Click here to read, save or print the full written lesson, with all the vocabulary and extra free resources: www.commeunefrancaise.com/blog/spoken-french-language?
I come to understand fast spoken french by listening very carefully and remember the words i dont understand then i look them up in the dictionnaire after.
Fantastic! This makes me wish I had a lifetime to learn this beautiful language. Your explanation of standard French vs. common conversational French makes so much sense. It’s like you speak in cursive. :)
My first three months everyone was saying (in Bretagne), “En Fait...” I thought they were saying “ Un Fête” and I thought to myself, wow, everyone parties a lot here! When I found out En Fait was a filler word, it completely changed my experience living here. Btw, they still do make a lot of Fêtes :)
Hahaha I hope you didn't get too disappointed! We all used to get told off in school for using it too much. By the way I'm sure you know this now, but for anyone reading, it is 'une fête' (fem.)
I m a French native... After listen to her, Im so happy not to have learn French !! So much things we use to say without thinking.... Good luck People, never give up! 😊
Thank you! I get the same feeling as a native English speaker for people who have to learn or are trying to learn English. It’s literally a lawless language!! At least French has comprehensible rules, I’ve never really appreciated how hard English might seem to some people!
Yes foreigners naturally speak slowly. It's the same for every language. A foreigner speaking English is also easier understandable than a native English.
@@Syl75 yeah, I have a Portuguese class where everyone else is a french native speaker, my teacher doesn't speak French very well and often the French students have no idea what he's saying when he tries to speak French but I always understand perfectly, it's pretty funny
My very first French teacher always encouraged me to embrace the fast lane experience. She advised us to watch movies without the subtitles, to carefully look at the hand and facial expressions, to follow the emotion of the music, and to watch several times. Don’t be afraid to repeat a movie. Don’t feel stupid that you didn’t understand the first time round. Eventually, your ability to understand will come. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Zain Odat Don’t wait for an explanation. Raise your hand and ask questions. Take notes throughout the show/movie. And don’t be shy to use Google and TH-cam. Since they are the same company you can use either one and look up answers and solutions. To start, get familiar with colloquial phrases. Good luck!
I just loved how you brought up the "word" "euh" in French. It is the standard sound of French sportsmen and celebrities who open their mouths before engaging their brains. "Je..euh, euh euh, veux, euh, euh, euh, dire, euh, euh, euh, que, euh, euh, euh..."
Patrick Moore Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Et dans ma tête, dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Et dans ma tête, dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de
I switched from "nous" to "on" a few years ago, and love it - so easy and efficient. And also never use the interrogative form, just straight S-V with the lifted voice at the end -- also easier and efficient. So happy to have all of the above confirmed by this gentille "nana". However, I will continue to enunciate my spoken French instead of smushing it together like the natives, because I have, en fait, been complimented many times on my diction by natives in various regions of France. This delights me but always surprises me because I think my intermediate level of French kinda sucks. But who am I to question those kind native speakers?
Better to speak the basics clearly and correctly, then employing novel quick fixes and short cuts. I continue to speak the English I was taught and it continues to service me quite well, thank you. In fact many consider my correctness in speaking as indicating a foreign birthplace. No. Just the good ole USA. It is good to be aware of linguistic novelties, but not necessarily to employ them. Even these terms and usages will seem dated down the line. Good, clear, and proper French is good enough.
@@luissantiago8446 I was born and raised in the USA by working class parents who did not finish high school. I never learned to speak and write using proper grammar until I was a senior in college.
As a young native french speaker, I'd say that my generation uses more of those expressions. For example : "genre" = like, "du coup" = so, as a consequence, "en fait" = actually or in fact, etc.
Hi, I'm old and mostly mix with old people, but I've never had anyone ask me "est-ce que tu veux boire quelque chose? ". Rather "tu buy un coup?" With buy pronounced as in English, to make a purchase, but from boire, with no formal french representation. .. baiiiiye? . I'd be interested to know how you say hello. A younger neighbour said "la forme?" Or, I think, "ça gaze?". But he was nearly 30.....
Ray Kent wowow you should never ever greet someone by saying « ca gaze ? » ! this is sooooo lame and old-fashioned to us ! rather, a good old « salut ! » is always welcome, though we also might say « wesh » to really close friends. But if you are old, trust me you shouldn’t use these phrases, because they will make you sound quite ridiculous 😋
@@Shikamati03 thanks! Where does wesh come from, and how old are you? It's only in the last few years that "sick" can signify very good in English. Hard to keep up! Anyway I stick with bonjour or ça va, to be safe.
Ray Kent I have no idea where wesh comes from ! it’s also used as « come on ! » like when you’re disappointed or angry at someone. Yep English has its whole load of very polysemic words, sick is one of them, and an equivalent to it in french would be « lourd » (litt. heavy). You can use it exactly as « sick » But those expressions are quite difficult to fully grasp, so as a learner maybe you should, as you said, stick to easier, everyday words like « salut », « ça va » etc.
The part about replacing dire with faire, and then sort of imitating the person's voice when quoting them, seems to me to be similar to the English "he was like" or "he went" instead of "he said".
Dear colleagues: I do agree with Géraldine when she recommends watching french movies in FRENCH! My way: first I watch them in German (because I am one). After a while I watch the movie again in the original language with subtitles and then without. For me this is very helpful. Or documentaries or news on french TV, TV5Monde for example. If I don't understand an expression I look immediately for it. In this manner I am also trying to improve my English. I keep on trying...
@@user-zx1lv6cu8t Oui, mais c'est bien de la forme négative dont on parle ici. @Rocio Meza mentionnait des formes abrégées qui omettent le "ne" pour ne garder que le "pas", je faisais la remarque que certaines formes encore plus abrégées se passent également du "pas", en plus du "ne".
:)) Yaay! So much for "proper French". As a foreigner learning french, i'd like to pronounce ALL the letters in the spelling of french words,......no silence at the end. So this way I can have a charming accent.
It is indeed charming, but as a French teacher I advise you to focus on the propre pronunciation as you want to be understood. I agree that accents are quite adorable, I love speaking English with my French accent 😉
Steve Steele fixin to is definitely a southern thing. I’m from the north of the US, and when I went to the south, they would say “fixin to”, and I thought they had to literally had to go to fix something, it was so weird for me haha 😂 So all that to say is that I’ve never heard that expression in the north lol
A recent French movie called “L’homme Fidèle” was released in French and also had French sub-titles. I discovered I understood 90% of what was spoken. So it is the speaking that is the problem not the knowledge of the language. But then I have a lot of problems understanding English the way a lot of people speak. So what she is saying is many French people speak very lazily, like many English speakers do I agree going to French movies is a good idea. But you still have to find a movie you want to see
I LOVE this! As a French teacher, I'm totally going to have my students watch this. They always complain about how fast French is... even though most speak spanish and it's so similar.
Thank you for this! As a beginner it can sometimes be so discouraging to listen to native speakers. This is honestly the most helpful video I’ve found. 🙌
Imagine my joy/trepidation/horror, after learning to speak fluent French in Europe (specifically, Belgium), and then moving to Québec to complete my degree. I effectively had to relearn French, not structurally or grammatically, but in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation. I say joy because it was a fun challenge, trepidation because it was daunting, and horror because I had NO IDEA how different the French was in Québec versus Europe. Long story short, I relearned my French AND I retained the European version, too. That's been handy for me, because I can navigate back and forth as needed. For the record, I don't subscribe to the view that Québec French is "bad" compared to European French, as some do, but rather that it's a variant of the language that developed over time, as any language does. English has done this, as have Spanish and Portuguese.
