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Quebecois French is far more difficult than French French.
It depends what you mean by being difficult. If you are starting to learn a language from scratch it's not any more difficult than the other.
But for someone who has only learned European French to a basic level, then sure Quebec French will be more difficult to understand than most of the varieties spoken in Europe will.
When you are still a beginner I agree. But you borrow an accent when you become fluent. Most people take the Hollywood American accent because we are exposed to a lot of American films and tv shows.
But I already met non native English with huge cockney or "classy" British accent only because they learnt English while living in England.
Well, maybe the French are different than what I am used to, but I am a trained ESL teacher and none of my SLA (second language acquisition) materials indicate that the regional accent impairs a second language speaker amongst other populations.
Personally, I'm not concerned with discussing my skin color. I mean I don't expect to be treated like royalty just because I am black or American. I would love to blend in and take in everything as a local would if I had that option. I'm an introvert anyway, so the less attention or more neutral treatment the better however I have read instances where maybe some people were denied services, exposed to prejudices, unfairly questioned/searched by cops and more as a result of racial tension between locals and Africans and Islamics.
I read LeMonde and reports in other French journalistic sites (to practice my reading skills) so I often see some crazy stories on there. Things that might not go without at least sparking some outrage in America, had it happened here anyway.
It is important to Americans for a number of reasons. Unlike Europeans in Europe, almost all Americans are more recently immigrants.. one way or another. Knowing where their ancestors come from can be interesting to learn where a part of you came from. We do it here (legally) to keep track on other things like poverty, crime, education, health etc. to make sure as Americans, most are on the same level so that our nation can be strong as one.. at least in theory I assume. Like I said there are various reasons. There is the historical reasoning as to why race matters here also..
Not saying it is true but for example I read an opinion story stating that in France (or most of Europe?) there is no racial data so that politically there is no incentive to do anything if there is unbiased treatment for one group or another especially minorities and/or lower classes obviously. It is much easier to sweep under the rug this way and issues go unsolved. I would like to tag this as conspiracy and speculation but I have seen some racial problems, even as recently as November 2013.
I've never been outside of the US and I'm definitely not saying the US is best. Overall, I'd just like to know what I should expect. I realize other countries may indeed have other problems. If so, just what should I expect? As far as black countries, no idea. Seems like religion/politics/history would be the issue in most of Africa but I'm just speculating like I said.
I'm mixed black and white and studied in France while in college (and have been back a couple of times since). My complexion is close to that of an Arab or N. African, but to the French I am recognizably American, even though I have a pretty decent accent. I've also travelled to Belgium and Montreal. You're unlikely to have any problems in any of those places. If available, I would advise that you go to Paris, because it is a wonderful city and Parisian French sounds great. I studied in the Cote d'Azur and Nantes ~10 years ago and regret not having chosen Paris.
There are tensions in France related to immigrants and there is sometimes a 'racial' component to problems there. But it is better than it used to be by a long shot. I just got back from Paris and I thought that there were noticeably more groups of friends from mixed ethnic background than my first visit ~10 years ago. You are unlikely to draw any attention from police in Paris if you are in the center, unless you are breaking the law or doing something dangerous.
Quebec is too close--if going abroad is an option, take it. Of the places I've been, I would most highly recommend Paris, followed by Lyon. You probably won't be seen as a local, but they are cosmopolitan cities open to people from other places.
This information is courtesy of my daughter who is studying French at University.
I didn't say that it was useless.
I said that it was less useful, as according to her it is not so well understood in the majority of the French speaking world.
I am not saying that standardised French is better than Quebecois, but that it may be more widely understood.
This is not intended as a sleight on those in Quebec and indeed I would love to visit the area.
Certainly from a European perspective France is the obvious place to study French.
Last edited by Jezer; 01-10-2014 at 04:00 AM..
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