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French for 4 days
OK, now guys will you help me to find the best source of French for travelers ?
"Hello, Good-buy, How Much" type of stuff... All of you who've been there will know exactly what I need, right ? Thanks |
Whatever you decide on, get it on tape or CD.
The first time I went to Paris, the four years of French I had in High School sounded nothing like what I could not understand in France. The French did seem to appreciate my few lame attempts to slaughter the langauge I could read and write so well. |
These may help you to get started
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/p...he_basics.html http://www.frenchvillas.com/phrases.htm |
French for Dummies book comes with a cd rom
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The best source is your local library.
Here is a four second lesson, for what you need: Hello -- Bone jore! How much -- how much? Good-bye -- bye bye (same translation for Japan, Brazil, etc.) (I think you mean good-bye, not good-buy) |
A study guide called "French in Five Minutes a Day" and Barron's "French At A Glance".
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We were given a book with just that title, "French for Travelers". It's a Fodor's book which includes two CDs. Unfortunately it came as a gift and arrived only a couple days before our trip this Christmas, so we didn't get as much use from the CDs as we would have liked. I'd had 3 years of high school French and another in college and some of that stays with you but the CDs were especially helpful for inflections. (People don't <i>say</i> "bonjour", they almost sing it.) Its chapters include vocabulary for: Approaching People, The Basics, At the Airport, Money Matters, getting Around, Accommodations (dialogue at the Front Desk), Dining Out, Socializing, On the Road, Sight-seeing, Shopping etc.
The book is fit-in-your-pocket small, and I used it immediately in the cab from the airport to the city, just to break the ice with the cab driver, who spoke no English. It was raining and foggy, so much so we couldn't see the ends of the wings when the plane landed, and I'd forgotten the word for rain, so sneaked a peek in my book rather than ride in total silence, and spoke with no verbs but he got the point, "Pluie aujourd'hui?" (really meaning "was it going to rain all day". He laughed and turn it into a joke complete with shrugs and hand's out like "what can you do". "Oui, aujour'hui, demain, hier, c'est hiver!" Yes, today, tomorrow, yesterday--It's winter. So much for famed cabbie stand-offishness. :) (His weather forecast was right too :D). If you ever took French you'll find you can understand far more than you can recall the words for yourself and say. Anyway...it's a good little book to stick in your pocket and pull out when necessary. |
If you don't mind dropping some change, get the Pimsluer series. All on CD...you can do it in your car on the way to work. $300 for 16 CDs.
I would also get some sort of cheap written french-for-travelers book, just so you can learn some more vocabulary. Pimsleur is heavy on learning basic phrases and some grammar, but light on vocab. Also, I took a menu translator book....think of it this way, unless you are a serious foodie, there are probably menu items you aren't sure of here in the US...it's just a million times harder in France. Learn to just say "no" to intestines (or ask for extra!) |
Thanks to all of you, guys,
I've just realized I posted it in US forum, but you found it anyway... Thanks |
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