Translation please: Buggard & Bullocks

ok thanx.
Here I am for some French learning! that's what I was supposed to be if I hadn't stopped College, a French teacher in the US.... :'(
 
that's so funny! I am French and I would have never thought that some words could not be understood whether in British English or in American English.
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Interesting stuff indeed. It's funny since we English speakers tend to have this obsession with preventing our language from becoming "corrupt" or "degraded." That of course makes little sense given the fluid nature of language :). Some say a static spelling system is the means to a static language but that just isn't the case and English is a great example of that =D. Anyway.. a bit off topic there...

I find French to be a very strange language. Not entirely sure why as much of my family history lies in France...
 
Shaw said:
I find French to be a very strange language. Not entirely sure why as much of my family history lies in France...
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I would not say uit is a strange language, since it is my language, but I would say it is a very HARD language to learn, trust me, even for us, French speakers. Such a hard grammar!
your family history lies in France, where? :cheesy:
 
That's what people say about English as well :)

I can't remember specifically off the top of my head. I'll have to go look up my filed material today and refresh my memory.
 
well, having studied English in detailed for four years at college as my major, I can tell you that French is much more difficult than Engllish, trut me! really!
yes I have to admit that English grammar is really difficult since I didnt pass my exam because of the English grammar subject, but it's not really because of English grammar itself but because of this subject because my English speaking friends (US, Britis and Australian) didn't manage to help me with my assignments (translations from French to English). According to my professors, what I made with my friends wasn't English and according to my friends, what I made with my professors wasn't English. and personally, I trust in my friends more than in my professors. so I didn't really pass it because of English grammar.
all of this to say that French grammar is much more difficult than English grammar. French grammar has so many different tenses!!! and as French speakers we are lucky because we have the same tenses as in Spanish and Italians, but they are some of these tenses that we almost never use in French that they use in Spanish or in Italian.
 
Taryllou said:
well, having studied English in detailed for four years at college as my major, I can tell you that French is much more difficult than Engllish
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Well, having grown up in america, and being a native English speaker, I can tell you this - I still don't get it! I feel like it is a second language to me... I can't say much about french, as I can't speak it. Spanish however - I love spanish, it makes a lot more sense to me then english does, especially when it comes to grammer.

When studing a language at school they don't teach you how to use the language like the average person does, they teach you the proper usage. I remember speaking spanish to the first native speaker I met, and they said I sounded all formal and proper. (Which I did, as that is what I was taught.) So both your professors and your friends were right. Your professors were teaching you the proper way to use the language, while your friends were teaching you how the average person uses the language. Unfortunately what your friends taught you wasn't on the test.

BTW- if you want to learn how to properly pronounce a word, listen to the Brits, as we americans tend to slur a lot of our words, and we mix up some of our letters. (For example if your american try saying this word outloud: water. Did you say wa-der or did you say wa-ter? Most americans will say wa-der.)
 
Up shuts yous idiot.

English are an langish easy in the mastering. Just because you is stupid in your brian.
 
The first time I went to London was as a young buck. On the flight over I was sitting next to an attractive, but older woman, could have been my mother. We were talking about the weather and if it would be bad and she told me even if it was not to worry. She leaned over to me with a glint in her eye and said: "just keep your pecker up my dear and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time".....

Pecker has a different meaning for Brits, it's sort of like, keep your chin up....

I, on the other hand, thought I was going to get lucky on the flight over.....

I didn't.....

She wasn't amused.....

Actually, she was rather appalled to find out what pecker meant in American English....

Pitty....
 
:laugh: :shocked: :laugh: :grin: :thumbsup:

I'm sure that bit of advice has probably carried you thru many a year of your life, though. :)
 
MattC said:
The first time I went to London was as a young buck. On the flight over I was sitting next to an attractive, but older woman, could have been my mother. We were talking about the weather and if it would be bad and she told me even if it was not to worry. She leaned over to me with a glint in her eye and said: "just keep your pecker up my dear and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time".....

Pecker has a different meaning for Brits, it's sort of like, keep your chin up....

I, on the other hand, thought I was going to get lucky on the flight over.....

I didn't.....

She wasn't amused.....

Actually, she was rather appalled to find out what pecker meant in American English....

Pitty....
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LOL!!!!
 
MattC said:
Yes, it has. Although in recent days it's your old avatar which gets me through....

:evil:
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Yes, but you ended up with a slightly better version than everyone else. :beer:

Hey, it was a decent barter arrangement for some lighting advice. :undecided
 
MattC said:
Pecker has a different meaning for Brits, it's sort of like, keep your chin up....

I, on the other hand, thought I was going to get lucky on the flight over.....
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er... in proper english, pecker means... well.. your man servant... so I am not sure what she was suggesting. :shocked:
 
That's what it means here!!! She was insistent it meant something else, which is consistent with what many of my Brit friends have told. me.
 
thartley said:
Yes, but you ended up with a slightly better version than everyone else. :beer:

Hey, it was a decent barter arrangement for some lighting advice. :undecided
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It's framed by my bed...
 
waltind said:
Well, having grown up in america, and being a native English speaker, I can tell you this - I still don't get it! I feel like it is a second language to me... I can't say much about french, as I can't speak it. Spanish however - I love spanish, it makes a lot more sense to me then english does, especially when it comes to grammer.

When studing a language at school they don't teach you how to use the language like the average person does, they teach you the proper usage. I remember speaking spanish to the first native speaker I met, and they said I sounded all formal and proper. (Which I did, as that is what I was taught.) So both your professors and your friends were right. Your professors were teaching you the proper way to use the language, while your friends were teaching you how the average person uses the language. Unfortunately what your friends taught you wasn't on the test.

BTW- if you want to learn how to properly pronounce a word, listen to the Brits, as we americans tend to slur a lot of our words, and we mix up some of our letters. (For example if your american try saying this word outloud: water. Did you say wa-der or did you say wa-ter? Most americans will say wa-der.)
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don't worry I agree with you with the fact that English is hard too but I know both languages and that's why I can compare them.
about american pronounciation, don't worry about that, I know what you mean since I speak the way you do! I dont like British pronounciation, as we say in French, they sound to have a broom in the ass! LMAO :grin: I dont like the way they speak at all!it's too structured!
and more than this, I can't speak with the british pronounciation, each time that I try, it's... I can't even explain how it is, it doesnt sound english at all!! LOL Its true that in my american system I sometimes say words as english speakers do since most of my professors speak with the british pronounciation. but since I was a little girl I'm used to listen songs from american singers just like the Jacksons (old and new generations LOL), most of the english channels we have on the satellite have an american system and when you watch movies in original version, it's the american system. and more than this, I don't have friends who are english, all of them are americans.
My professors advised me to change my system and use the british system, but it's too late. and why use the british system when you think that most of the young british people use the american system?! LOL
 
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