November 10, 2001
In a dual-pronged effort to keep up on world events and to keep up on my French, a couple months ago I started reading Cyberpresse, a Canadian news web site. It's been fun getting used to the little quirks in Canadian French, refamiliarizing myself with useful vocabulary and constructions. (I am all too familiar with the vocabulary for discussing French literary theory or esoteric linguistic concepts, but am sadly lacking in the ability to deal with everyday things.) Then a couple weeks ago, I tuned into Radio Canada so I could listen to French, too.
I can't understand a word.
Well, okay I can get some of it, especially the more "traditional" newscasts, but much was lost on me, especially the interviews. I thought, my god, am I that out of practice that I can't follow an everyday conversation in French? So I tried out Radio France.
I understood every word.
So I guess it's the accent. I certainly ran into this somewhat when we were in Quebec and Montreal last year, but still... oh well. Just have to keep listening.
Because to tell the truth, this is all in preparation for Canadian World Domination.
