NationStates Jolt Archive

At the moment, Im in French 3 Honors. Big woop. After I'm done with this year, I can stop and easily graduate. However, I still plan to go somewhere with my French. Is it more useful to go to Africa or France? Or if I really feel the need, Quebec?

Percentage-wise, there are more people in Africa who don't speak French than in France, so go to Africa if you want to make yourself useful. Happy teachin'!

Or you can just visit French, excuse me, Freedom restaurants and look all sophisticated and snooty while ordering with perfect pronunciation.

At the moment, Im in French 3 Honors. Big woop. After I'm done with this year, I can stop and easily graduate. However, I still plan to go somewhere with my French. Is it more useful to go to Africa or France? Or if I really feel the need, Quebec?

Quebec would be the best Idea as Africa can be fairly dangerous as is France with all the Strikes and Riot's.

Well, you have to look at it this way

Africa: You'll get shot or contract AIDS
France: Anarchy on the streets, you will most probably be caught in some sort of rioters vs. police battle
Quebec: Its cold

Hard choice

Africa has the best food. When you can find it. :)

Quebec would be the best Idea as Africa can be fairly dangerous as is France with all the Strikes and Riot's.

Oh puh-lease. Most French-speaking destinations in Africa are not dangerous in the slightest, and neither is France. I should know; I live there. I've taken part in three of the four main protest marches in Paris, for goodness' sake, and walked away from them without a scratch. Your ignorance is embarassing.

Ditto to you, Franberry.

Ehrmordung, one thing you need to remember is accents. There are a variety of accents in the French-speaking world, often very strong. A Quebec accent is nothing like a Belgian accent (although French people tend to find both of those amusing), which is nothing like a Marseilles accent, for example. And even I, a native French speaker, have sometimes had trouble understanding the accent of some French-speakers from countries like Côte d'Ivoire or Senegal or Mali. Before you go anywhere, see if you can hear an example of what the accent is like, and whether you understand it.

I thought the most obvious use of a second language was to have secret conversations in front of people who couldn't speak that language. It's especially useful in nosey countries like the UK.

I thought the most obvious use of a second language was to have secret conversations in front of people who couldn't speak that language. It's especially useful in nosey countries like the UK.
although I love doing that, its rude :p

it depends on where you live and how much money you can spend

id start with quebec. its friendly. the pressure to be perfect isnt as great as it is in paris. for many americans its within driving distance. the downside (since i dont consider accent to be a downside) is that once they realize that you are american not canadian they relax and speak english to you.

assuming youre american...

but any trip to europe is more broadening than a trip to canada. dont just go to paris, they put too much pressure on you to be perfect and might sneer at your accent.

or do both

you should be older before you try french africa. you need some serious travel experience under your belt before you go to such a chaotic area.

So you can scare people (German), seduce people (French), soothe people (Italian), sound suspiciously like an immigrant (Spanish), or speak like your a high ranking official in the criminal underworld (Russian).

Don't forget chinese (to sound annoying) or Arabic (to sound important).

Don't forget chinese (to sound annoying) or Arabic (to sound like a terrorist and get pounced on by homeland security the minute you open your mouth.).


Corrected. :D

Or to amuse people (!Kung).

By the way, French is important for a career in diplomacy.

Or to amuse people (!Kung).

By the way, French is important for a career in diplomacy.

Yeah, but I think I heard/read that the most important languages for diplomacy..or any government job that requires foreign language are Chinese (probably, Mandarin), Arabic, Japanese, and maybe Russian.

French sounds snotty to begin with. Why do you think all english words that came from french are snotty? Now you say its good for diplomacy? I think I'll take the translator made in Japan.

I thought the most obvious use of a second language was to have secret conversations in front of people who couldn't speak that language. It's especially useful in nosey countries like the UK.


I do that all of the time, here in the states.

Yeah, but I think I heard/read that the most important languages for diplomacy..or any government job that requires foreign language are Chinese (probably, Mandarin), Arabic, Japanese, and maybe Russian.
Depends on the area you'd be working in.
For pure diplomacy, French is still an important lingua franca (hey, where would that word come from?), and the same goes for many jobs in the UN.

French sounds snotty to begin with.
:rolleyes:

Why do you think all english words that came from french are snotty?
:rolleyes:

Now you say its good for diplomacy? I think I'll take the translator made in Japan.
Good Luck (http://babelfish.altavista.com/).

French sounds snotty to begin with. Why do you think all english words that came from french are snotty? Now you say its good for diplomacy? I think I'll take the translator made in Japan.


Par example, pretentieux? :p

Aristocrat :P

Babelfish translates into really inaccurate heap of garbage. Anyone who speaks the language will be all 'WTF!?".