Growing up in NY state in a French Canadian family, I had the opposite experience! The little French I picked up at home often did not agree with what I was taught in high school. My mother helped me a lot with French, but there were many times she disagreed with the vocabulary I was learning in school. Canadian French is its own thing.
@@LindaEll That's definitely a different experience. Language can be such a contentious issue, especially when people come from the angle of one version or accent being superior to another. Many years ago, I taught English in Slovakia. This was at a time when a lot of Americans were going to the country after 1989 to teach conversational English. All my students had learned British English, but they were happy to learn from an American. Flash forward several decades and a gentleman I worked with informed me I hadn't taught English, but AMERICAN (his emphasis). He said it in a way as to imply American English = inferior to British. I didn't argue with him, but I found it presumptuous - and rude. For reference, I've been a resident of Australia for 14 years, so my English now is an odd hybrid. I have no idea if that's a good thing!
Salut, Je suis d’accord avec toi, ce sont des choses qu’aucun professeur ne nous apprend à l’école et cette façon de parler est totalement naturelle, on n’y pense même pas. J’imagine que c’est exactement la même chose dans d’autres langues. En ce moment, j’apprends le malgache, dont la structure n’a rien à voir avec les langues latines dont est issu le français. J’ai appris l’anglais et l’espagnol et j’ai toujours pu comprendre des choses en faisant une comparaison avec le français, qui est ma langue natale. Mais avec le malgache, on recommence tout à partir de zéro. C’est « vachement » difficile ! :) Tu m’as vraiment fait rire en écrivant « Merci vachement ». Oui, « vachement », comme Géraldine le dit, peut être utilisé à la place de « beaucoup », mais pas avec merci. Et le pire, c’est que je ne saurais même pas t’expliquer pourquoi ! Je pense qu’à l’écrit, pour retranscrire le côté familier du français parlé et sans forcément reprendre « beaucoup », tu peux par exemple noter « Merciii ! » (avec plusieurs i à la fin - comme lorsqu’on dit merci de manière enjouée, avec entrain). Petit bonus, une différence entre l’anglais et le français, les espaces autour des ponctuations : une espace avant et après les « : », les « ; », les « ? » et les « ! ». :) W.
Wow! This video appeared in my TH-cam recommendations. It is the best single French lesson I have ever experienced! I used to give many English lessons like this in Japan. It really regestered with me. I'm definitely adding your channel to my list. Thank you so much!
@@MasonHatfieldLogorrhea The whole "il a dit" thing is about reported speech, which, in English, is sometimes informalised by avoiding the verb 'to say' and replacing it with 'he went' or 'he made like'.
Excellent stuff. BTW there is a direct English parallel for ‘faire’ instead of ‘dire’. Slang, particularly among younger people, is to say, for example, “He went ‘what do you want?’. So I went ‘Nothing very much’” - instead of “He said …. I said”.
Indeed! Also, imitating the way a person said what they said (as she pointed out one should do) it is also expressed as “she was like, [then saying what she said the way she said it]”
I first went to France when I was 19, with one year of university French under my belt. I managed well most of the time, but I remember being completely flummoxed when somebody pointed to something I had ( can't remember what -it was probably something to eat or some kind of accessory) and said "Ça s'achète où?", which I heard as "Sassachettou?" and had to have explained to me. This use of the " illogical reflexive" is common in French and virtually non-existent in English, and can take time to get used to.
God, I love my language now that I watch TH-camrs explaining it, and reading people struggling at it in the comments. At least, that one, I'm good at it!
Para uno de habla hispana, estudiante del idioma francés, no es tanto el problema de la gramática y la velocidad, ni el ritmo, sino reconocer que las vocales cambiantes del francés hacen que uno se atropella. Hay que abrir la mente, y el oído. Excelente vídeo..
Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Et dans ma tête, dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Et dans ma tête, dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de
I am guessing someone else has already commented, but the fast way we Americans say I "have got to" is I've gotta., not Gotcha. "Gotcha" is actually short for "I have got you". It means "I have physically grabbed, or caught you" and by extension, "I understand you". I have got or caught your meaning. Wow! Never really thought about these things before. They are, as you say, done automatically by the fluent speaker without any real thought. These are not words we would write or say slowly. I am so grateful for your lessons!
Best lesson I ever heard. You are making me learn something new that might jolt me out of the quagmire I have been stuck in for years. Biggest takeaway since I cane across your channel yesterday is that "spoken French is very different from written French" so I will focus more on it as if I am learning an entirely new language. Merci bcp
It's not uncommon to feel stuck in a quagmire when learning a foreign language, especially when faced with the challenges of spoken French vs written French. Indeed, one of the most significant aspects of learning French is understanding that spoken French differs from written French. This realisation is a crucial step toward achieving fluency and authentic communication. By taking it into account and approaching spoken French as if it were an entirely new language, you're setting yourself up for success.💪
Well I find it hard even though I understand mauritian creole very well, watching this video was a revelation I actually understood everything you said, much easier than formal French, as the fast spoken French is much closer to creole I'm used to hearing. This is the breakthrough I needed! Thank you! (Sorry not experienced enough to write that in French! Lol) Subscribed 😃
This was extremely helpful! Fast spoken French is not the same as formal or written French, played at a higher speed; it's d i f f e r e n t altogether! I. SPOKEN HABBITS - Don't pronounce 'e': boulangerie --> boulang'rie - Make certain sounds fuse: je suis --> chuis je ne sais pas --> chais pas Je t'ai vu. --> Chtai vu. - Change the pronunciation: oui --> ouais non --> nan - Abbreviate: d'accord --> d'ac A plus tard. --> A plusss. un petit déjeuner --> un p'tit dej Il faut que --> Faut que cet après-midi --> cet aprem II. GRAMMATICAL CHANGES - Drop 'ne' Je n'aime pas ... --> J'aime pas ... - Ask questions by simply changing the intonation or by adding an interrogative at the end: Tu parles francais? Tu viens d'où? [or: D'où tu viens?'] - nous --> on III. OTHER THINGS - Fillers: 'euh', 'tiens', 'voilà', 'tu vois', 'bah/ben', 'quoi' - Slang: une femme --> une nana un homme --> un mec Comment? --> Quoi? beaucoup --> vachement - The informal, 'spoken' use of normal words: dire --> faire - Of course, people make mistakes too, they hesitate, don't finish their sentences, etc.
This is the real way to understand. Everything I learned 60% of it is useless! Why didn't I see this class before? Now, I feel like I need to start all over. We need more real spoken French. I feel betrayed by all the past lessons, I wouldn't understand anybody in France. 😭Merci beaucoup!
No, it's not useless at all !! Don't be dissapointed ! ^^ When I learnt English, I learnt formal English ! It's important because it's the basics ! Only when you have mastered the minimum of the formal rules you can then understand why and when you can use the unformal possibilities... ^^
As an American, I have never used “gotcha” as “I have to” (perhaps it’s an English thing?) I usually say “gotcha” as slang for “I gotcha”, meaning “I got you” or “I understand you” I think the word you’re looking for is “gotta” for “have to”. I gotta go to class today (I have to go to class). Mais malgré tout ça, je voulais te remercier pour tes vidéos! Elles sont géniales!!
I think she actually said "gotcha" and "I have you," but the TH-cam close captioning used "gotta" and "I have to." The PDF of this has "gotcha " and "have you."
I'm currently learning French & your videos are also part of daily lessons, you explain everything so well. And a double thank you for all the free content you offer 💙💜
This is EXACTLY the type of instruction I’ve been looking for since I returned to the States in 1983 from my year of study in Bordeaux! And I’m thrilled to hear that a lot of what I picked up on that you were breaking down in this video still exists and is used today. 😀👍 Merci mille fois! You have a new subscriber and follower in me!!
