I’m French but I rarely get the chance to speak French—at least not in Canada or when I travel.
I read and write in French when I work because after all, that’s what an English-to-French translator is paid for. Except for the assignments per se, business is conducted in English. At home, we speak English and occasionally Mandarin. Mark has books in French but reading them to him is like an extension of my job since every two seconds, he asks me what it means. Once in a while, I meet a French speaker in Ottawa but it often takes a few minutes before we realize we both speak French and can switch to this language instead of chatting in English.
The only people I speak French with are my mom when I call her (which isn’t that often) and a couple of French friends who do speak French at home because their spouse is French too. My friends who, like me, married someone who doesn’t speak French invariably switch to English at some point in the conversation. It sounds strange, yet it makes sense when you’re talking about something—a random anecdote, a conversation at work—that happened in English. Anything can be translated but it takes a conscious effort to do so. Languages reflect a cultural reality—I can use a French expression for “lunch box” but it won’t describe this North American tradition as well. When I use the words “lunch box” with a friend who lives in Canada, they know immediately what I’m referring to.
I used to miss speaking French. I remember how exhausted I felt at the end of the day, my brain working hard to decipher English and find an acceptable way to put words on my thoughts. I remember how excited I was when I was hearing French on TV or when I was meeting another French speaker. I remember how frustrating it was to not be able to express myself fully—arguing in a foreign language is awful, for instance, I used to cry because it was easier.
I think I’m bilingual now (is there a real test for that?) so I can think, dream and converse in a few languages without much effort. The downside is, when I go back to France, I sound… well, kind of foreign. Technically, at work, I translate documents into Canadian French—so no “email” but “courriel,” no “shopping” but “magasinage,” etc. A few words made their way into my vocabulary and I can’t get rid of them. I don’t have a Quebec accent, though!
I sound foreign to French in France because I’m used to “standard French,” i.e. clear and straightforward French. There are many flavours of French spoken in Canada and when I translate, I try to reach as many French speakers as possible. The same logic applies when I talk to another French speaker in Canada. The person may be Lebanese, Haitian, Congolese, Quebecois, Franco-Ontarian, etc. It would be strange to use typical Parisian French slang.
In France, it took me a couple of days to stop prefacing interactions with “ça va?” since my brain insisted on translating the usual “How are YOU today?” you hear so often in North America. I still say “sorry” instead of “pardon”—note to self, I don’t need to be sorry for anything in France, I can just bump into people and jump the queue without any apology.
I also find it hard to pronounce the many English loanwords with a French accent—manager, deal, summer, all the brand names, etc.
It doesn’t help that French people are not very flexible with their language. They are quick to point out accents (even local ones I can barely notice) and correct each other’s grammar. Only in France, you can have an entire dinner argument over the proper use of a preposition or the correct gender of a rare word!
I feel you and I can relate to all of this.. I’ve been in Canada for 2 years now and while my English has really improved exponentially I now find myself struggling a bit when talking in my own native language to my friends and relatives back home. Sometimes I struggle to translate or remember certain words or I sense my accent is a bit off and honestly I get really embarrassed.. This worries me a bit as I’ve only been gone for a couple of years, but the reality is 99% of the time I converse in English and feel myself struggling to speak my language properly
I have to say though, I’ve been reading your blog for YEARS and have noticed how very much your English has improved over that time. So I take comfort in the fact that while I may lose touch with my native language (mostly slang) I will most definitely improve my English as the time goes by…
Thank you for noticing it! I think my written English got better around 2011 or 2010, basically when I switch from teaching French to translating. I picked up more English at work and read more in English as well.
I find it has a lot to do with your environment. AS I’m typing this, everybody is chatting in French (and franglais with Mark) around me and I can’t think in English. But then when I’m in Canada, I can’t think in French!
I still regularly speak in French when I call in France, and when I’m alone with my French speaking colleague. But if someone else comes, we habitually switch to English.
By the way, English pronunciation is absurd, so who cares? For example, there is no ‘T’ in “beach”. No ‘D’ in “John”. But a ‘K’ in “knight”.
Only the two of you speak French?
What’s the background of your co-workers? I was surprised to read recently that the trucking industry in Canada was mostly Indian. I wonder if that’s true… I certainly didn’t notice it!
Mostly, I don’t know, but they are indeed a lot of drivers with India ties, either born there or whose parents were born there.
Yes, we are only two to speak French. It’s somewhat curious that so few people speak French in the west, besides French speaking communities.
A lot of locals yell at Québécois for being assholes with anglos, which is not entierely false, but I observe a lot a anglo-privilege too. Simple example : in English speaking provinces, Québécois speak English and don’t complain if nobody speaks French (except when they want to deal with a federal entity), but I’ve heard a few time Anglophones complaining to not being served in English in Québec.
Plus, francophone communities in Canada speak English too, but the anglophone community in Montréal doesn’t speak French, which seems pretty arrogant. I can see why it pisses Francophones.
I don’t understand why anyone (except very new migrants) would think it’s okay to speak English only in Quebec. I agree with most Québécois about that–Quebec is French, the rules are clear, deal with them. Plus, on a practical side, you gotta be pretty miserable if you can’t speak French and live in Quebec (again, exception made for immigrants who are learning French).
Except that in Montréal, it’s easy to live and interact with people without ever speaking French.
See Kevin O’Leary.
True, but I think it’d be miserable if I couldn’t speak the language people around me use!