NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gez" data-source="post: 2142207" data-attributes="member: 1328">Obviously, it's a problem that is new to me. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Most French people can speak rudimentary English, since every French must learn two European languages in schools (mandatory part of the schools' programs), one of which is English. Of course, the older people get, the more they forgot what they learned in school that they don't need in day to day life.You'll notice, usually, an awful (and very funny) accent. Pronounciation is often off, as trying to guess how an English word is pronounced is an arcane art, as esoteric to the average French guy than conjugating French verbs in the subjonctive imperfect is to about everyone, French included. (A shame, that's a very funny tense.)If you have to speak in English, mimic this awful accent -- that is, pronounce each word distinctly, without swallowing those parts of the word that are not usually pronounced. For example, " pronounceed " instead of " pronounc' " for pronounced.It can help to have a bunch of post-its and a pen. When you really can't get understood, write the sentence. Chances are it'll be understood that way. Written English is much easier than spoken English for us. Nearly half the English vocabulary came from old French, after all, so if you use "fantome" instead of "ghost", "mutton" instead of "lamb" (even for the living animal), "serpent" instead of "snake",  "domicile" instead of "house", "hotel" instead of "inn", "forest" instead of "wood", and so on, everything should be alright.As for learning French, I think one or two week practicing with a Teach Yourself series like <a href="http://www.multilingualbooks.com/assimeng.html#french" target="_blank">Assimil</a> (one hour every evening, IIRC) should be enough to let you find your way on the streets. Then you'll pick it on, in three months that should be enough.If you choose to go to Montpellier, tell me, we could meet!</blockquote>

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