BarkellWH -> RE: What's up with this newfangled culture of "interpreting" others intrepretations? (Jan. 1 2021 20:40:56)
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Personally, I only know of 1 or 2 adult learners whose French is to me indistinguishable from a native. I'm sure there are more out there, but they're certainly not the majority. I don't know the reasons why, but this is an area where I do find that the majority of adult learners fare rather poorly (not just compared to children. just poorly in terms of what should be theoretically possible). In the US Foreign Service I was never assigned to a French language-speaking country and have never attempted to study or learn the language. Nevertheless, I have a marvelous book entitled "Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World," by the linguist Nicholas Ostler, from which I have drawn a quote by the French poet, journalist, and novelist Anatole France. Ostler suggests that the quote illustrates how the French are characteristically self-conscious and self-regarding with respect to the virtues inherent in their language. "La langue Francaise est una femme. Et cette femme est si belle, si fiere, si modeste, si hardie, si touchante, si voluptueuse, si chaste, si noble, si familiere, si folle, si sage, qu' on l'aime de toute son ame, et qu' on n'est jamais tente de lui etre infidele." "The French language is a woman. And that woman is so beautiful, so proud, so modest, to bold, so touching, so voluptuous, so chaste, so familiar, so mad, so wise, that one loves her with all one's soul, and is never tempted to be unfaithful to her." Anatole France, 1844-1924 Bill
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