I speak French yet I am not French
I have been in french-speaking environments on and off since the age of 2. First in Luxembourg, then in Brussels and at the moment, I am in Lille. This being said, French is not my mother tongue – my parents are both Estonians and that is the main language in the household.
Since I have grown up in a francophone environment, I have no accent when speaking French. Some people I met in my first year of university were surprised to learn, that I was not French. That is why any buffering on my behalf when speaking French could be misunderstood as just plain stupidity. Paul Taylor, a Brit living in Paris speaks about similar problems when speaking French fluently in his stand-up act.
Even though I have studied all of my subjects in French for the past 11 years I still sometimes take a little longer to process text. A funny encounter I have when communicating with the French is finding the right words. Every time I am unable to find the correct phrasing for a given context I just freeze. I refuse to move on before finding the correct way of saying it. After a little explaining and gesturing, my French colleagues usually can understand what I am trying to say and the text can continue flowing.
I also want to bring out the certain difficulty of moving from Belgium to France. In Belgium, I got comfortable with the number system of septante and nonante for 70 and 90 respectively. Even after a year in France, I still need to think for a slight second when I am told soixante-dix or quatre-vingt-dix which correspond to “sixty-ten” and “eighty-ten”.
I have to mention that these are not problems I am complaining about but more so simply bringing attention to as humourous incidents. I have been very lucky to get to experience very intimately the French culture and I am very grateful for that!
This Week's Suggestions:
This stand-up show resonated with me as a person who has lived with the French. It is a complementary document to this blog post! While smoothly switching from French to English he brings out many of the peculiar traditions and mannerisms of the French.
🎬 What to do if your inner voice is cruel – Chatter:
Ethan Kross is a neuroscientist who has decided to find out more about chatter – the voice in our heads. The 3 problems that can be caused by chatter are a lack of focus, friction in relationships but also severe negative physical effects (the rumination of a traumatic event). The solution given by Kross is rituals. Routine can indeed compensate for feeling out of control, and that is through the control we hold over our surroundings.
🎶 Choices by Millbrook featuring Nova Sky:
I went to Rampage Amsterdam (another drum and bass event), and this song became sort of the anthem for that weekend for me. I enjoy its seemingly simple structure. It is a flowy, melodic yet heavy drum and bass tune with lovely vocals.
Till next time!
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