by Caitlin Campbell
Universite de Savoie, France
In 8th grade, when my parents bought me my first French phrase book, I became fascinated by how a common English phrase could be easily translated into a French one. I was amazed by how some English words resembled French ones while some were completely different with strange little accent marks all over them. After 5 years of studying French, that amazement hasn't died down, and now that I'm studying abroad, I've thought about so many other things about languages. From listening to other people's thoughts about how languages sound, to using my French in unusual circumstances, and appreciating how creative languages are, I've realized that language is indeed a study all in its own.
Universite de Savoie, France
In 8th grade, when my parents bought me my first French phrase book, I became fascinated by how a common English phrase could be easily translated into a French one. I was amazed by how some English words resembled French ones while some were completely different with strange little accent marks all over them. After 5 years of studying French, that amazement hasn't died down, and now that I'm studying abroad, I've thought about so many other things about languages. From listening to other people's thoughts about how languages sound, to using my French in unusual circumstances, and appreciating how creative languages are, I've realized that language is indeed a study all in its own.
This past week in my French class, there was a young German girl
named No Ra. She reminded me of my sister (who I miss A LOT), so I
walked right up and started talking to her. I think I've decided that
German accents are one of my favorites. Yes, it does sound harsh. But I
also think it sounds beautiful at the same time. All the "chts" and
"ines" are sounds that would take me years to perfect. The funny thing
is, one day during class when No Ra and I were partners, she told me
that she thinks English/American accents are the best. She said that my
accent sounds fluid and hip. Imagine that! I always thought my accent
was rather dull and boring, but I guess to some, my accent is pretty
cool. Okay, I have to admit...one night at a bar, these French guys were
telling me and some of my friends that American accents are so hott
(hahaha). I wish I could hear my accent with an unfamiliar ear.
During the week, I have had a couple of circumstances where I had to
use my French to communicate with people. For example, during this past
week, a woman had been screaming from her apartment while a man would
harshly whisper. I would yell in French if she needed help, but the
screaming would stop and no one would answer. Since this was a major
shade of grey area, I didn't know what to do until the third day when
the screaming continued. I finally realized that this woman's safety was
more important than my getting into trouble for calling the police.
Which is what I did. The operator didn't speak English, so I had to
quickly think about (probably the quickest I have ever thought) and
translate everything I heard. When the emergency vehicle came, the
gentleman said "Ah bien, elle peut parler Francais." I have to admit, I
was rather proud of myself. The emergency vehicle men thanked us for
calling them. I feel I did some good that day. Another example of my
having to use French was with a Japanese friend I made on the way to
Grenoble. She didn't speak English, so my friend Ivana and I had to help
each other with finding words in order to communicate with her. I was
glad we took that chance to talk to her. Every conversation helps me get
over that anxiety of speaking French.
One day, on the way back from class, Ivana and I were talking about
how great languages are. We both have admitted that we are kind of nerds
and that we like "language talk." We talked about how there are
thousands of languages in the world and how every language has words to
describe the same objects, feelings, places, and people. We thought that
"Yes, people can be dumb, but their ability to speak is pretty
amazing."
France is amazing. I am having the time of my life here. It's still
hard to believe that I am halfway across the world, in a foreign
country, trying to speak a language that I wasn't raised in. One thing
is for sure...I'm glad I'm a language kid and not a math kid :).