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Based on britain's history and geography you would assume the french language would have a special place in Britiain but how widespread is the ability to speak and understand french among the british?
French has always been the most popular second language but not that many actually speak it well (going on personal experience, not whatever self-declared stats on language fluency might say). I did a degree in modern languages so I can speak it, but apart from the people I met studying it I can only think of about five British people I know who can have a proper conversation in French - nobody is ever really held back here by not knowing a foreign language.
I dont know anybody that can speak French. I did once try and learn a little Spanish but whenever I went to Spain to 'try it out' I discovered that everytime I spoke Spanish in my best Spanish accent people only answered me in English! It is shameful that there is such a small percentage of British people that speak a foreign language but in our defense it is usually quite easy to get by 'in most places' with English which certainly doesnt help matters!
French is probably the most common non-British language learnt in school (German seems to have fallen out of favour and Spanish has risen a bit) but few people get much further than that. I learnt it well enough to get by in France but I can't do much complicated with it and I barely understand stuff on French tv and radio.
French is probably the most common non-British language learnt in school (German seems to have fallen out of favour and Spanish has risen a bit) but few people get much further than that. I learnt it well enough to get by in France but I can't do much complicated with it and I barely understand stuff on French tv and radio.
Having lived in Geneva for several years, I am fully fluent (not bi-lingual, that is different) and I can and have worked in French. I did five years of French at school and passed my O Grade. But all that really did for me was to give me vocabulary. I had to live in a French speaking environment to put it all together.
There are probably quite a lot of Brits who speak French but they may not all be living in the UK.
I guess I'm a typical Brit I had to endure compulsory French language lessons at school from the age of about 8 upto 16 years old never studied any other language at all in that time excepting English. Now Thirty years later I'm fluent in German and Swedish but can hardly speak a word of French even though I have qualifications in it from school. Guess it must have something to do with motivation.
I'd say when pushed most educated Britons can get by in basic French, it's by far the most common foreign language to know - despite the rise in popularity of Spanish. However opportunities to do so are far less common than they used to be as it's rare to meet educated French people under 40 nowadays who can't speak decent English - so unless you actually go to France on holiday regularly your schoolboy French can get very rusty.
Here in Paris most English people who've lived here for a while speak fluent French, if with a funny "Anglo-Saxon" accent that the French find hilarious. That's not the same for Americans who live here however, while some have excellent French - it is totally common to meet people who've lived here for years and still speak only English!
I believe most people have the ABILITY to speak any language, as to whether they've been inclined to actually learn one...well that is a different question.
I'm British i'll have you know and i'll have none of that 'Johnny Foreigner' jibber jabber spoken around me!
When speaking to these Gaulish continental types just point and SHOUT! The French can all speak English, they're just not trying...
... and no, i'm not Al Murray and yes i can speak French.
Oy ! This Johnny Foreigner will speak jibber jabber around you anytime she wishes !! You forgot to add that pretending to be Inspector Clouseau and wearing an onion necklace with a beret and stripey shirt is the only way we Frenchies can truly comprehend a perfidous Albion native's wild approximation of the "Langue de Moliere".
All of a sudden your meliflous dulcet tones turn into even sweeter music to our delicate Gaulish pig's ears...
I have seen the Brits on vacation in France and Spain and speaking slowly and louder does indeed seem to be a perfect mode of communication and linguistic harmony !
Allo, Allo !?! Pouvez vous understand moi ?
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