Le Petit Robert: <i>La moutarde lui monte au nez</i>, l'impatience, la col&egrave;re le gagne. Perhaps better, I should have asked: <i>Quelle mouche vous a piqu&eacute;(e)?</i>

Note that the AT&amp;T text-to-speech demo (http://tinyurl.com/k49s9) has both French and French-Canadian speakers, clearly identified as such.

Keep it up, kids. We yanks are loving the Canuck mud wrestling ...
Woo hoo!!!

tomassocroccante,

Your imagination is getting the best of you, and you are wrong to assume that I am Canadian, French or otherwise, which is a statement of fact not of preference.

As a third-culture kid (someone who grew up in two countries and feels like they belong in neither), half the time I'm not sure who I am anyway, so trying to hide that just seems like a big fat waste of time. HA.

Jules

Never hide mine. And not ashamed to say I dislike Bush.

When I listen to Radio Canada (ie the French-language government-supported network) I often hear, especially on the classical music broadcasts, lovely clear well modulated voices speaking a lightly-accented French that is a delight to the ears.

So how would those people NOT be understood anywhere that French is spoken -- including Paris???

Frappons la rue...aka Hit the road...an english quebec saying, making fun of english/french translations.

In a lot of areas of Quebec you get an amalgam of french and english, franglais and frenglish (new word) where both languages absorb bits from the other.

I've never heard the &quot;moutarde&quot; quote in my Quebec days

The people on Radio Canada speak standard French. The dialect is something entirely different. I have had French friends tell me that they could not understand the Canadian French dialect. My French is very good. I have no trouble getting around in France, but I cannot understand the Canadian dialect at all. Perhaps if I were there for awhile I would get it. The first time I heard it I did not even recognize it as French.

Damn, Michael, you've burst my bubble. OK, I now picture a slugfest among the Canadian French, the French French, the Francophiles, the French expats and the Haitians, just to round out the scene ...


To interrupt the French comprehension lesson, modest Spanish speakers will note that in high school we've learned a brand that is equally misunderstood almost everywhere - and understood, as well. We occasionally get an idiom from somewhere in the world, occasionally with an explanation of the source ... but when you get out there you learn that you're into a vibrant, evolving language that, telenovelas notwithstanding, is re-branded everywhere it is spoken as its own specialty. Possibly nowhere more than in Spain.

But in my experience with South and Central Americans in New York, they all understand one another perfectly well and even understand me. Is there any parochial snobbery about which country (or class) speaks best? You bet. And I'm sure many find hispanic-Americans to be speaking something frightening compared to the home grown version. I've heard it said that NY spanish speakers have a NY accent ...

tomassocroccante wrote: &quot;Damn, Michael, you've burst my bubble. OK, I now picture a slugfest among the Canadian French, the French French, the Francophiles, the French expats and the Haitians, just to round out the scene ...&quot;

Don't exclude the Cajuns. They might have something to say (but we probably won't understand them).

I want to thank the participants of this thread for giving me food for thought to ruminate while doing an hour and twenty minutes of mindless exercise.

&quot; I've heard it said that NY spanish speakers have a NY accent ...&quot;

I am no expert but apparently is a distinct dialect: &quot;New Yorican&quot;

Eh, could we &quot;frappons la rue&quot; on the original question?

To normal1983: &quot;my heritage is mixed American and Cuban. My husbands...German and American.&quot; Might one inquire - most respectfully of your local customs - just how many husbands you have? And when can I move to your country?

To missypie: &quot;I'd like to hear from some Japanese-Americans who have visited Europe...I'm wondering if they are mistaken for Japanese tourists or if everyone knows they are American.&quot; Well, I'm Chinese-American and everywhere I go in Europe, from Finland to Spain, I'm mistaken for a Japanese tourist and thought to be carrying plenty of the MIGHTY Yen.

As for that &quot;tacky American t-shirt in Europe&quot; - it was probably me - although as an American you probably mistook me for a Japanese tourist.

My t-shirts are from all over. The last two were a beautiful artsy-craftsy one of a whale from Maui and a gorgeous Southwest-themed one from the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. I'd be proud to wear either one - as an American - anywhere in the world. No matter where the destination, I usually wear a t-shirt, $5 cargo pants that I bought in China, and Merrells for walking.