Bonjour Géraldine. Yes I wish to be able to understand fast spoken French. I first learnt French in 1994. After attending some classes I managed to pass DELF in 1997 and upto early 2000s. But I have not practised for a very long time, so I wish to polish my "rusty" French. Your channel is excellent. Bravo. Super.
In order to get better at understanding spoken French, you need to practice with active listening. Find authentic French videos, it can be videos from French teachers on TH-cam or French TH-camrs, listen to them speaking French while reading the French subtitles. It allows you to pair listening with reading, in other words associate written words with their pronunciation. Find easy video like slow French videos in the beginning and gradually increase the difficulty! Practice daily for 30 minutes if you can, or 3 to 4 times a week and you'll make rapid progress! 🔑
The best way is always by enjoying your favorite content. I went to a Paul Taylor's show once and I actually understood more the French part of the show than I expected with my A1 maybe A2 French. Of course, it would've been better with subtitles, which is impossible for live shows. So to that end, Cyprien and Norman and many other Francophone youtubers' contents are more helpful
In Louisiana French, many times “je suis” sounds like chue....(or like the English word shoe)....I had a hard time understanding my mom when she tried to explain that to me....thanks for shedding light on this subject...
My dad (born in 1945) spoke French as a child in Louisiana....he learned English in school....he is still alive....so yes all of his peers all speak French...
@@robbylafont that's a great thing, even your last name sound really French 😂 I knew that Louisiana had French roots but I didn't knew that they still had spoken French like in Québec
Robby Lafont : my ancestors arrived in Louisiana in 1721 (near New Orleans) & spoke ONLY FRENCH until mid-twentieth century. Both English and French are now spoken, the grandparents still speak French at home.
Besides learning French from you, Maitresse Lepère, the four best other ways to learn any language are . . . One, getting in trouble with the police; two, becoming involved with contraband of any kind, such as drugs, art, and gems; three, going to prison; and four, most instructive and important of all, becoming deeply involved amorously with someone who does not speak your language and doesn't want to. In all four cases, you will learn in self-defense. One more: knowing your own language well makes learning a new language far easier. (A prime example is that the majority of Argentines and Uruguayans use only three verb tenses, there is always a period of shock, rebellion and, when lucky, adjustment to practicing the differences and impact of each verb tense.)
There are many components to studying French . One plan I found which succeeds in merging these is the Mirykal french plan (look for it on google) without a doubt the best treatment i've heard of. Look at the awesome information .
Use of _faire_ in place of _dire_ is IMO exactly analogous to American English use of "go" to mean "say," as in "We were walking along when he goes 'Hey, look at that!'"
The basic trick is to keep listening to the natural language, over and over, and your confusion rate will do down until you minimize how often you cannot understand people. Not a trick, really. It's just work and you need to put the time in. Immersion is probably better than mastering a particular learning trick. If you can't understand the syllables spoken, you can't get to the point of assembling words in your head. You need familiarity to get to that point or you will have days you just don't get what you're hearing. Once, I spent a half hour replaying, over and over, a simple part of a Spanish audio lesson (but the concept of the problem applies to any language). In my case, a woman was asked her name along with extra information to follow the name. In Spanish, I heard, "Elena conachi ". I spent a half hour trying to figure out how to interpret conachi, connachi, cor nache, conatche, cornachi, whatever. Finally, I was able to get my Peruvian wife to help me. Even she didn't get at first, possibly because I had told already what I was hearing. After a second or third listen, she went, "Ohhhh!" The woman in the audio was saying "(H)elena, con H". The single letter H is pronounced "achay" in Spanish. However, like in some French, "H" is NOT pronounced as the beginning of words, for example the name Helena. That is why the woman explained there is an H in her name. Well, I have heard a decent amount of Spanish. I used to hold basic conversations in the language, with my in-laws. This incident just proved sometimes you will have a bad day understanding things, especially fast things. So, keep listening. Your confusion rate will go down until you minimize how often you cannot understand people. No matter what tricks you may try to learn, until you've heard the language enough, you won't be good at it. Period.
I would like to point out a tiny correction for Geraldine- “gotcha” is different to “gotta”. We can say “I gotta go now”, “I gotta be there by 10 a.m” etc … meaning “I have got to” or “I must” or “I have to”….(they all mean the same thing, English is so confusing too, and I’m English! ) . …. but “gotcha” means “got YOU” … used for example instead of “I understand what you are saying” meaning I have GOT what you are telling me, or even if we catch hold of a child when playing we can say “gotcha!” meaning I have got (caught) you, in this case.
For the beginner test at the end... I personally pronounce "staprem" instead of "cet aprem". I think this is more a Southern France thing. For "cette nana", people of the North would say "cet' nana" and I would say "c'te nana"(I am from Toulouse).
This is my first time watching a video of yours. I loved it! I knew 95% of these things already but hearing them explained more in depth is awesome. Thank you so much! Every little bit helps me speak and understand better!
Very good indeed- goes to the heart of the problem with learning French which is that one is taught the grammar ad nauseam and French as spoken by newsreaders , but not to understand the informal French spoken by the French in everyday life. My best French teacher was a French lady paid by an Anglo-French company to improve my French ,who in the process also taught me about French customs and life. But she didn't teach me about fast spoken French, so thank you Geraldine. I shall watch more of your videos. Incidentally watching films with the French subtitles on to find out what they really said in the bits one missed is hampered by the fact that they tend to transcribe the meaning into polite French rather than giving the slang words used.
Salut Géraldine, merci encore pour une très belle vidéo. T'es vidéos m'as aidé à apprendre le français déjà pendant presque trois ans :) Moi, mon façon préféreé pour améliorer mon français en ecoutant c'est de suivre mes YouToubeurs / TH-camuses francophones préféreés comme Cyprien, Norman, DamonandJo et Natoo (faut juste taper leurs noms sur la barre de recherche pour trouver leur vidéos) parce que leur contenus sont tout marrant et ils parlent assez vite avec sous-titres disponible pour qu'on puisse suivre tout ce qu'ils disent. :)
Actually, "gotcha" in English means "I got you," or "I have you," or I understand you," or, "you're safe with me." It's "gotta" that means "I have to," or "I must."
this is craaaaazy. i spent a couple weeks in france this past february and i can say that i picked up most of what this video says without even knowing it. merging words and removing sounds, removing the “ne” for negative sentences, using “on” in informal instances instead of “nous”. it makes my french easier to say, it flows, and when i use it and understand it i feel so french lol. i’d love to learn some more «argot»!
Salut. J'apprendre le francais avec Coffee Break French et Memrise pour vocabulary. I just came across this video and I'm so glad I did. It's people like you who fill the gap between textbook and spoken French who give us hope to learn the language properly. Merci beaucoup for everything you do.
J’adore comment vous avez montrées la translittération reversée de l’argo parce que j’ai appris le français en immersion scolaire (au Canada!) et ainsi, on a toujours parlé très simplement. Et moi aussi, je dis ‘je m’suis’! :D C’était génial, merci bien!
I've never studied French, although it's not a difficult language for me as I'm a native Portuguese speaker. I also teach Portuguese to speakers of other languages and I love your insight as the same process also takes place in Portuguese and as a teacher I avoid explaining that to my students. I'll become more aware. Thank you for your great research!
Yes if you speak a Romance / Latin language (Spanish, Portugese, Italian, Catalan even Romanian) these process are natural for many people and easier to understand. :)
I was taught lots of the pronunciation you mention in a linguistics class at the Sorbonne. Then I returned to my adopted family in the Lot. My « mom » had a fit that we were being taught a Parisian accent. She went through my book and recorded « the correct way » to pronounce French. Midi-Pyrénées pronounces more syllables. The other fast spoken word I hear frequently is celui-là = suis-là
Geraldine, je t'adore! Pour moi, j'écoute France Inter pour la compréhension à l'audition car les intervenants ne sont pas aussi rapides que dans les films. Avec les films je doit utiliser des sous-titres. Merci vachement!!!!!!
