PARIS I

 During my stay here in France I am in touch with many different languages every day. German, Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese just to name a few, and of course French and English. It is not necessary to mention that the language I hear the most here in Paris is French, followed by English and German.

I already heard from friends and my family that French people are very proud and self-confident and adore their nation and language. This is why it did not surprise me that I was not getting very far by speaking English in France. It seems like most of the French do not want to speak English, but in fact they just do not learn it in school and do not grow up with it – as we do in Austria. Such lacks in training foreign languages result in their non-ability to speak English. In Austria, our first contact with the English language is in the primary school. Afterwards we deepen our English skills in the Austrian academic High School. In addition to that, most Austrian grammar schools foster speaking English with programs like “English in Action” or trips to English speaking countries. Many people told me that the French school system does not really promote the English language in primary school, because for the French people it is more important to master their own language perfectly.

However, I slowly realized that I could not avoid speaking French in Paris. My French skills were not quite advanced, due to the fact that since school, where I learned French for 5 years, I never used it again. Additionally, my vocabulary was not very extensive and very different from native Parisiens. As I never used French again since I have left school two years ago, I could barely speak it and was not able to use the right grammar and vocabulary. Besides that, I often was not able to understand the different slangs or colloquial languages. Moreover, people start speaking English with you as soon as they realize that you are not familiar with their own language, so it is quite difficult to practice the few things I learned so far.

When I have applied for my semester abroad in Paris, I was not really worried about the language issue at all. I did not care about the French language too much, because I was so confident that everyone in the world speaks English. Therefore, I knew that it was not a must-have for my stay abroad. But frankly, I forgot the written aspect of the language you deal with every day. Meaning French street signs, restaurant menus, food ingredients or gym rules and I had a bit of trouble with it at the beginning. I am hoping that I will improve my French language skills and learn how to speak French properly after the first month of my exchange program.

It is very interesting to see how important language is in a culture, and how many different types of French dialects there are throughout the country. I quickly tried to adapt to some French expressions like „ouais” instead of “oui” because I heard them all day long in different places and contexts. I also started to use some simple greeting phrases and common sentences, because I wanted to be integrated into the culture and society. As my French is not so good yet, it would be an advantage to speak it more fluently to feel more welcomed into the country and probably find more French friends.

Learning a foreign language helps you to understand a foreign culture and gives you the opportunity to get in touch with local people. In addition to that, you can be part of their society and build up new habits or even life-styles.

Linus Weber, November 2021