Spike,
L’Office de la Langue Francais (aka the Tongue Troopers) have a lot to answer for - not least of all insisting that all Quebec immigrants learn Parisian French (like that spoken by everyone from Westmount as taught by the Lycee in Ottawa) and unlike all Quebecers who actually speak a version of Norman French as spoken around Honfleur & Barfleur in the 16th Century.
Vive le joual!
I sure have not heard much “Parisian French” spoken in Quebec unless the speakers were really French natives. My son lives and works in Montreal and actually speaks several “French”… His (more like Parisian French which I taught him and he perfected in his trips to France) and the local French (mostly Montreal). Then he can also speak … Beauceron… argh! My ears hurt!
In France also there are many local expressions and accents, but English is taking over. I will never forget the day my 80 yo aunt complained that her radio station was “fading”…on the other hand, she could also use old expressions, still in use in Qc, such as “je l’ai échappé” instead of “je l’ai laissé tomber” (I dropped it).
[QUOTE=JER;5162745]
This wonderful song has a lot of horse words in it: Madame la marquise. This vid has lyrics and translation and you’ll be singing along in no time at all. And you’ll know what a ‘jument grise’ is.
If you really want to learn French and enjoy the process, there’s no better place to start than the TV/video series French in Action. The series – which is the Yale 1st year French curriculum – aired on PBS in the late 80s/early 90s and developed a cult following. It’s all online now and free. And it’s really a first-rate program for learning the language.
:)[/QUOTE]
OH $hit that’s funny! Poor, poor taste, shame on you!!! STILL laughing though!!:lol:
[QUOTE=Cruiser12;5175472]
OH $hit that’s funny! Poor, poor taste, shame on you!!! STILL laughing though!!:lol:[/QUOTE]
Poor taste? Mais non! Ray Ventura is one of the greats.
Which brings me to the important topic of musique. Any French music fans here? Chanson? Yé-yé? Le jazz hot? Rock en francais?
I confess to a soft spot for songs sung in French. A childhood thing, of course. but how can you not fall in love with a culture that can produce this?
I am reminded of a tale that my cajun cousins told.
It seems that back in the 60’s and 70’s all French young men had to put in a year or so of National Service. One of the options was to become cultural ambassadors in areas that had traditionally been part of the Francophone sphere of influence.
The pay was about what one would expect for the Peace Corps; not so very high. In Africa and Haiti and such places, the French folk were able to live quite decently. In Louisiana? Not so well. There was constant bitching from them, and the folks they were trying to sell on French culture from France were generally (or so I’ve been told) turned completely off by them.
Oh Claude François! I am not ashamed to say he was my idol when I was a young teenager… he was lucky enough to die young… I can’t imagine what he would look like now at about 70? still jumping around???
I have a whole collection of French cds and I keep adding to it. However, you will never see me with a cd by Johnny Hallyday… ever.
Yes, it was called “la coopération”. My neighbour went to Lebanon where he reorganized the Scout movement. A former boyfriend went to the Ivory Coast, but I can’t remember what he did there. It was a way to “protest” the military. Another friend went to Madagascar and sadly was killed in a car accident two weeks after his return. They all loved the experience of living abroad and promoting the French culture.
My only visit to New Orleans in '73: At the bus depot, someone tapped me on the shoulder and started talking very cheerfully, etc. My friends and I were a bit confused and could not figure out what he was saying or what he wanted. All of a sudden, there was one word we understood and it was in French. We finally understood he was very happy to hear French spoken and he wanted to tell us he too spoke French! We have fond memories of NO because of this encounter.
Not sure if anyone has posted but you can also go to www.lingueo.com. The best way to learn a language is to be able to practice speaking it with someone who also speaks the language.
At this site, you can log on at anytime and speak with someone via webcam to learn all sorts of languages. There are courses for adults and children. You do need Skype, a microphone and a webcam.
You can buy a package or pay session by session. I actually met the guy that started the company when I was visiting a friend in Paris last year. I just thought this was the neatest thing.
Speaking of French / francophone music…I always loved different accents, French spoken in different parts of the world. I’ve never been to Louisiana but this guy was one of my favorite singers while growing up in France. His accent just cracks me up. http://ilike.myspacecdn.com/play#Zachary+Richard:Au+Bord+De+Lac+Bijou:2123548:m29550889
I would never have been caught listening to Claude François or Johnny Hallyday or the like…I was more of a Higelin / Thiéfaine / Lavilliers / le Forestier fan…hehehe
Songs are great when you want to learn a language. I basically learned English with Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Police etc. before even moving to the US.
