Avec Quel Accent Parlez-Vous Français? (With what accent do you speak French?)

Photo by Erica Simone Your taste of life in Paris and France ParlerParis.com Wednesday, June 1, 2011 • Paris, France Dear Parler Paris Reader, Someone loaned me the HBO series, "Tremé," which, if you haven't seen it, takes place in a part of New Orleans more formally known as the "Faubourg Tremé" (pronounced treh-may). If you know New Orleans, it's the area bordered by Esplanade Avenue to the north, North Rampart Street to the east, St. Louis Street to the south and North Broad Street to the west. In early New Orleans, it was the neighborhood of "free people of color" and remains the center of the city's African-American and Créole communities as well as the home of the city's best musicians. Watching the program has brought me back to my New Orleans roots. It struck me that both the lingo and accents of the characters would be difficult for others to understand -- or so it seems to my New Orleans trained ears -- a city that can claim at least 15 different accents. The program does a good job of illustrating many of them, all in one episode, with a cornucopia of the kinds of people one finds in such a profoundly cultured American city. My own New Orleans accent is founded on the "Irish Channel" dialect -- an accent that sounds like Brooklynese thanks to the Irish who settled in both places during the 1860s. It's no wonder I am often mistaken for a New Yorker, even though at heart I'm really more a "Southern Belle." Real New Yorkers tend to hear the Southern 'drawl' while others hear the "Noo Yawk tawk" -- it's always fascinated me how the ear can detect such nuances. In the French-English conversation group,Parler Parlor, which I co-coordinate and participate in a few times a week, one can hear dozens of different accents, in both French and English, thanks to the many origins of the participants. It's one of the benefits, actually, as it helps tune your ear to a variety of different pronunciations. Last night, there was quite a bit of conversation devoted to this subject, the Anglophones admitting that their ears might not be tuned well enough to hear the difference between a French person from the north vs the south or a Parisian. And the French admitted to having a hard time discerning the difference between a Texan and a Californian, much less and Englishman from a Scot. Language is a constant challenge living in a place that communicates in a language different from you own native language -- particularly French. It's one of the most difficult to master. Learning the words, the grammar and the phraseology is one thing. Tackling the accents is already yet another complication, but it's unavoidable. After almost 17 years surrounded by Francophones, I admit that my own level of French is appalling (considering the number of years practicing) and my accent is pathetically American. The moment I say one word, and only one word, they know immediately that not only is the accent not native, but American. Two weeks ago when I boarded an Air France flight from Nice and said nothing more than "Bonjour" to the flight attendant, she responded with "Hello, welcome aboard," to which I asked with surprise, "Just one word gives me away?" And we both had a chuckle knowing how true it is. In the cafés and restaurants, with just that one word, they hand me an English language menu. It can be so depressing! I 'threw in the towel' long ago and gave into never speaking French well much less with a proper accent. The French claim it's "charmant" (charming) much like we think of their French accent in English is so sexy, so why make a big effort to change it? No matter how many times I practice saying "serrurerie" (try it -- it's the toughest!), the Rs end up way to far down the throat to sound French as I spit and gurgle it out. Even when I spell "PAY-A-EHR-ELL-UH-EHR" for "parler," they never seem to hear the R and think it's an L like in Chinese. Oy! The bottom line: does any of this stop having a great life in the "Ville de Lumière" (City of Light)? Absolument, pas! A la prochaine... Adrian Leeds Editor, Parler Paris Share this article with a friend... Respond to Adrian P.S. Participation in Parler Parlor is easy! We meet three times a week, but you can come whenever you like! The first time is free, so there's nothing to lose by trying it except an hour-and-a-half of your time! Visit parlerparlor.com for more information. Share|