Word for the Travel Wise (01/09/06)

Many of you were probably wondering whether I was going to duck and dodge, steer clear and avoid what seems to be American's least favorite language to even attempt to speak on Paris streets. Or when we do our accent slaughters the word entirely. I'll admit I've never tried to learn this romantic sounding lingo whole-heartedly and it's pretty low on my list of tongue to learn, though it could be ten times more helpful than some of the others. Anyhow, that's just me. There are probably tons of you out there with a little more common sense than myself mastering the French language.

Today's word is a French word from France:

confiture - jam (used on toast)

Who would have thought? There are some French words that are fairly similar to English and one can easily guess what their meaning may be, but this would have been a tough one. Unless of course, I saw a jar of nicely labeled 'confiture' sitting on the table or shelf in the market.

The French language can be heard many places aside from France. I've often seen many American's return from certain parts of Canada surprised by the amount of French spoken. Several African countries like Cameroon, Senegal, Chad and Togo have long embraced French as the official language. Guadeloupe in the Caribbean is also French speaking so your choices of picking French language schools abroad are numerous. STA is a good starter for learning overseas. Free online sources are France-Pub, French Assistant, and the BBC Languages.

Filed under: Learning, Europe, France, Foreign Language