Babelfish translates into really inaccurate heap of garbage. Anyone who speaks the language will be all 'WTF!?".
Exactly. And that's how it will stay for some time yet.

As for French sounding snotty, I think you need to listen to music by someone called "Daara J".

At the moment, Im in French 3 Honors. Big woop. After I'm done with this year, I can stop and easily graduate. However, I still plan to go somewhere with my French. Is it more useful to go to Africa or France? Or if I really feel the need, Quebec?

Don't forget Louisiana, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and a number of nice (and not so nice) places in the Caribbean Indian Ocean, and Oceania.

What are the use of second languages?

The mental, cultural, and humanistic benifits are quite broad.

Exactly. And that's how it will stay for some time yet.

As for French sounding snotty, I think you need to listen to music by someone called "Daara J".

Music is not talking.

Any language sounds beautiful when sung. Even russian and german.

Learning a second language is fun, I think. I say go to France and Quebec (I hear Montreal is great).

As for me? I'm learning Japanese at the moment. So far, I'm about halfway through the Hiragana, having memorised A, I, U, E, O, Ka, Ki, Ku, Ke, Ko, Sa, Shi, Su, Se, So, Ta, Chi, Tsu, Te, and To.

Music is not talking.

Any language sounds beautiful when sung. Even russian and german.

Oh, and German doesn't sound nice when spoken? I think you're mistaken...

...Or you have no taste.

German is a rough language. Its gutteral*. Its a lot deeper the most languages. Japanese is a great language, its not annoying like chinese and is feminine.

Go to Quebec. Everyone has a good level of English competancy, in case you need it.

I'm in a somewhat similar position to the OP, although I'm in college. I'm going to the CIDEF in Angers next spring, and plan on doing an assistanceship with the French government the academic year after I get my bachelors in French.

French assistanceship site (http://www.frenchculture.org/education/support/assistant/index.html)

Ideally, I'd like to do TEFL in France, but more likely I'll be teaching French over here, as I hear it's hard to get a job without having EU citizenship.

I've made a great number of heads come close to exploding, due to being an Iraq war vet who wants to live in France.

Go to Quebec. Everyone has a good level of English competancy, in case you need it.

Having and using are different things though!

What are the use of second languages?
Really: what are it?

Oh puh-lease. Most French-speaking destinations in Africa are not dangerous in the slightest.

I can second that. I've been to Rwanda, what used to be Zaire, the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Niger at one point or another, and I managed to get away with no more than a mild infection with intestinal parasites and three stitches in my left eyebrow.

On the other hand the first three of those don't really fall into the 'aren't dangerous in the slightest' category.


Ehrmordung, one thing you need to remember is accents. There are a variety of accents in the French-speaking world, often very strong. A Quebec accent is nothing like a Belgian accent (although French people tend to find both of those amusing).

Then, Ariddia, you should be greatly amused to hear that following several years spent living south of Bruxelles as a child, I speak French with a Belgian accent...

Septante et nonante, pas soixante-dix et quatre-vingt-dix! :p

Septante et nonante, pas soixante-dix et quatre-vingt-dix! :p


C'est Genevois, aussi :p

J'embête mon professeur française avec septante et nonante tout la temps, parce que j'ai un ami qui habite pres du Gèneve qui j'ai visité chaque moins quand j'ai habité en Allemagne :D

Il y a huitante aussi en Genevois

I studied for a year in Paris, and it took me forever to understand Parisians. When I went to Lyon and Switzerland though, I was able to hold whole conversations. I'd say if you want to become fluent quickly, go to Switzerland, they speak slow and pronunciate much more than the Parisians.

I find that fluent cursing in a foriegn language is a useful skill. It has saved my job on several occasions (usually right after hitting my thumb with a hammer).:D

Then, Ariddia, you should be greatly amused to hear that following several years spent living south of Bruxelles as a child, I speak French with a Belgian accent...

Septante et nonante, pas soixante-dix et quatre-vingt-dix! :p

I'm sorry; I don't think we can stop ourselves. It must be inscribed in our genes or something. :D


Il y a huitante aussi en Genevois


"Huitante"? Now that's just wrong. :p

Good Luck (http://babelfish.altavista.com/).
Waht are you snorting? Because if something has the power to make my Finnish comprehendable Japansese, I need that shit!

For pure diplomacy, French is still an important lingua franca (hey, where would that word come from?), and the same goes for many jobs in the UN.
I hear French is important, but lingua franca (http://www.uwm.edu/~corre/franca/edition2/lingua.2.html)? Anyhow, I thought it was Latin.