My best friend in France is from SE Asia and she married a Frenchman who is very Parisian. His leisure wear is jeans and white tennis shoes. Their children grew up speaking several languages and they speak both American English and Hexagonal French with NO accent.

Some of my extended family members have married Europeans. One of my cousins married a beautiful redhead from Norway. Their children speak both Norwegian and American English. The kids speak flawless American English - I don't know about their Norwegian, not being a speaker of that language myself. =D&gt;

Yes, some people have an &quot;ear&quot; and a &quot;tongue&quot; for foreign languages. There are people who can exactly reproduce sounds in almost any language. E.g., there are people who can exactly imitate any Chinese &quot;dialect&quot; that is thrown at them, with perfect tones and other &quot;phoneme&quot;s and with absolutely no understanding whatsoever of what they are saying.

[and what the heck does &quot;On est bon tonton&quot; mean? What the heck is a &quot;tonton&quot;? - Just curious. I can usually understand elementary French whether the speaker is from Canada or France. I can't understand Cajun French]

Languages change, which is how Latin evolved into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Roumanian, etc. It wouldn't surprise me if, some day, the French speakers of Canada will not be able to understand the French spoken in France. It's the local slang and local idioms that make any dialect/language difficult for outsiders.

Eh, c'est tout from my side.

On the contrary, I flaunt it. Especially in Portugal and France where the English are not quite as popular as us Welsh.

I was asked to go to a police station in Portugal where the copper was going to throw the book at me for not carrying my driving licence in the hire car.
Once he discovered I was not English but Welsh he was my best mate ...lol

Muck

Muck - I don't think Europeans distinguish much between the home nations - and I bet the Welsh, Scots and Irish all send their quota of boozed-up stag parties over to the continent too.

I think anyone who behaves reasonably and has a stab at the language (however uselessly) is usually welcome.

I'm English and I've never felt unwelcome in France.....apart from the fork incident on the 'etiquette' thread! And that was a one-off 8-)

&quot;and what the heck does &quot;On est bon tonton mean?&quot;

It's Patois from St Barts (FWI) 8 square miles and 5 languages/dialects.

On est bon? Simply &quot;are we good?&quot;, &quot;how are you?&quot;

Tonton=Uncle, A term of endearment to male friends.

&quot;Are you ok my friend?&quot;

Sa ka woul&eacute;?

Sort of like the French greeting &quot;it goes, my old?&quot;

I have to weigh in on this, having just gotten back from my first trip to Paris where I experienced some of the greatest people-watching ever! First, I was very conscientious about what I wore because I had heard people were more &quot;stylish&quot; in Paris (bien sur!). I wore khakis every day and opted for nice polo/golf shirts because it was unseasonably warm the whole week (glad I had the short sleeves!). I was comfortable everywhere we went (both physically and fashion-wise) being a little more dressed-up than if I had worn jeans. My wife wore some nice outfits with jeans and she looked very stylish.

Anyway, my point here is that I don't think I really needed to worry...I saw people wearing jeans, sneakers, etc., and no one seemed to care. Again, it just made me &quot;feel&quot; better wearing my khakis and the Parisians with whom I interacted were friendly and welcoming, so I guess I was okay.

One other thing...by the end of the week, I was having great fun trying to figure out where people were from by how they dressed! With the couple at the Orsay who were both wearing green shirts with red trim that said, &quot;Mexico&quot; across the chest, it was pretty easy! However, the family with all the Disney garb on (t-shirts, hats, the whole bit!) was a little harder. I pegged 'em for fellow yanks right away, but when I drew closer, they were speaking FRENCH! Wasn't expecting that! Guess they could've been from Montreal! They looked like they were having fun, though, so that's all that mattered! It truly was an enlightening trip!

Precisely.

Quite funny, didn't realise it wasn't standard French for quite a while.

Actually, quite a useful phrase for breaking the ice with French Caribbeans (of which there are many many in France) wherever you may meet them.

The next time you meet Thierry Henry (Football, France and Arsenal)try:

&quot;Sa ka mach&eacute;?&quot;=&quot;&ccedil;a marche?&quot;

I can assure you he will be very impressed.

He'll be mostly impressed that you managed to get past his bodyguards like that, I imagine!