Géraldine I learned Haitian Creole from my girlfriend, who is now my wife of nearly fifty years. Leaping from Kreyol to French has always been a challenge for me. This video is a huge help to me. Very clear presentation.
@@lephilosopheinconnu3952 Australian English drops a lot the ends of common words. The 'arv' is from the 'af' bit of 'afternoon', but representing the fact that the 'a' is long by adding the 'r' (Australian English is non-rhotic). The '-o' is a common ending added to these abbreviated words, and triggers voicing of the previous consonant, causing the 'f' to become a 'v', thus: 'afternoon' -> 'aaf' -> 'arvo'.
Long ago, Danish went through a similar change as French in the past decades, and today, although one could read Danish with great ease, it has become nigh impossible to understand it when it is spoken. It's like one hears Chinese for the first time and, frankly, I found it to be more difficult to learn than Chinese. French is going the same way. On top of that you have the introduction of alternative words intoFrench, like in the sixties in London we had Cockney Rhyming slang, in France, le verlan is already getting old hat. And the only reason the language is garbled is that highschool kids want to sound 'cool'. It is a stupid approach to the language for it makes communication in that language that much more difficult. I know five distinct levels of French vocabulary, and this video shows there are three levels of pronuncianion on top of that. The harder a language becomes to learn, the less popular it will be in the world. So French is on its way out, which is a pity because, after Brazilian Portugese, it is a most beautiful language. I remember that when I was a teenager, everyone had to learn French, like English. Today, hardly anyone in high school chooses French. It is the French themselves who are to blame for this, especially the Parisian school kids. When I stayed at a friend;s house, every day there was an altercation between the mother and her two kids. She could not understand what her kids (then 11 and 13) were saying to one another and tried to force them to speak 'proper' French which resulted in daily rows.
I mean it's not French people's way of speaking fault if written French is becoming too different from spoken French. Actually, you should rather blame French politics that are very conservative regarding their own culture, and try to maintain very old standards when most people just don't speak that way anymore. You could actually say the same about a lot of languages, including brazilian Portuguese (which I know a little about since I speak both languages)
Watching French movies, French television, ie.: TV5 and French radio is the best way to learn French. I have grown up in the Province of Québec, in Canada where the accent and spoken French is extremely different(yet still the same language of course). So to understand France culture, films have been my main gateway! It is a treasure! Thank you for this leçon because I find French fascinating, so beautiful and full of exquisite 'nuances' :) Merci Mam'selle!
@@gavincraddock5772 "carrément" is allways OK to me. It's slighly less casual and still be cool between friends without being too posh or awkward. In business, never ever use "Vachement", you could use "carrément" if it's informal and you know very well your boss (but not with the client) , and you could use "totalement" instead, with everyone. not posh, not vulgar, perfect.
J'adore le podcast "French Voices" parce qu'il y a une transcription. De plus, puisque je suis canadienne, je regarde une série québécoise sur Tou.tv qui s'appelle "Les Simones" et la chaîne TH-cam "Denyzee".
Click here to read, save or print the full written lesson, with all the vocabulary and extra free resources:
www.commeunefrancaise.com/blog/spoken-french-language?
Merci beaucoup!
I come to understand fast spoken french by listening very carefully and remember the words i dont understand then i look them up in the dictionnaire after.
where does it take us to?
Merci
Fantastic! This makes me wish I had a lifetime to learn this beautiful language. Your explanation of standard French vs. common conversational French makes so much sense. It’s like you speak in cursive. :)
soon spoken french will be just people looking at each other communicating through eye movements because every single word is 100% silent
😂😂😂😂😂😂
il y a ceux déjà de cette façon.
@@eo4419 😂😂
What
Da fuck? No way, bro. Ch'te garantis !
My first three months everyone was saying (in Bretagne), “En Fait...”
I thought they were saying “ Un Fête” and I thought to myself, wow, everyone parties a lot here!
When I found out En Fait was a filler word, it completely changed my experience living here. Btw, they still do make a lot of Fêtes :)
Hahaha I hope you didn't get too disappointed! We all used to get told off in school for using it too much.
By the way I'm sure you know this now, but for anyone reading, it is 'une fête' (fem.)
@@ablurida En fête!
Hahahahaha....i love french people! I need my personal bf =teacher
What does "en fait" mean. What does filler word mean
Indeed
I m a French native... After listen to her, Im so happy not to have learn French !! So much things we use to say without thinking.... Good luck People, never give up! 😊
Lol help us!!
Thank you.I am trying
It’s not so bad, especially if you can immerse yourself in the language. I lived in Paris and picked up these tips very naturally.
@@CurtisMontague same! it was much easier
Thank you! I get the same feeling as a native English speaker for people who have to learn or are trying to learn English. It’s literally a lawless language!! At least French has comprehensible rules, I’ve never really appreciated how hard English might seem to some people!
When in France, I found that I could understand foreigners speaking french much better than I could understand the native french. Perhaps this is why.
Yes foreigners naturally speak slowly. It's the same for every language. A foreigner speaking English is also easier understandable than a native English.
@@Syl75 yeah, I have a Portuguese class where everyone else is a french native speaker, my teacher doesn't speak French very well and often the French students have no idea what he's saying when he tries to speak French but I always understand perfectly, it's pretty funny
And I've found Swiss French much easier to understand than Parisian French.
Yes
@@Syl75 Not everyone has a very good enunciation in the language he/she speaks.
My very first French teacher always encouraged me to embrace the fast lane experience. She advised us to watch movies without the subtitles, to carefully look at the hand and facial expressions, to follow the emotion of the music, and to watch several times. Don’t be afraid to repeat a movie. Don’t feel stupid that you didn’t understand the first time round. Eventually, your ability to understand will come. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Excellent advice!
Quite often we're taught using fast spoken French in videos and audio in my classes, but it's never really explained to us.
For me it works better with the subtitles. But with French ones, ofc ;)
Zain Odat Don’t wait for an explanation. Raise your hand and ask questions. Take notes throughout the show/movie. And don’t be shy to use Google and TH-cam. Since they are the same company you can use either one and look up answers and solutions. To start, get familiar with colloquial phrases. Good luck!
Tomás B. Fernandez Merci beaucoup 👍🏽
One of my first, and favorite, examples of fast spoken French:
Je ne sais pas. = Chai pas.
J'sais pas
chpas
Chui pas in quebecois
Chais pas gros
johndepaula j’appellerais pas ca “fast spoken” mais plutôt un raccourci (shortcut)
I just loved how you brought up the "word" "euh" in French. It is the standard sound of French sportsmen and celebrities who open their mouths before engaging their brains. "Je..euh, euh euh, veux, euh, euh, euh, dire, euh, euh, euh, que, euh, euh, euh..."
love how the alternatives to "oui" are just like the ones we have in english :)
oui = yes
ouais = yeah
ouiap = yep
Nan = nah ?
Now I get it. I always wondered why I was hearing "wey" instead of oui.
Or like we have in Spanish
Oui = sí
Ouais = see
Ouaip = sip
🙌
@@mercy-katherine see? ese si no conozco
Patrick Moore Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Et dans ma tête, dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Et dans ma tête, dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de
I switched from "nous" to "on" a few years ago, and love it - so easy and efficient. And also never use the interrogative form, just straight S-V with the lifted voice at the end -- also easier and efficient. So happy to have all of the above confirmed by this gentille "nana". However, I will continue to enunciate my spoken French instead of smushing it together like the natives, because I have, en fait, been complimented many times on my diction by natives in various regions of France. This delights me but always surprises me because I think my intermediate level of French kinda sucks. But who am I to question those kind native speakers?