Shows my age… don’t know a single one of the names mentioned (apart from Le Forestier!)
I learned English by watching Mash when I was an aupair in Boston in 72/73!!!
Showing my age, but I did learn a bit of French from Edith Piaf. 
Not really Viney… some artists have no “age”. Every generation loves them ie Edith Piaf, Bécaud, Brel, Brassens, etc. but the likes of Claude François, Johnny, Sheila, Sylvie, etc… it’s the “yeye” phase of the late 60s and early 70s.
Younger generations shake their heads, but then we do the same for their idols!
It is amazing how much French you can pick up listening to some artists. I was so proud of myself when, after my first year of school English, I could understand Herman’s Hermits and “There’s a kind of hush”… so, there are ways to pick up French before 2014!!! courses, songs, books. There are also a few horsey mags on line…
http://www.chevalmag.com/
They even posted Peter Atkins and Henny’s head cam video!!
Yes you have the Classics that never get old, such as Piaf, Brel, Brassens, even Nougaro…a lot of their songs are found in contemporary artists’ repertoires, too.
I like to use songs by Francis Cabrel for my students because his French is very clear, and he has somewhat intelligent lyrics 
Then there is Hugues Aufray, who took a bunch of American songs and loosely translated them into French… like this one from Peter Paul and Mary lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTI-xH8lfAU
(hey, it’s horse related!)
ps - FalseImpression, I must be about your age… Higelin for instance was singing in the 70ies. I just didn’t like “mainstream” French music.
I’m a big fan of Francoise Hardy. She might have started out with the ye-ye crowd but her ongoing work is real quality and she’s a lesson in aging gracefully. (This is FH and her husband/former ye-ye’er Jacques Dutronc looking all cool and French.)
I also really liked Alain Bashung (and purely by chance, wandered through his funeral last year), whose last record came out shortly before his death from, yes, lung cancer. He was beloved in France and unknown outside of it. But excellent. And very French.
Selected Bashung:
Madame Reve
La nuit je mens
Malaxe
The huge-selling Francis Cabrel is also quite good. Not the best place to learn French as he’s got a regional accent (he’s from the very south) but his records are always worth a listen.
Presque rien
Des hommes pareil
I can go on all day about French pop but I won’t. I will, however, leave you with a video clip that will be unerasable from your brains forever: Claude Francois and a teenage Jodie Foster performing the Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot classique Comic Strip. On a swing. With the male-female roles reversed.
Oh that clip is priceless. Thanks!
I loved Bashung, too. he left us way too early. And Françoise Hardy, another great one and I agree about the “lesson in graceful aging”. Speaking of Dutronc, his son
Thomas is actually pretty good, too!
Cabrel is from the south but when he sings, his accent becomes an asset for non-French speakers! My students like him best because they can actually understand him.
I could go on and on too…
How about this one… Yves Duteil… La langue de chez nous! I love his songs!! Very easy to understand too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3_SWk0xe-E
thought provoking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P9-gmEO-ns&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiI8f8yKwlA&feature=related
For the Quebecois types, there’s also Daniel Belanger, who’s won many Junos (Canadian Grammys) for his work.
Also, Mylene Farmer, who is one of France’s biggest selling artists ever, is a native of Quebec. Might leave you scratching your heads a bit, but here’s Sextonik.
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Actually, according to my French-from-France teacher, although “Bienvenue” is commonly used in Quebec, it is not used in France. “De rien” would probably be a better term to learn for a trip to France.[/QUOTE]
True, we don’t say “bienvenue” for “you’re welcome” in France.
“De rien” is fine or even “je vous en prie”
C’est bein dommage ~ what a pity ~
[QUOTE=ksbadger;5175388]
Spike,
L’Office de la Langue Francais (aka the Tongue Troopers) have a lot to answer for - not least of all insisting that all Quebec immigrants learn Parisian French (like that spoken by everyone from Westmount as taught by the Lycee in Ottawa) and unlike all Quebecers who actually speak a version of Norman French as spoken around Honfleur & Barfleur in the 16th Century.
Vive le joual![/QUOTE]
I was an immigrant to Quebec from the US in the late 1970s and, when I arrived, took advantage of the free French courses offered to immigrants to improve my French. I can assure you that there was no insistence that we learn Parisian French.
