WHY IS PARISIAN FRENCH SO IMPORTANT?
Have you ever wondered: “Is there a big difference between Parisian French and Canadian French? Or Belgian, or Swiss French? Or are they quite similar?”
The difference in pronunciation between Quebec French and Parisian French can be quite dramatic, depending on where people learned it.
This goes with all accents and dialects. You will find in the country a thicker accent, very close to a dialect. In Montreal, standard French is much more used. In some French colonies, people learned standard French, proof is that people living in some countries of Africa use a clean, standard language, because that is what they learned there.
Quebec French is a variation of Standard French, which is, in a nutshell, the French language that we know it, using English vowels and a lot of idiomatic expressions. What I teach is Standard French, which is also known as “Parisian French”; once you master this, you can put on any accent on top of it and you would know what you are doing. Moreover, the Standard French is understood by all the French speakers, but if you learn a dialect or a language with a strong accent, you may have problems making yourself understood, because of the lack of the rules of pronunciation.
Why Parisian French?
In reality, what everybody calls “Parisian” French is to be accepted as meaning “Standard”, “Without an accent”, “Academic”. The reason I say this is because in Paris the language evolved on its own and it is not exactly academic 🙂 But having the knowledge of the standard language, gives you the leverage to adjust to any accents or variations of the language around the world. Not quite the other way round.
A small observation I made: if you watch TV5 Montreal, which is broadcast internationally, you will see that the presenters use a clean, standard language. When you watch a more local TV show, then it is when the presenters are using a more obvious Quebec accent. The more local, the thicker the accent used.
More on the Parisian (Standard) French on Wikipedia.org:
Because Parisian French relies on rules of pronunciation, knowing it, you will:
1- easily pronounce unknown words
2- learn how to read faster and without help (once you know the few rules of pronunciation)
3- learn how to write faster, as the pronunciation will tell you the spelling
4- make yourself well understood all over the world
5- be able to “put on” any other accent if you so wish
In conclusion, Parisian (standard) French is the type of French that is well understood all over the world, in the trips you want to make, the bilingual job you want to have, the business contacts you want to make. And I deliver just that: bilingualism. I assist you to access and keep the lifestyle you want to have.
This might give you an idea about the broad horizon that the standard French language gives you 🙂
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Tell us in the comments below: what the single biggest insight you’re taking away from this article?
How can you put it into action right now?
Let me guess.
Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?
Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.
Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French and BREAK your language barrier!
…and now, please SHARE this article with your friends. They’ll love you for it! : )
Always in your corner,
Llyane
Photo credit: Marc Nouss