When I listen to any language, I prefer hearing people with good diction.
Better to speak the basics clearly and correctly, then employing novel quick fixes and short cuts. I continue to speak the English I was taught and it continues to service me quite well, thank you. In fact many consider my correctness in speaking as indicating a foreign birthplace. No. Just the good ole USA. It is good to be aware of linguistic novelties, but not necessarily to employ them. Even these terms and usages will seem dated down the line. Good, clear, and proper French is good enough.
I feel that. I love learning how to recognize the fast speech, but I don't like to rush my speech.
@@luissantiago8446 I was born and raised in the USA by working class parents who did not finish high school. I never learned to speak and write using proper grammar until I was a senior in college.
😂
As a young native french speaker, I'd say that my generation uses more of those expressions. For example : "genre" = like, "du coup" = so, as a consequence, "en fait" = actually or in fact, etc.
Hi, I'm old and mostly mix with old people, but I've never had anyone ask me "est-ce que tu veux boire quelque chose? ". Rather "tu buy un coup?" With buy pronounced as in English, to make a purchase, but from boire, with no formal french representation. .. baiiiiye? . I'd be interested to know how you say hello. A younger neighbour said "la forme?" Or, I think, "ça gaze?". But he was nearly 30.....
Ray Kent wowow you should never ever greet someone by saying « ca gaze ? » ! this is sooooo lame and old-fashioned to us !
rather, a good old « salut ! » is always welcome, though we also might say « wesh » to really close friends. But if you are old, trust me you shouldn’t use these phrases, because they will make you sound quite ridiculous 😋
@@Shikamati03 thanks! Where does wesh come from, and how old are you? It's only in the last few years that "sick" can signify very good in English. Hard to keep up! Anyway I stick with bonjour or ça va, to be safe.
Ray Kent I have no idea where wesh comes from ! it’s also used as « come on ! » like when you’re disappointed or angry at someone.
Yep English has its whole load of very polysemic words, sick is one of them, and an equivalent to it in french would be « lourd » (litt. heavy). You can use it exactly as « sick »
But those expressions are quite difficult to fully grasp, so as a learner maybe you should, as you said, stick to easier, everyday words like « salut », « ça va » etc.
Okk
The part about replacing dire with faire, and then sort of imitating the person's voice when quoting them, seems to me to be similar to the English "he was like" or "he went" instead of "he said".
Exactly :)
Spot on!
Lianne Lavoie Great comparison
Or "he goes"
Thank you, I was confused.
Dear colleagues: I do agree with Géraldine when she recommends watching french movies in FRENCH! My way: first I watch them in German (because I am one). After a while I watch the movie again in the original language with subtitles and then without. For me this is very helpful. Or documentaries or news on french TV, TV5Monde for example. If I don't understand an expression I look immediately for it. In this manner I am also trying to improve my English. I keep on trying...
Great work, Martin!
I don't know ....i have heard that listening only, is the way to go.
Podcasts of personal interest.
Dropping the negation “ne” and just using just “pas” I like it!
Not even: "T'inquiète" (don't you worry) in the video uses neither "ne" nor "pas" and yet implies both.
@@Chimel31 pour la forme affirmative on aurait plutot dit "inquiete-toi" non?
"Tinquiete" ne peut etre que negatif
@@user-zx1lv6cu8t Oui, mais c'est bien de la forme négative dont on parle ici. @Rocio Meza mentionnait des formes abrégées qui omettent le "ne" pour ne garder que le "pas", je faisais la remarque que certaines formes encore plus abrégées se passent également du "pas", en plus du "ne".
👌
I saw that a lot on movies.
Wow ..Lots of small details that no one would teach you formally.. Thank you a lot.
I would like to hear "French spoken naturally" but slowed down. Perhaps a dialogue that is progressively speeded up. Thank you
I find it works well to combine Geraldine's way with Francais avec Pierre, who only speaks in French, but is slow and clear enough that it works.
Hi, i highly recommend the channel "inner French." He speaks french slowly and his videos have really helped improve my own french. Bonne Chance!
SPED. UP.
Yes. Practise slowly and pronounce well and one speeds up naturally over time. It sort of just happens with practice.
You can slow down the speed of the video on TH-cam.
:)) Yaay! So much for "proper French". As a foreigner learning french, i'd like to pronounce ALL the letters in the spelling of french words,......no silence at the end. So this way I can have a charming accent.
It is indeed charming, but as a French teacher I advise you to focus on the propre pronunciation as you want to be understood. I agree that accents are quite adorable, I love speaking English with my French accent 😉
Gotta = got to
Gotcha = got you
Gonna = going to
For foreigners
got = have
gotta = have to
gotcha = have you
wanna = want to
fixin to = getting ready to ;)
Steve Steele « finna » is even more broken than fixing to.
@@kianallanosdesign7119 👍👍
Steve Steele fixin to is definitely a southern thing. I’m from the north of the US, and when I went to the south, they would say “fixin to”, and I thought they had to literally had to go to fix something, it was so weird for me haha 😂
So all that to say is that I’ve never heard that expression in the north lol
@@steverocksyo gotcha also means "I understand you."
C'est magnifique.
A recent French movie called “L’homme Fidèle” was released in French and also had French sub-titles. I discovered I understood 90% of what was spoken. So it is the speaking that is the problem not the knowledge of the language. But then I have a lot of problems understanding English the way a lot of people speak. So what she is saying is many French people speak very lazily, like many English speakers do
I agree going to French movies is a good idea. But you still have to find a movie you want to see
I LOVE this! As a French teacher, I'm totally going to have my students watch this. They always complain about how fast French is... even though most speak spanish and it's so similar.
Thank you for this! As a beginner it can sometimes be so discouraging to listen to native speakers. This is honestly the most helpful video I’ve found. 🙌
Wow... Chui d'origine Française et j'ai bien kiffé cette vid. Merçi bien et bon travaille...
Imagine my joy/trepidation/horror, after learning to speak fluent French in Europe (specifically, Belgium), and then moving to Québec to complete my degree. I effectively had to relearn French, not structurally or grammatically, but in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation. I say joy because it was a fun challenge, trepidation because it was daunting, and horror because I had NO IDEA how different the French was in Québec versus Europe. Long story short, I relearned my French AND I retained the European version, too. That's been handy for me, because I can navigate back and forth as needed.
For the record, I don't subscribe to the view that Québec French is "bad" compared to European French, as some do, but rather that it's a variant of the language that developed over time, as any language does. English has done this, as have Spanish and Portuguese.
Growing up in NY state in a French Canadian family, I had the opposite experience! The little French I picked up at home often did not agree with what I was taught in high school. My mother helped me a lot with French, but there were many times she disagreed with the vocabulary I was learning in school. Canadian French is its own thing.
@@LindaEll That's definitely a different experience. Language can be such a contentious issue, especially when people come from the angle of one version or accent being superior to another. Many years ago, I taught English in Slovakia. This was at a time when a lot of Americans were going to the country after 1989 to teach conversational English. All my students had learned British English, but they were happy to learn from an American. Flash forward several decades and a gentleman I worked with informed me I hadn't taught English, but AMERICAN (his emphasis). He said it in a way as to imply American English = inferior to British. I didn't argue with him, but I found it presumptuous - and rude. For reference, I've been a resident of Australia for 14 years, so my English now is an odd hybrid. I have no idea if that's a good thing!
