Quote:
Originally Posted by graciegirl
I don't know. I do know there is high and low German and when I tried to practice my French by communicating online I soon learned the idiomatic expressions and new ways of speaking make the knowledge of a classic language still a challenge to communicate with real people living and speaking it all of the time.
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So true. Language is always changing, and the French my husband and sister became fluent in is now considered "old French." When I asked our thirty-something friend in Paris (a native) how you say "What is your name," the last thing she came up with was "Comment vous appelez-vous." That was what we learned in high school. In fact, she didn't even come up with it; I did.
The hardest part for me is understanding the modern spoken French. There are so many shortcuts, idioms, and slang. A few web sites help. Polar Bear, the French teacher at Lifelong Learning College, Mrs. Willard, is very good and supplies, through email, many help sites. She teaches from the standpoint of "This is what you need to know first."