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I was (at one point) fairly conversational in French by US standards (was taking 300 level French conversation classes). Did a fairly long trip in France, usin

I was (at one point) fairly conversational in French by US standards (was taking 300 level French conversation classes). Did a fairly long trip in France, using as much French as I could. The speed of native French speakers meant comprehension was hard but manageable, and they seemed (almost intentionally at times), unable to make anything but what I would consider "travel French" work. I was fairly discouraged. I then met an Italian ski instructor who worked in France, and I could understand him quite well, and talked with him at a level (job, hobbies, family, reasons for travel) that I never achieved with a native speaker. It was one of the most memorable moments of the trip and really gave me a feeling that we're all "citizens of the world" and not quite so divided by culture and lines on a map.

sjducb 3y ago
Yea it’s very rare to find a French person who will slow down or repeat things to help you understand.
JPLeRouzic 3y ago
I am French, the oral French is very different from what is taught in books. There are a lot of transformations like 'je' to 'che' or 'il' to 'i' (from a French perspective). Also, many liaisons between words are pronounced but others are not, sometimes astonishingly to me, a guy born a long time ago in Brittany. And young people learn to speak very quickly when they go to primary school (I don't know why). Also there are lots of invented words by each generation like "wish" that you are ignorant if are not 10 years old.
- hef19898 3y ago
  One of the hardest things tobadapt to: following conversation and discussions in French. In the beginning, I always was at least five sentences behind with my comprehension of what was said...
- ciberado 3y ago
  I think that is common in Catalan, too. But, curiously, not so much with Castilian Spanish: almost every word I can think of is pronounced just like it is written, if you do it properly.

sjducb 3y ago

Yea it’s very rare to find a French person who will slow down or repeat things to help you understand.

JPLeRouzic 3y ago

I am French, the oral French is very different from what is taught in books. There are a lot of transformations like 'je' to 'che' or 'il' to 'i' (from a French perspective). Also, many liaisons between words are pronounced but others are not, sometimes astonishingly to me, a guy born a long time ago in Brittany. And young people learn to speak very quickly when they go to primary school (I don't know why). Also there are lots of invented words by each generation like "wish" that you are ignorant if are not 10 years old.

hef19898 3y ago
One of the hardest things tobadapt to: following conversation and discussions in French. In the beginning, I always was at least five sentences behind with my comprehension of what was said...
ciberado 3y ago
I think that is common in Catalan, too. But, curiously, not so much with Castilian Spanish: almost every word I can think of is pronounced just like it is written, if you do it properly.