Goodness gracious no wonder I have trouble with fast spoken French. Sounds like two different languages!
Bah, I believe I learned more in this french lesson than the 5+ years of studying it! Merci vachement!
Salut,
Je suis d’accord avec toi, ce sont des choses qu’aucun professeur ne nous apprend à l’école et cette façon de parler est totalement naturelle, on n’y pense même pas. J’imagine que c’est exactement la même chose dans d’autres langues. En ce moment, j’apprends le malgache, dont la structure n’a rien à voir avec les langues latines dont est issu le français. J’ai appris l’anglais et l’espagnol et j’ai toujours pu comprendre des choses en faisant une comparaison avec le français, qui est ma langue natale. Mais avec le malgache, on recommence tout à partir de zéro. C’est « vachement » difficile ! :)
Tu m’as vraiment fait rire en écrivant « Merci vachement ». Oui, « vachement », comme Géraldine le dit, peut être utilisé à la place de « beaucoup », mais pas avec merci. Et le pire, c’est que je ne saurais même pas t’expliquer pourquoi ! Je pense qu’à l’écrit, pour retranscrire le côté familier du français parlé et sans forcément reprendre « beaucoup », tu peux par exemple noter « Merciii ! » (avec plusieurs i à la fin - comme lorsqu’on dit merci de manière enjouée, avec entrain). Petit bonus, une différence entre l’anglais et le français, les espaces autour des ponctuations : une espace avant et après les « : », les « ; », les « ? » et les « ! ». :)
W.
@@wilou62ah! J’suis pas l’OP mais : merciii beaucoup pour cette petite leçon. 😂
Bonne chance à nous deux dans nos études des langues !
The trick I used; was to slow down my French content; be it movie; or youtube; down to .75% speed; and it makes it much easier to process.
Géraldine, cette leçon est absolument excellente. Merci mille fois !
Wow! This video appeared in my TH-cam recommendations. It is the best single French lesson I have ever experienced! I used to give many English lessons like this in Japan. It really regestered with me. I'm definitely adding your channel to my list. Thank you so much!
I'm a native speaker and I totaly agree with what she said, don't give up guys it is worth the effort
Il me fait .. is like the way we say in English "he was like..."
That's also how I apprehended it, then I extended it to - he _made_ like a policeman "Ellowellowello, woss gowinon ear then?"
@@LemoUtan ???
@@MasonHatfieldLogorrhea I'm saying there's a path from "he said" to my "he made like" to your "he was like" in reported speech.
@@LemoUtan I'm not following exactly lol could you elaborate? Ex:" He was like:... and then I was just like .... "
@@MasonHatfieldLogorrhea The whole "il a dit" thing is about reported speech, which, in English, is sometimes informalised by avoiding the verb 'to say' and replacing it with 'he went' or 'he made like'.
Excellent stuff. BTW there is a direct English parallel for ‘faire’ instead of ‘dire’. Slang, particularly among younger people, is to say, for example, “He went ‘what do you want?’. So I went ‘Nothing very much’” - instead of “He said …. I said”.
Indeed! Also, imitating the way a person said what they said (as she pointed out one should do) it is also expressed as “she was like, [then saying what she said the way she said it]”
Hello, 'gotcha' is fast for 'got you', not I have to. 'I have to' is 'I gotta'.
Like "ain-cha?" = aren't you?
@@jimhresco1728 ain't ya!(you)
@@Son_of_aesthetics
I dunno....
Je pense que c’était juste son accent mais elle veut dire I gotta
Could be the accent but maybe it's the need for speed that causes the informal dialect to become popular in the first place.
"I hafta go- wanna come?"
No wonder those of us who are not French natives have so much difficulty understanding the language! Thank you for this.
I first went to France when I was 19, with one year of university French under my belt. I managed well most of the time, but I remember being completely flummoxed when somebody pointed to something I had ( can't remember what -it was probably something to eat or some kind of accessory) and said "Ça s'achète où?", which I heard as "Sassachettou?" and had to have explained to me. This use of the " illogical reflexive" is common in French and virtually non-existent in English, and can take time to get used to.
Au Québec, t'aurais sûrement entendu "Oustulàacheté" ou "Ouséquetulàacheté?" "Où est-ce que tu l'as acheté?"
God, I love my language now that I watch TH-camrs explaining it, and reading people struggling at it in the comments. At least, that one, I'm good at it!
It's just the passive
Love this ‘illogical reflexive’ ! Enterrons Descartes et Pascal sans aucune réflexions :-)
You are an excellent teacher!
Para uno de habla hispana, estudiante del idioma francés, no es tanto el problema de la gramática y la velocidad, ni el ritmo, sino reconocer que las vocales cambiantes del francés hacen que uno se atropella. Hay que abrir la mente, y el oído. Excelente vídeo..
Thanks for this video.
it starts at 4:17 you're welcome.
Thank u 😂😂😂
Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Et dans ma tête, dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Et dans ma tête, dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est d'où nous venons tous Les rêves que nous avons, l'amour que nous partageons C'est ce que nous attendons Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de Dans mon esprit dans ma tête C'est là où Nous sommes de
Nibbler800 que veux-tu dire par quoi?
This video could’ve lasted less than half it does... even after “starting” the video she keeps talking shit for the sake of long, monetised videos
@@williamwheway1664 Literally why
I am guessing someone else has already commented, but the fast way we Americans say I "have got to" is I've gotta., not Gotcha. "Gotcha" is actually short for "I have got you". It means "I have physically grabbed, or caught you" and by extension, "I understand you". I have got or caught your meaning. Wow! Never really thought about these things before. They are, as you say, done automatically by the fluent speaker without any real thought. These are not words we would write or say slowly. I am so grateful for your lessons!
Best lesson I ever heard. You are making me learn something new that might jolt me out of the quagmire I have been stuck in for years. Biggest takeaway since I cane across your channel yesterday is that "spoken French is very different from written French" so I will focus more on it as if I am learning an entirely new language. Merci bcp
It's not uncommon to feel stuck in a quagmire when learning a foreign language, especially when faced with the challenges of spoken French vs written French. Indeed, one of the most significant aspects of learning French is understanding that spoken French differs from written French. This realisation is a crucial step toward achieving fluency and authentic communication. By taking it into account and approaching spoken French as if it were an entirely new language, you're setting yourself up for success.💪
Wonderful lesson
I actually had teachers very early on who taught this. It gave students a great advantage.
♥️ merci beaucoup
Well I find it hard even though I understand mauritian creole very well, watching this video was a revelation I actually understood everything you said, much easier than formal French, as the fast spoken French is much closer to creole I'm used to hearing. This is the breakthrough I needed! Thank you! (Sorry not experienced enough to write that in French! Lol) Subscribed 😃
This was extremely helpful!
Fast spoken French is not the same as formal or written French, played at a higher speed; it's d i f f e r e n t altogether!
I. SPOKEN HABBITS
- Don't pronounce 'e':
boulangerie --> boulang'rie
- Make certain sounds fuse:
je suis --> chuis
je ne sais pas --> chais pas
Je t'ai vu. --> Chtai vu.
- Change the pronunciation:
oui --> ouais
non --> nan
- Abbreviate:
d'accord --> d'ac
A plus tard. --> A plusss.
un petit déjeuner --> un p'tit dej
Il faut que --> Faut que
cet après-midi --> cet aprem
II. GRAMMATICAL CHANGES
- Drop 'ne'
Je n'aime pas ... --> J'aime pas ...
- Ask questions by simply changing the intonation or by adding an interrogative at the end:
Tu parles francais?
Tu viens d'où? [or: D'où tu viens?']
