places or just doesn't have its own word. I know many people who mix the languages they know depending on who they are talking to and even I do this now in French if I am talking to someone who speaks French and Spanish because some words just make more sense in one language than another or come easier to the mind.
On another note, these are just a couple things I wanted to share with people that I noticed on the metro and walking down the street.
I am one of those people that, being well traveled, likes to observe other people with different habits from my own to try and better understand them. For example, on the metro here I will look at what shoes and pants people are wearing to get a better understanding of how people dress and combine their clothes here in Paris. While waiting in line I will listen to how the customer conducts himself with the cashier or whoever is attending to them in order to adjust my behavior accordingly to not stick out and, consequently, not be targeted as a foreigner. Below are a couple things I do differently since I first arrive include the following:
(1) Make sure I know where I am going before going on the metro and not look around so much so as not to look lost and foreign to the area.
(2) I don’t wear my backpack around anymore and I haven’t been able to locate a drawstring bag because for guys there are either backpacks or man-purses here.
(3) I say “bonjour” or “bonsoir” when I enter a small 1-2 person store or when going up to the cash register in bigger supermarkets or other stores and say “Au revoir” or “Bonne journée/soirée” when leaving and sometimes throw in a “ça va” if they are small places or places where I am recognized due to my frequent visits.
(4) When in a store I try to talk to the people working if it a small one since people here are generally nice if you are respectful of French mannerisms.
(5) I try not to pull out my phone too much
(6) Pretend to know only a small amount of English while speaking as much Spanish or French as possible. I was told even by my Bruno that the French in general love the Spanish people.
The next post I will post pictures and talk about the 3 day festival that my association along with the help of others put together over the weekend, my work and part in it including the 2 weeks of advertising prior to the event, and the amazing turnout that we had as a result to all our hard work.
Thanks for reading and the next several posts may be a bit abridged so as I can write more since a lot has happened in the last 2 weeks.
Until next post!
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