- nous --> on
III. OTHER THINGS
- Fillers: 'euh', 'tiens', 'voilà', 'tu vois', 'bah/ben', 'quoi'
- Slang:
une femme --> une nana
un homme --> un mec
Comment? --> Quoi?
beaucoup --> vachement
- The informal, 'spoken' use of normal words:
dire --> faire
- Of course, people make mistakes too, they hesitate, don't finish their sentences, etc.
This is the real way to
understand. Everything I learned 60% of it is useless! Why didn't I see this class before? Now, I feel like I need to start all over. We need more real spoken French. I feel betrayed by all the past lessons, I wouldn't understand anybody in France. 😭Merci beaucoup!
No, it's not useless at all !! Don't be dissapointed ! ^^ When I learnt English, I learnt formal English ! It's important because it's the basics ! Only when you have mastered the minimum of the formal rules you can then understand why and when you can use the unformal possibilities... ^^
merci beaucoup madame!!
As an American, I have never used “gotcha” as “I have to” (perhaps it’s an English thing?)
I usually say “gotcha” as slang for “I gotcha”, meaning “I got you” or “I understand you”
I think the word you’re looking for is “gotta” for “have to”. I gotta go to class today (I have to go to class).
Mais malgré tout ça, je voulais te remercier pour tes vidéos! Elles sont géniales!!
Kim W she probably meant gotta for I have to or I must
I think she actually said "gotcha" and "I have you," but the TH-cam close captioning used "gotta" and "I have to." The PDF of this has "gotcha " and "have you."
J'aime vachement cette leçon.
I'm currently learning French & your videos are also part of daily lessons, you explain everything so well. And a double thank you for all the free content you offer 💙💜
Subscribed! Merci
Gotcha is actually "I got you" or "I understand you" or "I will do it for you"
Gotta is "i have to" or "I have got to"
She was probably saying "you" as "tu"
Very well done! Brava!
This is EXACTLY the type of instruction I’ve been looking for since I returned to the States in 1983 from my year of study in Bordeaux! And I’m thrilled to hear that a lot of what I picked up on that you were breaking down in this video still exists and is used today. 😀👍 Merci mille fois! You have a new subscriber and follower in me!!
Welcome, Jackie!
Thank you
You're an amazing teacher ! ♡
Hiba ou heba ?
Bonjour Géraldine. Yes I wish to be able to understand fast spoken French. I first learnt French in 1994. After attending some classes I managed to pass DELF in 1997 and upto early 2000s. But I have not practised for a very long time, so I wish to polish my "rusty" French. Your channel is excellent. Bravo. Super.
In order to get better at understanding spoken French, you need to practice with active listening. Find authentic French videos, it can be videos from French teachers on TH-cam or French TH-camrs, listen to them speaking French while reading the French subtitles. It allows you to pair listening with reading, in other words associate written words with their pronunciation. Find easy video like slow French videos in the beginning and gradually increase the difficulty! Practice daily for 30 minutes if you can, or 3 to 4 times a week and you'll make rapid progress! 🔑
Thank God I found you!!! I'm a beginner, and I am happier now that I know about you =)
Très bien 🌹
The best way is always by enjoying your favorite content. I went to a Paul Taylor's show once and I actually understood more the French part of the show than I expected with my A1 maybe A2 French. Of course, it would've been better with subtitles, which is impossible for live shows. So to that end, Cyprien and Norman and many other Francophone youtubers' contents are more helpful
Very good lesson!! Thank you
In Louisiana French, many times “je suis” sounds like chue....(or like the English word shoe)....I had a hard time understanding my mom when she tried to explain that to me....thanks for shedding light on this subject...
There's still many people talking French in Louisiana?
My dad (born in 1945) spoke French as a child in Louisiana....he learned English in school....he is still alive....so yes all of his peers all speak French...
@@robbylafont that's a great thing, even your last name sound really French 😂 I knew that Louisiana had French roots but I didn't knew that they still had spoken French like in Québec
Aybroke Myback Yes, lot of Cajun-french culture here still
Am also in Louisiana :)
Robby Lafont : my ancestors arrived in Louisiana in 1721 (near New Orleans) & spoke ONLY FRENCH until mid-twentieth century. Both English and French are now spoken, the grandparents still speak French at home.
Besides learning French from you, Maitresse Lepère, the four best other ways to learn any language are . . . One, getting in trouble with the police; two, becoming involved with contraband of any kind, such as drugs, art, and gems; three, going to prison; and four, most instructive and important of all, becoming deeply involved amorously with someone who does not speak your language and doesn't want to. In all four cases, you will learn in self-defense. One more: knowing your own language well makes learning a new language far easier. (A prime example is that the majority of Argentines and Uruguayans use only three verb tenses, there is always a period of shock, rebellion and, when lucky, adjustment to practicing the differences and impact of each verb tense.)
Nothing like a prison love story to make a good linguist.
There are many components to studying French . One plan I found which succeeds in merging these is the Mirykal french plan (look for it on google) without a doubt the best treatment i've heard of. Look at the awesome information .
Use of _faire_ in place of _dire_ is IMO exactly analogous to American English use of "go" to mean "say," as in "We were walking along when he goes 'Hey, look at that!'"
The basic trick is to keep listening to the natural language, over and over, and your confusion rate will do down until you minimize how often you cannot understand people. Not a trick, really. It's just work and you need to put the time in. Immersion is probably better than mastering a particular learning trick.
If you can't understand the syllables spoken, you can't get to the point of assembling words in your head. You need familiarity to get to that point or you will have days you just don't get what you're hearing.
Once, I spent a half hour replaying, over and over, a simple part of a Spanish audio lesson (but the concept of the problem applies to any language). In my case, a woman was asked her name along with extra information to follow the name. In Spanish, I heard, "Elena conachi ". I spent a half hour trying to figure out how to interpret conachi, connachi, cor nache, conatche, cornachi, whatever. Finally, I was able to get my Peruvian wife to help me. Even she didn't get at first, possibly because I had told already what I was hearing. After a second or third listen, she went, "Ohhhh!" The woman in the audio was saying "(H)elena, con H". The single letter H is pronounced "achay" in Spanish. However, like in some French, "H" is NOT pronounced as the beginning of words, for example the name Helena. That is why the woman explained there is an H in her name.
Well, I have heard a decent amount of Spanish. I used to hold basic conversations in the language, with my in-laws. This incident just proved sometimes you will have a bad day understanding things, especially fast things. So, keep listening. Your confusion rate will go down until you minimize how often you cannot understand people. No matter what tricks you may try to learn, until you've heard the language enough, you won't be good at it. Period.
You remind me of Anne Hathaway. Hahaha. Gr8 vidéo :) supérbe
I clicked the video because the thumbnail looked like Anne Hathaway had cut her hair.
there is no accent on the letter E in the word superbe
I thought the same thing
Same
You have a serious view problem
I would like to point out a tiny correction for Geraldine- “gotcha” is different to “gotta”. We can say “I gotta go now”, “I gotta be there by 10 a.m” etc … meaning “I have got to” or “I must” or “I have to”….(they all mean the same thing, English is so confusing too, and I’m English! ) . …. but “gotcha” means “got YOU” … used for example instead of “I understand what you are saying” meaning I have GOT what you are telling me, or even if we catch hold of a child when playing we can say “gotcha!” meaning I have got (caught) you, in this case.
For the beginner test at the end... I personally pronounce "staprem" instead of "cet aprem". I think this is more a Southern France thing. For "cette nana", people of the North would say "cet' nana" and I would say "c'te nana"(I am from Toulouse).
Best french lesson I have ever had. Many thanks
This is my first time watching a video of yours. I loved it! I knew 95% of these things already but hearing them explained more in depth is awesome. Thank you so much! Every little bit helps me speak and understand better!
Very good indeed- goes to the heart of the problem with learning French which is that one is taught the grammar ad nauseam and French as spoken by newsreaders , but not to understand the informal French spoken by the French in everyday life. My best French teacher was a French lady paid by an Anglo-French company to improve my French ,who in the process also taught me about French customs and life. But she didn't teach me about fast spoken French, so thank you Geraldine. I shall watch more of your videos. Incidentally watching films with the French subtitles on to find out what they really said in the bits one missed is hampered by the fact that they tend to transcribe the meaning into polite French rather than giving the slang words used.
Salut Géraldine, merci encore pour une très belle vidéo. T'es vidéos m'as aidé à apprendre le français déjà pendant presque trois ans :)
Moi, mon façon préféreé pour améliorer mon français en ecoutant c'est de suivre mes YouToubeurs / TH-camuses francophones préféreés comme Cyprien, Norman, DamonandJo et Natoo (faut juste taper leurs noms sur la barre de recherche pour trouver leur vidéos) parce que leur contenus sont tout marrant et ils parlent assez vite avec sous-titres disponible pour qu'on puisse suivre tout ce qu'ils disent. :)
Merci pour les recommandations! :)
This is the best French education channel on TH-cam
Actually, "gotcha" in English means "I got you," or "I have you," or I understand you," or, "you're safe with me." It's "gotta" that means "I have to," or "I must."
this is craaaaazy. i spent a couple weeks in france this past february and i can say that i picked up most of what this video says without even knowing it. merging words and removing sounds, removing the “ne” for negative sentences, using “on” in informal instances instead of “nous”. it makes my french easier to say, it flows, and when i use it and understand it i feel so french lol. i’d love to learn some more «argot»!
Watched 10minutes, my brain hurts, so subscribed so I can return and watch more of your what seems as very helpful lessons. Thanks for the videos!
Salut. J'apprendre le francais avec Coffee Break French et Memrise pour vocabulary.
I just came across this video and I'm so glad I did. It's people like you who fill the gap between textbook and spoken French who give us hope to learn the language properly. Merci beaucoup for everything you do.
J’adore comment vous avez montrées la translittération reversée de l’argo parce que j’ai appris le français en immersion scolaire (au Canada!) et ainsi, on a toujours parlé très simplement. Et moi aussi, je dis ‘je m’suis’! :D C’était génial, merci bien!
Finally one student for whom french immersion worked well. Congratulations.
Very helpful!!
I've never studied French, although it's not a difficult language for me as I'm a native Portuguese speaker. I also teach Portuguese to speakers of other languages and I love your insight as the same process also takes place in Portuguese and as a teacher I avoid explaining that to my students. I'll become more aware. Thank you for your great research!
Yes if you speak a Romance / Latin language (Spanish, Portugese, Italian, Catalan even Romanian) these process are natural for many people and easier to understand. :)
As a native speaker for 20+ years from Blaye...everything is 100% how we speak French for real for real
Merci Géraldine. Vous êtes fantastique!
That was very helpful
In Ontario Canada in place of "see you later" we will say, "see-ya"(cya) or for 'have a good day' we will say, 'have a good one'
I was taught lots of the pronunciation you mention in a linguistics class at the Sorbonne. Then I returned to my adopted family in the Lot. My « mom » had a fit that we were being taught a Parisian accent. She went through my book and recorded « the correct way » to pronounce French. Midi-Pyrénées pronounces more syllables.
The other fast spoken word I hear frequently is celui-là = suis-là
Geraldine, je t'adore! Pour moi, j'écoute France Inter pour la compréhension à l'audition car les intervenants ne sont pas aussi rapides que dans les films. Avec les films je doit utiliser des sous-titres. Merci vachement!!!!!!
Géraldine I learned Haitian Creole from my girlfriend, who is now my wife of nearly fifty years. Leaping from Kreyol to French has always been a challenge for me. This video is a huge help to me. Very clear presentation.
For the Australians:
* après-midi = afternoon
* aprem = arvo
As an Australian living in France, merci.
Arvo? What's that?
@@lephilosopheinconnu3952 Australian English drops a lot the ends of common words. The 'arv' is from the 'af' bit of 'afternoon', but representing the fact that the 'a' is long by adding the 'r' (Australian English is non-rhotic). The '-o' is a common ending added to these abbreviated words, and triggers voicing of the previous consonant, causing the 'f' to become a 'v', thus: 'afternoon' -> 'aaf' -> 'arvo'.
Géraldine, you are probably the best, most effective French language teacher of our age.
I am so blessed I stumbled upon your channel.
God bless you!
Long ago, Danish went through a similar change as French in the past decades, and today, although one could read Danish with great ease, it has become nigh impossible to understand it when it is spoken. It's like one hears Chinese for the first time and, frankly, I found it to be more difficult to learn than Chinese. French is going the same way. On top of that you have the introduction of alternative words intoFrench, like in the sixties in London we had Cockney Rhyming slang, in France, le verlan is already getting old hat. And the only reason the language is garbled is that highschool kids want to sound 'cool'. It is a stupid approach to the language for it makes communication in that language that much more difficult. I know five distinct levels of French vocabulary, and this video shows there are three levels of pronuncianion on top of that. The harder a language becomes to learn, the less popular it will be in the world. So French is on its way out, which is a pity because, after Brazilian Portugese, it is a most beautiful language. I remember that when I was a teenager, everyone had to learn French, like English. Today, hardly anyone in high school chooses French. It is the French themselves who are to blame for this, especially the Parisian school kids. When I stayed at a friend;s house, every day there was an altercation between the mother and her two kids. She could not understand what her kids (then 11 and 13) were saying to one another and tried to force them to speak 'proper' French which resulted in daily rows.
I mean it's not French people's way of speaking fault if written French is becoming too different from spoken French. Actually, you should rather blame French politics that are very conservative regarding their own culture, and try to maintain very old standards when most people just don't speak that way anymore. You could actually say the same about a lot of languages, including brazilian Portuguese (which I know a little about since I speak both languages)
Watching French movies, French television, ie.: TV5 and French radio is the best way to learn French. I have grown up in the Province of Québec, in Canada where the accent and spoken French is extremely different(yet still the same language of course). So to understand France culture, films have been my main gateway! It is a treasure! Thank you for this leçon because I find French fascinating, so beautiful and full of exquisite 'nuances' :) Merci Mam'selle!
I remember when I was in Bordeaux. My host friend kept saying "vachement" so often!!!!
Oui, on le fait vachement souvent
Et c’est vachement fatiguant
Many years ago my French friend told me to use "carrement" in place of "vachement"... is that now very old fashioned?
@@gavincraddock5772 "carrément" is allways OK to me. It's slighly less casual and still be cool between friends without being too posh or awkward.
In business, never ever use "Vachement", you could use "carrément" if it's informal and you know very well your boss (but not with the client) , and you could use "totalement" instead, with everyone.
not posh, not vulgar, perfect.
le lait est vachement bon
Very nicely done. Thanks so much!
J'adore le podcast "French Voices" parce qu'il y a une transcription. De plus, puisque je suis canadienne, je regarde une série québécoise sur Tou.tv qui s'appelle "Les Simones" et la chaîne TH-cam "Denyzee".
Merci de partager ces choses la.
You're so smart, I love your videos. Thank you!
in fact gotcha is only used mostly for "got you" or even slang for "I understand" and sort of like "ca marche" as well.
Ça marche is more of it's ok or I agree
This is an outstanding teacher.
Amelie and Alain Delon are the reasons why am learning French in the first place. i learnt a lot watching Pleil Soleil. Merci. ♥